- Communiqué de presse -
Diwan is facing with a financial crisis
The Extraordinary General Assembly of the Diwan schools took place in Gouarec, in the Côtes d'Armor department. This crisis meeting was organised soon after the association announced a financial deficit by 87.000 €. Almost 150 people came to attend the meeting and decide upon new orientations for the association.
Par Erwan Le Courtois pour BREIZHmag le 20/12/07 11:23

The Extraordinary General Assembly of the Diwan schools took place in Gouarec, in the Côtes d'Armor department. This crisis meeting was organised soon after the association announced a financial deficit by 87.000 €.

Almost 150 people came to attend the meeting and decide upon new orientations for the association. One could feel the anxiety of the schools' representatives, who asked that the financial issue be made top priority on the meeting agenda.

Some representatives suggested the payment of tuition fees by pupils' families as a solution to Diwan's financial crisis.

However, Padrig Hervé, the President, commented that: «the parents who wish to give money rather than putting effort and time into the school have the possibility to transfer money to the school account or to participate financially to the tombola.”

Indeed, the objective of Diwan is to be « a Breton school for everyone. » This means that it aims at offering free education in Breton even to the poorest families.

Diwan's representatives set themselves 5 main targets in order to finance the project;

1) to put the families to work locally and thereby bring some money to Diwan, 2) to negotiate with the local communities and the Regional Council to get some more aids, 3) to relaunch the donation campaign, 4) to organize awareness campaigns, and 5) to get in contact with some firms in order to generate partnership between them and the Diwan schools.

It is therefore important to stress that, even though the future of the Diwan schools remains uncertain - despite having operated for 30 years – more than 2/3 of the students who go to the bilingual baccalauréat exam every year have studied in a Diwan school.