Foreword by Glenys Kinnock

An inspirational story about how women in a Welsh community created training opportunities to change their lives

An essential part of Welsh Labour history in the late 20th Century

The DOVE Workshop was set up by a group of women from the local Miners’ Support Group and other women from the valley with a common purpose that strove to save their communities. They were young and older women who as teachers, factory workers, miners’ wives, mothers and homemakers worked collectively to ‘break the mould’ and establish a centre that would benefit all in the community.

They could only achieve this by working in partnership with other education and training providers from the local universities, colleges, the voluntary sector and the local councils. This model of partnership was disseminated throughout south Wales, the United Kingdom and Europe and thus DOVE was recognised as an example of best practice.

Mair Francis was born in Barry in 1948 and is currently the Senior Parliamentary Assistant for Dr Hywel Francis MP since his election to the constituency of Aberavon in 2001. They have been married since 1968. Mair is a qualified graduate teacher since 1970 when she studied at Cardiff College of Art and Cardiff University where she qualified as a Ceramics teacher. She taught in primary, secondary and special schools and in evening classes in London and south Wales between 1970 and 1985.
In 1985 she led the successful campaign to establish the DOVE Workshop, a women’s training centre in the Dulais valley