agora wales

The Agora (Greek: Ἀγορά, Agorá) was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states, From the twin function of the Agora as a political and commercial space came the two Greek verbs αγοράζω, agorázō, "I shop", and αγορεύω, agoreúō, "I speak in public"

Meanwhile in Wales the gorsedd plural gorseddau, was a community or coming together of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne".

This “place” has been created by people who love Wales to spin you off into a plethora of other “places” where you can debate, discuss, argue or create (because culture has equality with politis) in the agora. We have deliberately reduced the market-place to having a role in the exchange of ideas, but expect that debates about the market, or use of scarce resources i.e. the ecology /economy will figure prominently in these discussions.

That is one of our “raison d’être”. We are seeking truth through discussion and exchange.

Whoever says culture and exchange, says also Language. Language is nothing less than the manifestation of culture used to communicate. Naturally that implies choice of language or languages. Welsh and English will predominate here, but we also welcome contributions in forms of “Wenglish”, a dialect often spoken in South Wales by non mother tongue Welsh people, but also in “Engraeg”, a rapidly growing dialect spoken by non Welsh English mother tongue speakers who have settled in Wales. This openness to modernity reflects our view that language is a continuum, constantly evolving, and finds echo in our view of the future for our country.

The Agora project was originally inspired by a quotation from the academic Daniel Williams and the arts critic Sioned Williams in support of Leanne Wood’s candidature to become leader of Plaid Cymru.

“Putting the emphasis on the placation of argument and the avoidance of genuine debate is a prescription for social and political stagnation. True, every time you push an argument for economic justice, for jobs, for linguistic equality, antiracism, or push for a green, women or gay rights agenda, you are likely to harden the opposition. …Historically, social progress has taken place through robust argument, through standing on principle. That is the business of Plaid Cymru. I believe that under Leanne’s leadership our party