The Urdd’s Peace and Goodwill Message
Every year since 1922, a message of peace and goodwill is sent on 18 May on behalf of the young people of Wales to young people around the world, with the aim of encouraging and inspiring humanitarian and international activity.
No other country in the world currently has this tradition, and the message has needed to overcome wars and major changes in methods of communication, from Morse Code to radio and the postal service, to the digital networks of today. Over the years the messages have been about the atomic bomb, refugees, poverty, war, violence and global warming.
In the 1950s, Urdd Gobaith Cymru was given the responsibility of announcing the Message of Peace and Goodwill. The Urdd is a National Voluntary Youth Organisation with over 55,000 members between the ages of 8–25 years old that provides opportunities through the medium of Welsh for children and young people in Wales to enable them to make positive contributions to their communities.