The British-Irish Council was delighted to sponsor the 47th Celtic Media Festival in Belfast.

Following the success of the 2025 Celtic Exchange Programme, the British-Irish Council (BIC), in partnership with the Welsh Government and MG ALBA, supported the ‘Celtic Code’ in Belfast this Spring – an initiative which brought young language creatives from across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, and Cornwall together to meet, network, and learn new skills. They created new content in their indigenous languages, exploring and showcasing the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of these islands.

This year is the British-Irish Council’s sixth year of partnership with CMF. Together, BIC and CMF share a commitment to support the use of Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-used (IML) languages in the creative arts and in broadcasting.

The initiative gave the participants the opportunity to meet with like-minded individuals, celebrate their shared Celtic cultures and languages, and learn from creative industries professionals on how they built their careers in the place they call home whilst using their indigenous language. A video showcasing the participants undertaking the Celtic Code Challenge can be viewed below. 

You can also see what the participants got up to throughout the challenge via the following Instagram account @celticcode2026 and YouTube channel @TheCelticCollective-r7y.

At this year’s CMF in Belfast, participants of the Celtic Exchange Programme put their skills and knowledge to the test by creating multi-lingual creative content by interviewing CMF attendees and award nominees, and by filming and editing their pieces. Finally, a film created by the students showcasing their time participating in the Celtic Code Challenge was shown across multiple screens and platforms throughout the festival.

Today, the British-Irish Council’s Creative Industries Work Sector held a Webinar, attended by over 70 people including industry experts, third sector organisations and policy officials exploring the topic ‘Creatively Bringing Buildings Back to Life’. The Webinar was hosted by Chris Kelleher, Chair of the Creative Industries Work Sector.

The Webinar featured four fascinating presentations exploring how the refurbishing and repurposing of older buildings can breathe new life into places of historical and cultural importance, as well as bringing wider community benefits, including to local economies and to individual’s health and wellbeing.

The first presentation was from Elfed Roberts, Head of Sustainability & Innovation at Pobl, about the renovation of Cambrian Place in Swansea. Elfed talked of the importance of Cambrian Place as a historic Grade 2 listed building in the heart of Swansea’s Maritime Quarter and how the site is being renovated to provide safe, affordable and sustainable housing for local residents.

The next presentation was from Owain Lloyd-James, Head of Local Government and Communities, Policy and Evidence at Historic England. Owain gave an overview of how Historic England were investing in the repairing and repurposing of historic buildings now being used by organisations working in the creative industries. He gave examples of the additional benefits repurposed buildings bring to the communities, such as Tileyard North in Wakefield and Spike Island in Bristol.

Next was a presentation from Helen Bonner-Morgan, Operations Director and Community Lead at Vive La Vallette in Guernsey, the charity responsible for transforming Guernsey’s historic bathing pools into a thriving, year-round destination. Attendees heard about how the pools have been transformed into a welcoming and thriving community hub that is being used for a wide range of initiatives, including supporting vulnerable swimmers, hosting school sessions as well as hosting business conferences.

Concluding the Webinar was a presentation from Natalie O’Rourke, Senior Conservation Architect at the Department of Communities Historic Environment Division in Northern Ireland. She gave a presentation exploring the theme ‘Adaptation – Why Bother?’ Acknowledging several of the obstacles that often have to be navigated, Natalie set out the benefits restoration and regeneration of historic buildings can bring, including improved sustainability from reduced carbon emissions, as well as celebrating and championing local community heritage.

This year’s Celtic Media Festival (CMF) in Newquay, Cornwall, is the British-Irish Council’s (BIC) fifth year of partnership with CMF. Together, BIC and CMF share a commitment to support the use of Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-used (IML) languages in the creative arts and in broadcasting.

Earlier this April, MG Alba hosted a Celtic Exchange programme of young language speakers in the Hebrides, off the western coast of Scotland. Participants involved in the exchange included young creative speakers of Irish, Scots Gaelic, Welsh and Cornish. The initiative gave the participants the opportunity to meet with like-minded individuals, celebrate their shared Celtic cultures and languages, and learn from creative industries professionals working in the Hebrides on how they built their careers in the place they call home.

The exchange was a joint initiative of the BIC, the Welsh Government and MG ALBA, with the support and participation of Cornwall Council and the University of Galway.

A video showcasing the exchange can be viewed here.

At this year’s CMF, the BIC sponsored a panel discussion about the Celtic Exchange programme. The panel was called ‘Celtic Exchange – Supporting the Next Generation in Creative Media’ and was chaired by Siwan Haf, Series Producer at Cwmni Da. Panellists included:

• Liz McBain, Coordinator and Mentor at MG Alba;
• Isibéal Ní Cheallaigh, Celtic Exchange Participant and
• Jowan Nute, Celtic Exchange Participant.

Panellists talked about their experiences in the Hebrides, what they learnt from each other, the content they created and the creative professionals they met along the way. They also discussed how the exchange has helped inspire them in their future careers, as well as the potential for the Celtic Exchange programme to establish a network of young IML language speakers from across these islands.

In April, ahead of the Celtic Exchange programme, Mark Drakeford, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, Welsh Government expressed:

“We’re pleased to give Welsh Government support for this innovative Celtic Exchange programme which will create opportunities for talented young people to work together for the first time. It will give them an insight into other minority languages across these isles, which will no doubt affect how they see the world and how they live and work within the creative industries.

These experiences are invaluable in broadening horizons and building connections. This partnership shows our shared commitment to sustaining our languages, strengthening cultural connections across our nations and helping people to work where they choose to live.”

Catriona Logan, Celtic Media Festival director, also remarked on the Celtic Exchange programme:

“We were delighted to hear that the British-Irish Council made practical strides in supporting young people with Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-Used languages in the media, following on from Celtic Media Festival 2024. The ambition of the Celtic Exchange Programme is incredibly impressive and we look forward to welcoming the British-Irish Council back to this year’s Celtic Media Festival.”

On 20 – 21 March 2025, officials from the BIC’s Creative Industries Work Sector were hosted by the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department of Communities on a visit to Belfast to meet with two organisations: Ulster Orchestra, an professional orchestra at the centre of musical life in Northern Ireland; and Studio Ulster, a state-of-the art facility driving technological innovation and research in the entertainment industry.

The first day of the visit began with a journey to the home of the Ulster Orchestra in the recently renovated Townsend Street Church. The former Presbyterian Church has been redeveloped to include rehearsal and event space, as well as a musical learning and community engagement hub, and a dedicated recording studio. The group heard about the work the Orchestra is doing with the local community to provide musical opportunities, and their ambition to engage with everyone across Northern Ireland at least once in their lifetime.

The group then continued on to Studio Ulster, a cutting-edge virtual film production studio, which was delivered as part of an expansion of Belfast Harbour Studios. The facility, which was developed by Ulster University in partnership with Belfast Harbour and NI Screen, is helping to attract more big budget productions to Northern Ireland, following the successful production of HBO’s Game of Thrones saga in the 2010s. The Studio also features CoSTAR, an integrated research and development lab helping to drive forward its technological innovation efforts.

On day two, following a meeting at NIE offices, the visit concluded with a walking tour of the city, giving officials the opportunity to learn about the history of Belfast, as well as reflect on the work of the British- Irish Council – now entering its 26^th year – in supporting relationships across these islands.

Last week, officials from the British-Irish Council’s Creative Industries and Social Inclusion Work Sectors were hosted by the Government of Jersey on an excellent visit to view a range of local social enterprises and creative art projects. These initiatives are providing employment opportunities and creating genuine social value for local communities and supporting the population’s health and wellbeing.

ArtHouse Jersey was the first stop. This is a charity that serves the community by supporting artists from Jersey and across the world to create ambitious work. The groups had the opportunity to view the exhibition Of All The People In All The World: Jersey, which uses grains of rice to bring abstract statistics to life in a brilliant though-provoking fashion.

Société Jersiaise was up next. Established in 1873, this is a registered charity with a mission is to produce and facilitate research on the island’s history, culture, language and environment; and to share knowledge with the widest possible audience for the benefit of the Island’s community.

At Société Jersiaise, our groups received two fascinating presentations. The first was from Kerouac adventures, a group which aims to tackle loneliness among men by providing opportunities for men to connect, often through practical activities in nature. The second was from Andium Homes, a housing provider in Jersey which is partnering with a range of organisations on the Island such as Nature Base and Skateboard Jersey to provide social opportunities for those living on their estates.

Next, we visited Skate Space at St Ouen’s Methodist Church, disused for 40 years, where a new venture is being established to create an indoor skateboarding space for young people on the island. At the site, groups also heard about the Prison Skate Connection initiative, which is empowering prisoners on the Island to make a difference through building collapsible skateboard ramps for Skateboard Jersey.

Shortly afterwards, we headed across to the Jersey Employment Trust. Formed in 2002, JET is a social enterprise which aims to make employment and vocational training more accessible to people with disabilities. Each year, JET now supports over 550 clients with a wide range of disabilities, mental health conditions and long-term health conditions.

Later on Thursday afternoon, our groups went to St Ouen Parish Hall to witness the work of the Closer to Home partnership. Developed by the Government of Jersey, it is an initiative which brings together voluntary and community organisations to provide activities such as dance and yoga, as well as signposting local services including the Police, Citizen’s Advice and the local library.

Culminating proceedings on Friday, the BIC’s Social Inclusion and Creative Industries attended the launch of the Government of Jersey’s social prescribing framework at the iconic La Hougue Bie heritage site, one of the oldest buildings in the world.

We were delighted to continue our partnership with the Celtic Media Festival (CMF) again this year in Cardiff where people creating media content in indigenous, minority & lesser-used languages come together.

This year, the British-Irish Council sponsored a panel session on 5 June entitled: Livelihoods and Language: Making Your Living, Where You’re Living, focusing on enabling people to use iml languages creatively in their own communities to create dynamic media content.

The session, chaired by Chief Executive of Rondo Media, Gareth Williams, included the following panellists:

• Irial Mac Murchu, CEO and Owner of Nemeton;
• Liz Macbain, Coordinator and Mentor at MG Alba;
• and Mark Trevethan, Pincupal Culture Lead at Cornwall Council.

The Chair and panellists talked about their about their experiences in growing the media industry outside its traditional hubs and supporting young people to succeed at home.