A political refugee who was forced to flee his home country has shared his journey of settling in Wales, learning the Welsh language and becoming an advocate for it. Joseff Gnagbo, 50, had to leave his native Ivory Coast in 2011. Now, over a decade later, Joseff resides in Rumney, Cardiff , serves as the national chair of the language group Cymdeithas yr Iaith and was honoured at this year's National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd by being welcomed into the Gorsedd of the Bard.
He has fully embraced Welsh culture and language and is committed to playing a significant role in reviving the language in Cardiff and beyond. But his love for language started long before his move to Wales. While living in the city of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, Joseff worked at a university where he specialised in linguistics.
Joseff taught Italian, German and English to French speakers and French to English speakers. In addition, he learnt Swahili and had knowledge of Arabic, Russian and Bambara. READ MORE: What is the future of the Welsh language? LATEST: A postcard just arrived at a Welsh address 121 years after it was sent, with a mysterious message Outside of his professional life, Joseff was an activist, passionate about protecting his native country's sovereignty during a time of great social-political changes.
For many years, Cote D'Ivoire or Ivory Coast remained a stable country following its independence from France in 1960. However in 2002, an armed rebellion split the country in two. This led .