Mapio Cymru: mapping services should be as good in Welsh as they are in English

 
A red map marker on a green rectangle reminscent of the Welsh flag

Mapio Cymru

Cymraeg

Part of the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 initiative

Ariennir yn Rhannol gan Lywodraeth Cymru - Part Funded by Welsh Government
 
 

Project: Mapio Cymru
Work: Mapio Cymru is a project aiming to improve the quality of mapping services in the Welsh language

Welsh-language maps

Welsh is an official language of the United Kingdom and is spoken by around 30% of the population of Wales. It has cultural significance beyond Welsh speakers and beyond Wales.

It should be possible to use maps in Welsh as well as it is possible to use maps in English. But it isn’t.

Our Mapio Cymru project aims to address this by:

  • encouraging people to add Welsh names to the global OpenStreetMap database

  • providing consultancy services to organisations, especially public bodies

  • advocating for better Welsh language mapping services

Mapio Cymru successes

In 2019 Mapio Cymru published openstreetmap.cymru the most comprehensive map of Wales that only uses Welsh-language names for places and features.

We have been maintaining and improving openstreetmap.cymru ever since, since 2021 we have been incorporating Wikidata information to enrich the map.

In early 2022 we worked with Transport for Wales to review the state of Welsh language mapping.

In September 2022 we began providing a Welsh-language only basemap to the Welsh Government for use in their Data Map Wales service.

Mapping services

We offer consultancy services specifically around Welsh-language mapping but also, more generally, on how mapping data can be used to improve services by nonprofits and public bodies.


 
 
 
 
Case studyData OrchardAll work, Mapping, Wales