Urdd Peace and Goodwill Message facts for kids

The Urdd Peace and Goodwill Message is a special message sent every year since 1922. It comes from the young people of Wales and is shared with children and young people all over the world on May 18th, which is called Goodwill Day. The message is about peace and friendship. An organization called Urdd Gobaith Cymru (which means "Wales's League of Hope" or the Welsh League of Youth) organizes the message. This group also started in 1922 and helps young people learn and use the Welsh language.

The message changes each year to talk about what's happening in the world. Many countries have sent replies over the years. The goal of sending this message is to inspire young people everywhere to work for a better world and to help others. Since 1955, Urdd Gobaith Cymru has been in charge of making sure the message is written and sent out every year.

In 2019, the message was launched outside Wales for the first time. Young people from Wales visited a special academy in London that helps young people from difficult backgrounds. In 2020, the message theme changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It became a letter to the world, especially to leaders, asking everyone not to go back to old, harmful ways of living. The message is always written by young people for other young people.

History of the Peace Message

The idea for a "Message of Goodwill" first came from Reverend Gwilym Davies in 1922. He was at a conference in Llandrindod Wells. Davies was involved with the League of Nations in Wales. He thought that school children from all over Wales should create the message. Everyone liked the idea a lot!

The Peace and Goodwill Message is shared on May 18th. This date is important because it's when the first peace conference happened in The Hague in 1899. The very first message was sent on June 28, 1922, using Morse Code through the Post Office. A radio station at the Eiffel Tower in Paris even sent it on further. In 1924, replies came from the Archbishop of Uppsala in Sweden and Poland's education minister. The message was first broadcast on the BBC World Service in 1924. Now, it's translated into more than 40 languages and shared online.

Early Replies to the Message

The first replies to the Goodwill Message arrived in 1924. These included messages from the Archbishop of Uppsala in Sweden and Poland's Education Minister. In 1925, more replies came from important people like Léon Bourgeois from France and Paul Hymans from Belgium, who were leaders in the League of Nations. The education ministers from Czechoslovakia and Finland also replied. Even the leader of Italy, Signior Mussolini, sent a response.

The first reply from the United States came in 1925 from a school in Manhattan, New York. An article about the message was even in an American children's magazine called Everyland. By 1938, the Peace and Goodwill Message received 736 replies! Many came from the United States and Romania.

In the 1950s, Urdd Gobaith Cymru took over the job of publishing the yearly message. Today, young members of the Urdd write it.

Messages from Around the World

Even though the Eiffel Tower radio station sent the first message on, no replies came in 1922. But within ten years, 68 countries had replied! These replies show what young people in Wales were thinking about. You can find a full collection of these messages at the National Library of Wales.

Over the years, posters have been made along with the message, which has a different theme each year. The messages are usually translated into Celtic languages, the main European languages, and many other languages, big and small, including Esperanto. It's a tradition for children from around the world to reply to the message from Wales. They often send letters and drawings. Today, most replies come through email, or as pictures and videos shared on social media.

You can see the latest messages, including a video made for the first time in 2018, on the Urdd website. Special learning packs are also made every year for teachers and students to use.

Here are some replies from other countries to past messages:

• 1946 - Germany: "It is years since we have heard from the Welsh Children. How it grew dark! We should like to hear from you again."
• 1948 - Japan: "We are really happy to know, after so many years of isolation, that you have sent so hearty words of friendship and love."
• 1958 - Argentina: "Hope is placed upon the youth of the world, and we alongside you, want to realise these hopes."
• 1972 – Czech Republic: "We must join together to oppose the power of the larger nations who wish to rid the world of all ‘silly and nonsensically small’ languages, cultures and nations."

Themes of the Messages

The first message was sent in 1922. It seems the same message was used in 1923, 1924, and 1925.

The Welsh words used were: "Cenadwri Plant Cymru at Blant yr Holl Fyd trwy gyfrwng y Pellebr Diwifr." This means "Tidings from Welsh Children to the Children of the whole world by Wireless Telegraph." Early themes included God’s Blessings, all countries and nations, ending old arguments, and being a friend to all mothers.

One important quote from an early message was: "Yna ni bydd raid i neb ohonom, pan awn yn hŷn, ddangos ein cariad tuag at wlad ein genedigaeth trwy gashau a lladd y naill y llall." This means: "So that none of us shall, as we get older, be required to demonstrate our love towards our Country of birth through hate and killing each other."

Examples of Message Themes

Each year, the message has a special theme. Sometimes themes are repeated. The themes often reflect what is happening in Wales and around the world at that time. For example:

• 2020 - The theme was first "Empowering Girls." But because of COVID-19, it changed to "Stop the Clock and Start Again."
• 2019 - The theme was "Voice." This message encouraged young people to speak up against violence, like knife violence, gun violence, and violence from war. A video and a poster were made. The message reached over 5.2 million people online! Famous people like actor Matthew Rhys and London Mayor Sadiq Khan shared videos supporting it.
• 2018 - The theme was "Hope." Young people from Mid Glamorgan created this message as a video and a poster for the first time.
• 2015 - The theme was "A better Wales." It used the story of the Mimosa ship, which sailed to create a new Wales in Patagonia, Argentina.
• 2011 - The theme was "Afghanistan" because of the war happening there.
• 2010 - The message talked about the danger of climate change and the need to act fast.
• 1998 - The theme was the "Ethiopian drought."
• 1986 - The message focused on "Wales as a nuclear free country."
• 1969 - The cover of the message booklet featured Dr. Martin Luther King, who had been murdered the year before. The message said: "We can hope for a world where one nation will not have to suffer the tyranny of another nation, and where love for one’s fellow man can be prominent in place of war, love instead of hate, and justice instead of violence."
• 1933 - The cover showed children from different countries holding hands and dancing around the world. A girl in traditional Welsh dress was shown at the front.
• 1932 - A leaflet was made with a picture of a young boy on the radio and the words "it’s working!" The message was called "The Welsh Youth’s Radio Message to the World." It talked about how radio made the world feel like "one big village." It also included replies from countries like Yugoslavia (now part of Slovenia), Latvia, and places like Nova Scotia. A teacher from Hamburg, Germany, wrote: "I am convinced that the Welsh children's World Wireless Message will help us to save the world and to strengthen the confidence between the nations." The message was printed in Welsh, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Esperanto.