Wales and the rest of the World

Our friends at Cytun have recently completed a consultancy response to the Welsh Government on International Strategy. What is the standing of Wales in the World? This document takes the points they have made, reshaped and tailored to Friends in Wales.

Wales has already got a strong profile in many parts of the world but it needs to be distinctive and relevant. Where it is recognised as being distinctive from the rest of the UK it is seen as positive and forward looking.

The single item which has most brought Wales its distinctive current reputation is the Well-Being of Future Generations Act (WFGA). It is a world-leading piece of legislation which gives Wales a profile in the UN, because of the link with the sustainable development agenda, and is attracting worldwide attention. It is Wales' USP! As a country which contributed a huge amount to damaging climate change through coal, steel and copper production Wales now offers well-being goals and ways of working which can build on the successes which define our Welsh values and begin to undo the damage of the past: thinking about the long term (caring about future generations), working holistically (in an integrated way), involving people in our decisions (across the world not just here), collaborating (building equal partnerships with other countries and within Wales), seeking to prevent further harm to our world and beginning to undo harms already done (acknowledging our own part in the mistakes of the past). These values are our Quaker values too. Wales's reputation can only be enhanced by seeking out the most difficult and challenging places for future partnership and relationship and using Welsh expertise to tackle poverty and climate change..

Welsh ambitions are encapsulated in the well-being goals which resonate across the world: to be prosperous (in the sense defined by the WFGA, recognising the limits of the global environment and using resources efficiently and proportionately, resilient (including seeking ecological health which impacts on the whole of the world), more equal, healthier, cohesive in our communities, with a thriving Welsh language and culture, and globally responsible.

Export growth and attracting foreign businesses, attracting people, increasing tourism could be compatible with the values and ambitions of the WFGA, but only if pursued in ways fully compatible with the Act. Export growth or attracting foreign businesses could be done in ways which damage our resilience and prosperity, or in ways which promote these things. The main focus of the strategy should be being true to our own values as already expressed in this legislation and in the best that Wales already offers the world. The development of Wales as a Fairtrade Nation is an example to which Friends have contributed greatly, and which we are still seeking to develop further. We should celebrate those Welsh people, historically and today, who engage with the world from a perspective of humility and service, who seek to learn from others as well as teach, and who wish to build genuine equal partnership.

Some sectors of the Welsh economy can grow internationally - e.g. cultural products, expertise in some areas of climate science and sustainability. Others, especially those contributing to climate change, must shrink. Within a generation, products linked with worsening climate change and pending disaster will be unmarketable internationally. Wales needs to be ahead of this change and not lagging behind it. In the words of the title of a Christian Aid report from 2013 we should be seeking not so much growth but 'Fair shares in a constrained world' We believe in an internationalism which promotes dignity, justice, equality and good stewardship, which is responsible and transparent. Internationalism based on exploitation of others or of the planet, or treating people as simply a market for goods, must be rejected. We should equally be honest and penitent about Welsh links with other parts of the world which are based purely on self-interest or exploitation. We should not seek to take further advantage of links built by Welsh people on such a basis, but rather seek forgiveness and a new start in those parts of the world whose contact with Welsh people has been damaging or destructive. In the current climate crisis, Welsh Government should not promote any international links, however financially lucrative, which contribute to further climate change.

The new "Successful Futures" schools curriculum, with its emphasis on the development of ethical, informed citizens, offers multiple opportunities to help young people and their parents and teachers embrace internationalism.

In other small nations Wales's experience in promoting its own native language and culture while simultaneously being open to one of the world's strongest and most pervasive languages and cultures in the country next door has much to offer (and much to learn from) the ambitions and struggles of indigenous peoples and languages throughout the world. S4C and Radio Cymru, Nant Gwrtheyrn and Welsh medium education are often quoted across the world as examples to emulate, and we can and should build on this reputation.

We have historic links with many countries beyond the EU and we would wish to see these fostered and developed. However, EU countries are our nearest neighbours and we should wish to live in positive peace and harmony with our neighbours. Welsh Government must also deepen our ties with non-EU European countries with whom we will shortly have something else in common, viz. being on the European continent but not in the EU. Wales has a particular role in fostering links with other sub-nation state regions and nations in the EU, such as Brittany, Catalonia, and the other members of the EU Committee of the Regions. Those with minority indigenous languages have a particular natural link with Wales. However, these links can extend also beyond the EU. We would note also the importance of the Council of Europe as a Europe-wide body to which the UK will still belong, and whose human rights agenda resonates with many developments in Wales. As Quakers we value the work of QCEA which seeks to build support for humane, non-military policies at the EU level, both inside and outside its borders. We do so in the spirit of peaceful cooperation which forms the foundation of European politics. The Welsh Government might seek membership of the Council of Europe's North/South Centre (of which the UK is not formally part). Other European organisations (such as the Conference of European Churches, the Churches' Commission on Migrants to Europe and the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe) cover both EU and non-EU countries.

The further development of the Nation of Sanctuary is a distinctive international agenda which has wide support from Friends, third sector organisations and communities in Wales.

The success of our rugby team has brought us to the attention of other rugby playing nations, such as the South Pacific countries, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. Several of those countries, particularly the islands, provide an opportunity for Wales to work closely with them on climate change. There is an history of Welsh interaction with many Asian and African nations, much church based. Wales is also associated worldwide with the foundation of the Bible Society, including the story of Mary Jones, and the Bible Society's visitor centre in Llanycil attracts pilgrims from all over the world.

Wale's profile is distinctive in countries evangelised by Welsh Christian missionaries, e.g. Madagascar, where Welsh educators played an important role in ensuring Malagasy (rather than French) education and continues to support the people in recovering and appreciating their pre-colonial history. Madagascar has no UK embassy, but is celebrating the 200^th anniversary this year of its links with Wales - could Wales offer to host a Madagascan consulate?).

Brexit may be changing Wales' relationship with the rest of the World, Friends will support constructive contact wherever it presents itself, and Wales will continue to set the pace in progressive political action.