Written - Washington Trade Mission - Wales Presentation at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

I am pleased to report on my recent visit to Washington.  The primary purpose for my visit was to present the Wales Smithsonian Cymru programme at the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.  I also undertook a range of associated engagements and led the largest ever multi-sector trade mission to the US from Wales.  This was organised to take advantage of the profile provided in the States at this time by Wales Smithsonian Cymru.  

We were invited to take part in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival back in 2005.     We took the view that the Festival would provide a once in a generation platform to build a profile for Wales in the States and to present the diversity of Wales’ cultural life, from the strength of deep rooted traditions through to innovative new technologies woven together under an umbrella them of sustainability - connecting past present and future.

The Wales programme was developed through a comprehensive process which involved a Steering Committee that I Chaired which shaped the overall theme of the presentation.  The detailed work in drawing up the programme together was led by Betty Belanus a senior Curator from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival working with the project management team from the Welsh Assembly Government.  They sought advice from a specifically established Curatorial Group in Wales on the areas within the programme that should be presented.  The individual participants in the Wales programme were then selected drawing from a body of commissioned field research and consultation that went across the various sectors to be represented.

There are usually at least 3 programmes that form each year’s annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival which can include themed programmes, State programmes from the USA and international programmes. The Wales programme was the only international programme at this year’s Festival.  It was the biggest programme which involved more that 150 participants living in Wales (as well as 3 Welsh speaking Patagonians).  It took centre stage on the National Mall or “America’s front lawn” as it is commonly known and was flanked by an African/American oratory programme called Giving Voice and a Latin American Music programme called Las Americas.
The Wales programme stood out because of its breadth, its overall theme and design.   The huge banners marking the Wales programme were designed by Mary Lloyd Jones a world class artist whose design was an eye catching image with strong colour elements to reflect the tradition of patch work quilts.  Angharad Pearce Jones a well know visual installation artist worked with the Welsh Assembly Government and the Smithsonian to design the Wales site presentation which sought to capture Wales’ rural and industrial heritage.  The site design also included a central walkway installation running the length of the Wales site to bring some of the more common textures and aesthetics of Wales to Washington including dry stone-walling and a variety of fencing and gates common to Wales.  It also incorporated one of our most potent visual icons, the rugby post.  It was described by many people working for the Smithsonian as well as the visiting public as the best visual and cultural presentation of a nation that they have seen for several years. The programme involved demonstrators from a rich interwoven cultural fabric from contemporary basket making though to alternative forms of energy from Wales.  Musicians and performers demonstrated a mix of traditional folk music and traditional poetry and stories from Wales and how they have been adapted over time and remaining relevant to life in Wales today.  The music programme was enriched by showing the diversity of music from Wales and included some of the more modern adaptations of choral tradition and music culture.

I met the participants in the Wales programme at an evening reception before the start up day where I was able to stress how important the Festival was to raise the profile of Wales and to recognise each individual’s contribution to the overall Wales presentation.  The arts and cultural aspects of Wales can provide a platform for other opportunities to come together - for example the biggest trade mission ever from Wales to the States or indeed any other country in the world would not have happened if it was not for Wales taking part in the Festival.

The Festival formally opened on the following day and the Opening Ceremony, on the Welsh Dragon stage, was an affair of pomp and ceremony at which I spoke along with several other speakers.  The audience were treated to performances from Parti Cut Lloi a group of male singers who perform under the leadership of Welsh folk singer Sian James plus Robin Huw Bowen, world renowned triple harpist which were extremely well received alongside performances from both of the other programmes. Ceri Rhys Mathews then led a procession of pipes and fiddles from the ceremony to the Wales area where Owain Tudur, sports development officer with the Urdd kicked a rugby ball through the posts.  This was followed by the Welsh National Anthem to officially open the Wales programme.  It was a very proud moment for all to hear the Welsh National Anthem being sung on the National Mall in the middle of Washington - not for the last time over the next couple of weeks!

The post-ceremony luncheon involved me presenting to Wayne Clough, Director of the Smithsonian Institution the original artwork of Mary Lloyd Jones which was used on huge boards throughout the Festival to mark the Wales presentation on the Mall.   That will remain with the Smithsonian as a legacy of the Wales programme.

Following the luncheon and at other times during my programme I undertook a number of media interviews and visited participants on the site where public interest in the demonstrations was often so great, attracting large crowds, that I did not get to speak to all the participants.  

On Wednesday morning I had a breakfast meeting with Nigel Sheinwald, Britain’s Ambassador in Washington.  On Thursday morning I opened a 2 day convergence on zero carbon conference organised by the Centre for Alternative Technology at the Smithsonian Museum of natural History.  I undertook some Trade Mission engagements and met with Congresswoman Doris Matsui, Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce with whom I discussed current developments in US Energy measures.  In the evening I co-hosted a reception with Dominic Chilcott, Deputy Head of Mission, which brought US and Welsh media together with people engaged in Wales in Washington activities, a programme of ancillary activity developed to take advantage of the Wales presence at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

My final engagement before leaving to return to Wales on Friday was to take part in a session on the Narrative Stage where I took the opportunity to talk about life in Wales and paint a picture for the audience.

The feedback to date suggests that the Wales programme has been an outstanding success from both an American and Welsh perspective.  More than 1,057,000 visitors attended this year’s Festival which is the highest number since 2003.    

Over the 10 day period the participants in the Wales programme at the Festival worked their magic and managed to create an overwhelming interest in Wales and all things Welsh in Washington.  Comments from visitors to the Festival were very positive with many stating that they would now definitely visit Wales in the future.  Diana Parker, the retiring Director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival commented that Wales had taken their sustainability message to the Festival at just the right time in US history - when the American people were ready to hear it.  The media coverage in Washington was also very positive. For many of the participants there will be a legacy from participating in the Festival for examples future collaborative work with poets and story tellers from the States. For the businesses and some crafts people involved there are promises of future work from the States.  The round house that was built by the Centre of Alternative Technology during the Festival is being rebuilt by a school in the States and the Ty Mawr House will have a permanent home in a museum in the States and other museum to museum links have been enhanced.  In addition to the participants living in Wales, three Patagonians were involved in the programme  cementing the warm relationship that exists between the Welsh speaking community and Patagonia.  

Many of the participants have indicated a wish to collaborate with fellow poets, artists, performers, story tellers businesses etc in Wales in the future all because they met up in the Smithsonian Festival in Washington and realised what they had in common.

On the trade front I was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with members of the largest trade delegation ever to leave Wales.

The mission had been organised by International Business Wales and had aspired during the planning stage to showcase 40 Wales based companies across four key sectors, namely Aerospace/Defence, Lifesciences and Creative Industries focussing on TV, they recruited 80.

IBW were very creative in the way they managed this mission, not only using on-line registration for the first time, but also putting in place the suite of activity that would act as the catalyst to attract interest from Welsh companies. IBW  added to the complexity of the exercise by arranging three ‘Pan-USA’ missions during the mission week, thus allowing them time to deliver quality sector focused support/events for their companies. The final showcase opportunity for all of the companies was to attend a series of events in Washington including’ Selling to the US Government; Entrepreneurship event – Doing Business in a Post Recession World; Meet the Press Session; Marketing your Business Internationally and a Lifescience Day. All the companies came together at the end of the first week of the Smithsonian at a business focussed networking event at the British Embassy, more of that later.

I joined the mission participants on Thursday morning at 11:15 at the Key Bridge Marriott where IBW had arranged a 'meet the press' event that I had the honour to open.

As I arrived at the hotel I was escorted to see two company demonstrations in the hotel car park, the first was with Alan Grainger of CAVE systems, based in Merthyr and Virginia and the second was Robert Lloyd Rees from Cintec of Newport and Washington.

On the top floor of the Marriott 80 Welsh Company representatives were waiting to meet journalists abnd myself. I was introduced to Capt. Trevor Bailey of Seatag Systems and listened to his account of recent product trials in Alaska with the US Coastguard. I was able to spend ten minutes with each table of about ten delegates at a time and get to hear their mission feedback first-hand. I met with one group that had that morning flown into Washington from San Diego where they had been seeking business in the Lifescience sector at the DIA show.

I addressed the assembled companies and opened the 'Meet the press' event. I  highlighted the importance to Wales of companies fighting back against the recession and explained the importance of raising Wales's profile in a market the size of the US, and in so doing I spoke of the Ryder Cup coming to Wales in 2010 and was pleased to introduce to the audience a recorded message from Colin Montgomery, which was very well received.

During my address, I remember looking out from the 14th floor of the Key Bridge Marriott across the cityscape of Washington with clear sight of the Capital Monument. It struck me I was viewing this scene through a ‘sea of red’, as all 80 companies were sporting red mission polo shirts, a memorable scene in itself, but one that reflected the united and positive business ethos of these Welsh companies.

During lunch I was interviewed by press and television before departing for other Smithsonian commitments.

I re-joined the trade mission later that evening when I co-hosted the Trade Mission reception at the British Embassy, with the Head of UKTI, Melinda Goforth.

This was  one of the busiest receptions I had attended for a long time, 80 Welsh companies, their business guests, UKTI and IBW's guests together with a range of US Washington based organisations that had been invited to aid the business networking activity. Guests included representatives from Boeing, NASA, Department of Defence, American Small Business Coalition, Greater Washington Partnership and others. The Welsh Creative Industry’s TV companies reported on their visit to New York where they had met representatives at the highest level in the Discovery Channel, History Channel, PBS, National Geographic and others. The mission enabled them to achieve more together than they could separately. The delegates were already exploring ideas on how they could seek business with a united front, in such a way that would enhance their opportunity to respond to and win international projects.

Earlier in the week 43 Advanced Engineering Companies and Defence/Security companies had met with senior players and Technologists at Boeing, NASA, Dept of Defence and Homeland Security. The companies were so supportive of the preparation/organisation of the mission and understood fully ‘their’ commitment to undertake the essential follow-up work required on their return home. Peter Evans and Jason Thomas from Teddington Engineered Solutions told me that earlier in the week, they had signed a prestigious contract with the US Navy to supply components into a new Submarine 'escape kit' programme, this project alone is worth in excess of half a million pounds.

I then addressed the audience of over 220 guests and once again commended the companies for being pro-active in seeking out new business partners/customers in the Americas at this time of World recession, and I thanked the people that had worked tirelessly both in Wales and at UKTI in Washington to make this event/week such a success.

This event preceded the co-hosting of the Smithsonian reception with the Deputy British Ambassador.

My last engagement with the mission came when I had the pleasure to open the IBW Lifescience day at the Key Bridge Marriott. This session offered a value added opportunity for the Lifescience companies that arrived in Washington from San Diego the previous morning. The aim was for the companies to explore and learn more about how Greater Washington and Virginia were growing their involvement in the Lifescience sector, with Advamed and the DIA show both being hosted in Washington next year this was an excellent opportunity for them to meet some of the key companies and organisations driving that agenda.

The Welsh companies were also afforded the chance to meet and network with US companies, the ILS at Swansea together with Gwyn Tudor of Medi-Wales spearheaded the discussion of what was happening in Wales, the session was very well received and resulted in both Trade and Investment leads being generated.


Taking part in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival was a once in a life time opportunity for Wales and I am delighted that the Welsh Assembly Government embraced the opportunity and made it work for Wales. The Trade Mission and the Convergence on Zero Carbon conference are just two of the examples of how the Festival provided a pivotal platform for other activity.


There are many other examples of follow up activity and legacy that will fall out of the programme but these will be highlighted in an evaluation report that will be available at a later stage.