CHUBUT: PRELIMINARY MEETING FOR PATAGONIAN BRANCH

The first preliminary meeting has taken place in the Chubut Valley, Argentina to discuss the possibility of establishing a territorial branch of the Celtic League in the region.

Mónica and Gwyn Jones wrote to José Calvete - a long time Celtic League activist - to say that at the first meeting they had discussed where the new branch could be based and believe they had found a suitable location in the Welsh named village of Dolavon in Chubut.

In their mail, written in Spanish, Mr and Mrs Jones said that they looked forward to the prospect of implementing the project and the work that this would involve and thanked Mr Calvete for his encouragement.

Mónica and Gwyn Jones run a travel company in the Welsh settlement town of Trevelin in Chubut, Patagonia, called `Andes Celtig'.

The establishment of a branch of the League in Chubut, will be the first `territorial branch' since the branch in Nova Scotia, Canada dissolved some years ago. A `territorial' branch of the League can be set up in regions outside of the Celtic countries, where a Celtic language has been traditionally spoken within living memory e.g. Nova Scotia and Chubut. Other branches set up outside of the Celtic countries are by definition, `international' branches e.g. England, USA.

The General Secretary (GS) of the League, Rhisiart Tal-e-bot, said:

"It is indeed very encouraging to see that there are people in Chubut who are interested in furthering the work of the League and we are grateful to José Calvete for encouraging this development.

At the 2007 AGM of the League in Cymru, we passed a resolution that aimed to develop the organisations contacts internationally and what better way to do this than establish a new branch in Chubut.

On behalf of the League, I would like to wish Mr and Mrs Jones our support with the setting up of the branch, which we will no doubt discuss at this years' AGM in Kernow and we look forward to hearing more about its development in the near future."

Chubut (Talaith Chubut in Welsh) is a province in the southern part of Argentina. In the 19th century, Welsh people went to Chubut and settled in the Chubut Valley and people still speak the Welsh language there.

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

27/05/09