First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford, will be returning to Cardigan next month when he opens the ‘Other Voices’ festival.

Joining him on October 26 will be Deirdre de Bhailís who is an expert in sustainable rural development and the general manager of the Dingle Hub in West Kerry, Ireland together with Christopher Kissane for ‘Small Places, Big Ideas’. 

The trio will explore how seemingly remote places can become powerful examples of progressive change.

“We’re delighted to be hosting the Other Voices festival again in West Wales this year as it’s a celebration of age-old connections and deep cultural understandings between Wales and Ireland, as we seek to further strengthen our relationship through the Wales-Ireland Shared Statement,” commented the First Minister.

“Our two countries have produced some of the world’s most talented performers and if last year’s line-up was anything to go by, then we’re in for a spine-tingling, awe inspiring treat once again this year.”

The festival features a compelling line-up of artists, policy makers, writers and educators from a cross-section of disciplines who will be considering what festival directors have described as ‘the flowing tides of past, present, and future’ to ask how communities can address unprecedented challenges from the local to the global.

It has been curated in partnership with the Irish event and podcast Ireland’s Edge, Clebran grows from the friendship between the two small coastal towns of Dingle - the hometown of Other Voices - and Cardigan, places that share a deep appreciation for culture and community, and show how things look different from the edge.

It will include performances by writer and broadcaster Jon Gower who will consider the relationship between Ireland and Wales, the acclaimed triple harpist Cerys Hafana, language historian Dr John Gallagher, and former Welsh teacher Wayne Howard, who recently featured in the S4C docu-series, Teulu, Dad a Fi (Family, Dad and Me) and journalist and broadcaster Damian Kerlin.

The festival runs from October 26 to 28.

The full Clebran schedule will be announced by Mwldan in the coming weeks.