Vice President Welsh Affairs

Vice President Welsh Affairs

Ruby Cradle

Ruby was born and raised as a Welsh-speaker in the Rhondda Valleys, before attending Swansea University where she continued her studies and received a BA(Hons) in English Literature. As a passionate and collaborative member of the Welsh community in Swansea University, Ruby is committed to celebrating and championing the Welsh language, culture, history, identity, and visibility across all aspects of University life at Swansea.

During the time she spent here studying at Swansea, Ruby has been actively involved in many aspects across the university, including being an active committee member of both the Welsh Society and Swansea University’s Netball team. During her time at university, Ruby contributed a large amount of her spare time to celebrating Welsh culture, particularly through her dedication to the Welsh society’s participation in the inter-collegiate Eisteddfod celebrations. This combination of passion and enthusiasm towards celebrating Welsh culture and tradition has been a driving factor in Ruby’s manifesto and overarching Swansea experience.

Beyond her university life, Ruby is passionate about making the most of her social life – whether that involves a cold plunge in Caswell, a walk to the Mumbles, or a dance on a GWA Wednesday! Through her role, she hopes to enlighten the wider student community on the presence of Welsh across the university, by increasing visibility and allowing Welsh to become an opportunity for social and academic growth for every type of student – from fluent speakers to eager learners!

From Your Officer

Ruby Cradle

It is a privilege to represent Welsh students across Swansea University. From my personal experience, I have developed a great appreciation towards the university’s attitude towards Welsh student experience during their time studying here. I strongly emphasise the necessity to adopt a passionate attitude towards the integration of Welsh traditions into every students experience here in Swansea University. My aim is to develop student opportunities to interact and engage with Welsh language and traditions – through social activities, academic support, and opportunities across the University that have a large, positive impact to student life in Swansea. I would like to highlight that this welcome extends beyond the fluent speakers, to those who are starting on their Welsh journey. This vibrant community is a privilege to be a part of, and something that we can nurture together.

Roles and Responsibilities

Roles & Responsibilities

I champion Welsh student interests, voicing concerns to the university. Collaborating with peers and staff, I enhance Welsh cultural engagement through events, campaigns, and initiatives. As a liaison between students and the university, I influence policies for Welsh representation and inclusion. My leadership ensures Welsh student needs are addressed, fostering a dynamic, supportive, and culturally enriched campus community.

What I'm Working On

Manifesto: Welsh Language and Sport ahead of Varsity

I would like to encourage the use of the Welsh language across the University's societies and sports clubs, especially as we celebrate thirty years of Varsity in Swansea, by engaging with committees to develop the use of Welsh in our societies and sporting clubs.

Main objective:

I intend to mainstream the use of Welsh language in sports across the university ahead of the 30th anniversary of Varisity in Swansea. I hope to work alongside the VP Sports Officer (Dafydd Evans) to strengthen collaborative intentions within the Union towards increasing Welsh visibility across the Union and in this instance particularly across sports.

Planned actions:

Integrate ‘mandatory’ bilingual scoring and team sheets through providing a ‘cheat sheet’ for all communities, which will be provided at committee training.

Encourage consistent action through the Matrix system – speak to Sports Swansea – whilst remembering and considering the Welsh commitment.

Prioritise Welsh merchandising and commercial visibility through collaborating with the media and graphic team. Possibly address teams individually to see the interest in having Welsh merchandise, and the probability of having bilingual university wide merchandise for Varsity.

Look at statistics of Welsh speakers in sports to appropriately identify the patterns across sports – which sports would be beneficial to target more? For instance, swim and rugby have a higher Welsh contribution figure.