Community

Science and Technology Medal awarded to Welsh language tech pioneer

Published

4 months ago

August 7, 2025

Recognition for Dewi Bryn Jones at Wrexham Eisteddfod

THE SCIENCE and Technology Medal at this year’s National Eisteddfod in Wrexham has been awarded to Dewi Bryn Jones, one of the most influential figures in Welsh language and speech technologies.

Over the past two decades, Dewi has led pioneering work that enables Welsh speakers to use their language across modern digital platforms – from computers and mobile devices to synthetic speech and AI. His work has not only advanced technology in Wales but also provided vital tools for disabled users and individuals with additional communication needs.

Driving digital innovation in Welsh

Dewi leads a team of software developers at the Language Technologies Unit at Canolfan Bedwyr, Bangor University. Under his leadership, the unit has delivered major innovations in Welsh writing technology, speech technology, and machine translation.

Among his achievements is the complete overhaul of Cysill, the Welsh spelling and grammar checker, making it compatible with modern systems. He also led the development of Cysgliad, a software suite combining Cysill and the bilingual dictionary Cysgeir—still in active use since 2004.

He has also developed essential database and computing infrastructure for Welsh dictionaries, including the digital version of Geiriadur yr Academi and Y Porth Termau Cenedlaethol, the national terminology portal.

Career rooted in Welsh tech advancement

Originally from Pwllheli, Dewi graduated in Computer Science from the University of York and worked in Cambridge, Zurich and with Nokia in Finland. It was while based in Helsinki that he began translating Netscape Navigator—an early web browser—into Welsh, years before the dominance of Google or Chrome.

On returning to Wales, he joined Draig Technology Ltd and helped develop To Bach, a popular tool that automatically adds accents to Welsh text, with over 100,000 downloads to date.

Since joining Bangor University in 2002, Dewi has worked at the intersection of language and computing, now exploring the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence for minority languages like Welsh.

Revolutionising Welsh speech technology

Over 20 years ago, Dewi began researching speech synthesis for Welsh and collaborated with teams in Ireland developing similar tools for Irish. His work has since delivered synthetic Welsh voices used in healthcare, education, gaming, and digital media.

In 2017, he developed Lleisiwr, which enables patients to create synthetic Welsh versions of their voices before losing the ability to speak. A bilingual version followed in 2020, and he is now collaborating with NHS Wales and a Scottish company to develop diverse Welsh-accented synthetic voices for children and young people.

These technologies underpin Macsen, the first Welsh-language voice assistant. Controlled entirely through Welsh voice commands, it provides weather, news, music, translation and Wikipedia searches—all in Welsh.

Honoured by peers

Professor Delyth Prys, former head of the Language Technologies Unit, said: “The award is thoroughly deserved by Dewi. I would go so far as to say that without his contribution, we wouldn’t have any Welsh software today.”

Professor Deri Tomos, a previous recipient of the medal, added: “This unit is absolutely vital to the future of the language. Dewi lives and breathes computing—it’s central to his life, and I’m sure he’s delighted to be recognised in this way.”

Championing Welsh in the AI age

Dewi has played a central role in securing Welsh inclusion in Mozilla’s global Common Voice project, allowing volunteers to contribute voice samples to train speech technologies in multiple languages.

He also helped establish the Master’s degree in Language Technologies at Bangor and supervised the first PhD in Speech Technology through the medium of Welsh. He is the principal author of The Language Technologies Handbook—the first Welsh-language publication of its kind.

Reflecting on the award, Dewi said: “It’s a great honour to do this work and to be part of a team just as passionate and talented—more talented than me, in fact. We’re proving that Welsh belongs in the digital world.”

Community

Annual charity carol service raises funds for good causes

Published

9 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Tom Sinclair

MID and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service held its annual Charity Carol Service on Wednesday (Dec 10) at Ebeneser Baptist Chapel in Crymych.

The event brought together members of the local community alongside Fire Service staff for an evening of carols, readings and festive refreshments, marking the Christmas season in a warm and inclusive atmosphere.

This year’s service supported two important charities — the Fire Fighters Charity and Cancer Research Wales — with all proceeds going directly towards their ongoing work.

A total of £597 was raised on the night, which will be shared equally between the two charities.

The Service thanked the congregation at Ebeneser Baptist Chapel for hosting the event, as well as everyone who gave their time, support and generosity to make the evening such a success.

Community

3 Amigos toy bike run under way across Pembrokeshire

Published

9 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Castle Inn fun runners back festive charity event

THE ANNUAL 3 Amigos Christmas toy bike run is under way this afternoon (Saturday), with hundreds of motorcyclists setting off from Pembroke to raise funds for children’s services.

Riders gathered at The Commons car park in Pembroke from around midday before departing shortly after 1:00pm. The festive convoy is travelling along its traditional route, taking in Pembroke Dock and continuing through parts of the county including Neyland, Milford Haven and Haverfordwest.

The event is organised by the 3 Amigos and Dollies Motorcycle Group and has become a much-anticipated Christmas tradition in west Wales, with toys and donations collected for children receiving care within the Hywel Dda University Health Board area.

Also supporting the event are fun runners from the Castle Inn in Pembroke, who have been fundraising in aid of the 3 Amigos. The group are pictured alongside participants from today’s run.

The 3 Amigos have been raising funds for children’s wards and health charities for more than twenty-five years, with their Easter and Christmas events continuing to make a positive difference to young patients and their families.

Organisers have thanked the public for their support and asked road users to be mindful of the large convoy as it passes through towns and villages this afternoon.

Photo caption:
Festive fundraising: Fun runners from the Castle Inn, Pembroke, pictured supporting the 3 Amigos Christmas toy bike run (Pic: Martin Cavaney/Herald)

Community

Special delivery of thanks as MP visits Haverfordwest sorting office

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Christmas cheer for posties working through the festive rush

A CHRISTMAS message of thanks was delivered in person this week as Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell paid a visit to Royal Mail staff at Haverfordwest Sorting Office.

The MP met postal workers during one of the busiest periods of the year, praising staff for their hard work in ensuring cards, parcels and gifts reach homes across Pembrokeshire in the run-up to Christmas.

Mr Tufnell said postal workers were going “above and beyond” throughout the year, but particularly during the festive period when demand is at its highest and delivery rounds are often made in challenging weather conditions.

He described postal staff as “unsung heroes”, highlighting their role in keeping communities connected and helping families stay in touch at a time when it matters most.

Speaking after the visit, Mr Tufnell said: “Our posties play a vital role in our community, and at Christmas that importance is felt more than ever. They work incredibly hard to make sure gifts and cards from loved ones arrive safely and on time.”

Staff at the Haverfordwest site were pictured alongside the MP, with some embracing the festive spirit in Christmas jumpers and seasonal outfits while continuing their daily work.

The MP also extended his thanks to postal workers across the whole of Pembrokeshire, acknowledging the dedication required to keep services running smoothly during the seasonal rush.

Royal Mail experiences its highest parcel volumes in December, with thousands of additional items passing through local sorting offices each day as Christmas approaches.

Delivering Christmas cheer: Henry Tufnell MP with staff at Haverfordwest Sorting Office during a festive visit (Pic: Facebook).