Taith launches

New Taith programme creates life-changing international opportunities for learners and educators in Wales

Taith – a £65 million international exchange programme, funded by Welsh Government – launches today.

The programme creates opportunities for learners and staff from across Wales to go on exchanges around the world, and will bring learners and staff from around the world to Wales.

Over the course of the next four years, Taith aims to enable 15,000 participants from Wales to go overseas, with 10,000 participants coming to study or work in Wales.

The first call for applications will open in early March, with exchanges commencing from September 2022.

Funding is open to both formal and informal education sectors, including schools, youth organisations, further and vocational education, adult education and higher education.

The programme is designed to ensure that people from all background and areas of Wales can access international learning opportunities, improving access for people with additional learning needs, underrepresented groups and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Susana Galván, Taith’s Executive Director said: “Taith is a wide-reaching, inclusive and reciprocal programme. It will not only allow people to experience new places and cultures, to broaden their horizons and to develop new skills, but will also enable Wales as a nation to reach across the world, to build new partnerships and to place itself at the heart of international collaboration and education innovation and development”.

Mark Drakeford, the First Minister, said:

“Maintaining a global outlook has perhaps never been more important than it is today. The launch of Taith builds on our commitment to strengthen Wales’s international profile as an open and outward-looking nation.

It’s a programme that puts all our Welsh learners and educators at the heart of the project, allowing them to act as our global ambassadors promoting Welsh innovation and culture wherever they go.

Jeremy Miles, Minister for Education and Welsh Language said:

“Taith has been tailor-made in Wales and will offer life-changing opportunities for staff and students alike to learn or study abroad.

“Taith will also enable students and educators from around the world to come to Wales, to enrich our education and youth work with new ideas, bringing even greater diversity and culture to our classrooms and campuses.”