Y Ddraig Amryliw: LGBTQ+ and Wales

The Multicoloured Dragon - a conference for all on the fuller history of Welsh life

At the beginning of Pride month (February 2022), a special interdisciplinary conference 'The Multicoloured Dragon' will be held to discuss aspects of the LGBTQ+ community in contemporary Wales and its representation in Welsh culture.

The conference ‘The Multicoloured Dragon: Wales and LGBTQ+' will be held on 3 February 2022. Organised by Bangor University and funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, it will be held online, and is open to the public. It will include contributions from scholars from different fields and demonstrate how widespread the discussion and recognition of LGBTQ+ people has been in Welsh life, not just today, but also in history.

"The idea that the experiences of LGBTQ+ people are hidden in the history of Wales and the Welsh language is commonplace, but The Multicoloured Dragon conference seeks to remedy that. Without diminishing the experience of victimisation that many have suffered, we can acknowledge and even celebrate the wide contribution and diversity of LGBTQ+ people to Welsh life, its literature, its culture, and its history. That is the hope in holding such a conference - remembering the past, recognising the present, and celebrating the colourful future that Wales will be a part of," said Dr Gareth Evans-Jones, a lecturer in Religion and History in Bangor University and the event’s organiser.

The conference is free and will be held online between 9.15am and 2.45pm on Thursday 3 February 2022.

The programme can be viewed here

The event is one of a range of conferences and workshops organised this year and funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol - other events include a Marketing Conference in Welsh to be held on 23 June and a Science Conference in the summer.

Dr Rhian Hodges from the School of History, Law and Social Sciences, Bangor University, will give a talk on 'The LGBTQ+ Community, Sociology and Contemporary Wales', with a view to exploring this particular community’s situation in current day Wales. Several important questions concerning rights and representation will be considered, and insightful comments will be offered on the relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and 2022 Wales.

Dr Siwan M. Rosser, School of Welsh, Cardiff University, will be discussing the 'Multicoloured Lives of our Children's Books'. A distinguished authority in the field, Dr Rosser will offer a careful insight into Welsh literature and consider the LGBTQ + aspects that exist, or indeed are lacking in those books that are a part of the literary fabric of Wales.  Very interesting comments will be offered on the history of children's literature in Wales and the challenges, opportunities and possibly the duties facing contemporary Welsh writers to be more representative.

Publication date: 31 January 2022