As too many world leaders are turning away from global solidarity, we call on the next Welsh Government to redouble efforts to make Wales a globally responsible nation.

Our solidarity manifests in all our communities across Wales. Through the revolutionary local collectivism of chapels, striking for better conditions and pay in the mines, Hedd Wyn’s seminal pacifist poetry in the face of the horrific violence of World War I, Antifascist Worker Militias in the second Spanish civil war, sheltering World War II evacuees from Britain’s cities and Jewish refugees from the Holocaust, the Wales Window for Alabama, the Wales and Lesotho country-to-country twinning initiative in 1985, and more recently welcoming Syrian and Ukrainian refugees.

The Wales and Africa Programme was established in 2006 in response to the “Make Poverty History” campaign, which saw widespread public action across Wales and the UK, calling for action against global poverty.

In 2008, Wales became the first Fair Trade Nation, and in 2015 the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act was passed to try and ensure a healthy world for our descendants.

In the 2020s, globalisation has brought challenges for us from communicable disease control to alleviating poverty, and securing our security by promoting more stable societies.

The impact of epidemics, natural disasters, such as floods or famine and man-made catastrophes, require rapid and coordinated responses from the wider health community. Wales has and does contribute to the international efforts to aid those countries and the people affected.

Through standing with others, the people of Wales gain through learning, cultural enrichment and human connections. These are our priorities for the next Welsh Government.

10 Recommendations for Wales to build a better future

1. Appoint a minister with responsibility for internationalism and climate change to develop a strategy for global responsibility and seek a new partnership with the UK Government to deliver global solidarity projects
2. Support and expand the Wales and Africa Programme to empower civil society in Wales including community links and health partnerships with a focus on organisations led by members of the African diaspora
3. Establish ethical partnerships between Wales and countries where it is recruiting health workers, recognising the considerable subsidy the NHS derives from international recruitment and the talents that diaspora health workers bring.
4. Implement and develop the Charter for International Health Partnerships in Wales to ensure health workers are supported to work on global health projects
5. Continue to develop Wales as the world’s first Fair Trade Nation by making fair trade and sustainable purchasing the default of all procurement policies in public sector and government-funded bodies 
6. Seek to influence UK trade policy to prioritise fair trade, workers’ rights and environmental protection
7. Aim for Wales to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, embedding equity and justice in all targets
8. Support diaspora-led global solidarity projects including research, story-telling and practical projects to share new narratives and create a People’s Assembly on Global Justice with real policy influence
9. Fund education programmes and develop curriculum content which give young people the opportunity to learn about global issues including climate justice, fair trade, peace building and anti-racism
10. Support international exchange opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to offer life changing experiences, develop cultural understanding, build global solidarity and foster active global citizenship.