Literature Wales launches new Roald Dahl Funding Scheme, Invent your Event
Roald Dahl is loved by millions of people, young and old, around the world. However not many people know that the world’s number one storyteller was actually Welsh. Literature Wales, the national company for the development of literature, is on a mission to change that, and to bring Roald Dahl firmly back to Wales.
2016 marks 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl and to celebrate this important centenary, Literature Wales has launched Invent your Event, a new outreach and funding scheme that will engage the whole of Wales in literature, creative writing and reading. Invent your Event is funded by the Welsh Government and is supported by the Roald Dahl Literary Estate.
The Roald Dahl 100 Wales celebrations will form part of Welsh Government’s Year of Adventure, a tourism boosting initiative, which will see Wales building on a wave of exciting new openings and developments, and over 10 years of ongoing investment to make Wales one of the UK’s leading adventure destinations.
The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates, said: “The Year of Adventure theme was deliberately selected to complement and feature the Roald Dahl Centenary. The Roald Dahl 100 Wales programme will greatly enhance the Year of Adventure next year as Dahl himself was a great ambassador of adventure and believed firmly in the power of adventure to expand horizons and change lives, that is our ambition too. Every time you pick up a book to read or a pen to write, you embark on a new adventure. The Invent your Event scheme will allow people across Wales to have a literary adventure next year.”
Literature Wales will use the magic of Roald Dahl’s words, stories and characters to inspire creativity and to take literature to new and unexpected places. Financial support for events organised to celebrate Roald Dahl 100 in Wales will be offered through Invent your Event. This unique funding scheme will run parallel to Literature Wales’ successful Writers on Tour scheme.
A complementary outreach programme delivered by Literature Wales and partners will focus on the social justice agenda to ensure that people of all ages and backgrounds have the opportunity to take part in the Roald Dahl 100 Wales celebrations. Target groups include Pioneer Areas; Communities First; Asylum Seekers and Refugees; NEETS individuals; PRU units; Mental Health Service users; Prisons; and any other groups at risk of exclusion or marginalisation.
There will be opportunities for Welsh writers, artists and literary practitioners to develop and deliver Roald Dahl-inspired events, talks and workshops as part of the Invent your Event outreach and funding scheme. Further details are available from: literaturewales.org
Literature Wales Chief Executive, Lleucu Siencyn, said: “In 2016 we plan to bring Roald Dahl back to Wales. Thanks to support from the Welsh Government’s Major Events Unit and the Roald Dahl Literary Estate we can do just that. Literature Wales will work with communities, youth groups, festivals, arts organisations and businesses across the country to ensure that the centenary is celebrated everywhere and can be enjoyed by everybody.”
Roald Dahl 100 celebrations will be taking place across the world in 2016. John Collins from the Roald Dahl Literary Estate said: “We are delighted to be working with Literature Wales and confident that, in doing so, the Roald Dahl 100 Wales celebrations will engage children, parents and grandparents from every background, wherever they are in Wales. No-one should miss out on this unique opportunity for invention, mischief and fun!”
To find out more about Invent your Event, contact Literature Wales on 029 2047 2266 / roalddahl100wales@literaturewales.org or visit: literaturewales.org
Follow @LitWales and #RoaldDahl100Wales on Twitter for further details and announcements.
