The Bureau of the EFAy has written to the South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) in England to comment on a draft strategy document that has been produced by its regional cultural consortium.

The document ‘A better Place to Be’ aims to provide a background to a new cultural infastucture strategy for the South West of England and is the latest publication in a series of documents that have focused on culture. ‘A Better Place to Be’seeks to make decisions about the culture of Cornwall by placing the country firmly within the artifical cultural confines of the South West of England, which was created by the Westminster Government in 1999. Culture South West (CSW) is the name given to the SWRA’s cultural consortium that plans to take the project forward.

The issue of the draft strategy was raised and discussed at the EFAy’s Bureau Meeting on 10th April 2008 in Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca, where Bureau members were informed about the proposed document by EFAy President Rhisiart Tal−e−bot. The full text of the EFAy letter sent to CSW can be found below:

30/04/08

Dear Culture South West

Consultation of regional cultural strategy: A Better Place to Be

At the last Bureau meeting of the European Free Alliance Youth (EFAy) in Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca on April 9th 2008, members discussed the draft Culture South West document ‘A Better Place to Be’.

The document was brought to the attention of the EFAy by Kernow X, one of our members in Cornwall. The EFAy is a European political youth organisation and campaigns on a broad range of issues, with particular attention to language, culture, identity, social justice and the environment.

After considerable debate, the EFAy Bureau concluded that ‘A Better Place to Be’ did not adequately respect the territorial integrity of Cornwall or its culture and language. The following points were raised by members in relation to the document:

1. That the draft should be thoroughly revised to include a section given over entirely to Cornwall − if Cornwall should be included in this document at all.
2. The EFAy would prefer to see a separate culture document for Cornwall.
3. The Cornish language is not given the promoinence in the document that it deserves. Cornish is after all the only national minority language within the boundaries of your south west region and as you will be aware should be protected and promoted under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
4. The EFAy is concerned that the information included in the document relating to Cornwall was compiled in an amateur way, by persons will little knowledge or understanding of Cornish culture and/or identity. We would therefore recommend that Culture South West contact the Institute of Cornish Studies.
5. The special constitutional position of Cornwall as a Duchy is not referenced at all in the document and neither is Cornwall’s particular legal and cultural rights in relation to this status.
6. Cornish youth culture needs to be given prominence in the final document.

We hope that our suggestions are useful in producing a more reliable document that takes into consideration the unique culture of Cornwall. The EFAy believe that it is important for matters relating to Cornish culture should be discussed and decided upon at a Cornish regional level and not taken out of context and amalgamated into other significantly more prominent cultures such England.

Yours sincerely

EFAy Bureau
European Free Alliance Youth (EFAy)