On 1 July the British Government will hand over decision-making power on a range of subjects to the Welsh National Assembly in Cardiff. It is part of its devolution programme for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - the biggest constitutional change in Britain for decades.
Over the past two years, some who have attended MRA conferences at Caux, Switzerland, have organized a series of national 'Dialogues on Wales's Role'. They have aimed to find a uniting vision for Wales as it takes greater responsibility for its own affairs.
The fourth and latest of these Dialogues took place at Nant Gwrtheyrn on the north-west coast of Wales. Held just five weeks before the 6 May elections to the National Assembly, its theme was, 'Wales - one community, looking out'. It took place at the National Language Centre, perched dramatically between a steep mountain face and the sea, and brought together some 40 people from all over Wales.
Three people prominent in Welsh life gave 15 minutes each on 'My vision for the Welsh Assembly'. The Archbishop of Wales, Alwyn Rice Jones, compared the coming of the new Assembly to the setting up of the 'new' Church in Wales after disestablishment in the 1920s. After generations of being regarded as a branch of the Church of England, it had had to take responsibility for itself and learn to become a fully Welsh institution. He predicted that the Assembly would grow up quickly in the same way and urged everyone in Wales, whatever their previous views, to get behind the new body.
Richard Livsey, MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Wales, called for 'an open and accessible Assembly, which would be inclusive and diverse, representing all'. He hoped members would work together across party barriers. This would 'inspire the young people of Wales and encourage them to participate'. He hoped that the Assembly would 'have a broad vision for Wales, reaching out to the rest of the world and the four corners of Europe'. He called for the Assembly to produce a charter 'for openness, human rights, fairness and democracy' to which every member could subscribe.
John Osmond, Director of the Cardiff-based Institute for Welsh Affairs, said the Assembly could bring a new civic sense of identity to replace the necessarily divisive 'identities' of place and language. Wales had had to rely on these in the past as 'identity markers' because there had been no unifying national institution. 'The Assembly will make everything visible and accountable. It can create a civic, democratic identity which we have never had before.'
A session on 'Wales reaching out to the world' was led by Stephen Thomas, Director of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs. He said that while financial and economic interests would often be the main motivation for the Assembly to look beyond Wales's borders, this should not rule out more selfless and caring involvement with, for example, the Third World or Eastern Europe. The Assembly should find ways of enhancing Wales's fine tradition of international action and concern.
It was decided to produce a leaflet giving a vision for Wales based on statements made at the dialogue and by public figures.
