Wales’ Broadcasters, farmers and politicians to switch to .cymru and .wales

S4C, the National Assembly for Wales and the Wales Federation of Young Farmers Club (Wales YFC) are leading a whole host of organisations and bodies that will be the first to switch to .cymru and .wales domain names when they become available later this year.

Announcing their intention to switch at this week’s Royal Welsh Show, leading Welsh organisations will join the Welsh Government and Only Men Aloud as .cymru and .wales Founder partners and will be adopting the new domain names for Wales.

Also announcing that they will be adopting .cymru and .wales domain names are key public bodies Sport Wales, the Welsh Books Council, and the Arts Council for Wales.

Ieuan Evans, Chair of Nominet’s Wales Advisory Group, said, “We are thrilled to announce that these key, Welsh bodies will be switching their domain names to .cymru and .wales as soon as possible. The domain names provide an excellent opportunity for Wales to make its mark on the digital world and it’s excellent that these significant bodies will be joining us on this journey and leading the way for other businesses and organisations across Wales.”

Since its establishment in 1982, a key function of S4C has been around the promotion of Welsh language and culture and as Wales makes strides into the digital world, S4C will be promoting this unique Welsh culture online.

Commenting on S4C’s decision to switch, Huw Marshall, S4C’s Digital Manager, said, “.cymru and .wales will enable Wales to make its mark on the online world and S4C want to not only play a part in that but be a key partner in bringing the Welsh language and our national identity to the digital world.”

The National Assembly for Wales will be joining S4C as one of the .cymru and .wales founder partners and will be making the switch as soon as practically possible. In 2012, Wales’ two new domain names were debated in the National Assembly where the Assembly Commissioner, Peter Black AM stated that they would be seeking to adopt new .cymru and .wales website addresses.

Welcoming the domain names, Presiding Officer, Dame Rosemary Butler AM said, “These new domains will allow institutions, businesses and individuals across Wales to identify themselves on the internet, as having a uniquely Welsh online presence.”

“In the world of marketing and promotion, a ‘brand’ is essential to differentiate organisations and businesses. Having a Welsh brand domain name will be of enormous help to the private and public sectors in Wales.”

“The benefits to the promotion of a truly bilingual society in Wales should also not be overlooked and the creation of the .cymru domain is a clear opportunity to promote the Welsh language and Welsh cultural interests, on the internet.

“I am pleased that the National Assembly for Wales has taken a leading role in this development, by agreeing to be one of the ‘early adopters’ of the new domain names. As soon as technically possible after the official release of the domain names, the Assembly will change its domain name to cynulliad.cymru/assembly.wales.”

Marking the beginning of the Royal Welsh Show, Wales YFC are also announcing that they’ll be adopting the new domain names as .cymru and .wales Founders. Nia Lloyd, Wales YFC Managing Director, explains why Wales’ largest rural youth organisation is making the switch; “We are extremely proud to be with the first to get the new .cymru and .wales domain names. A vital part of our future work will increasingly be the digital world as it continues to grow and we feel that these new domain names for Wales will help us engage with that online community.”