The First Minister of Wales will open a festival in Cardigan.

Other Voices Cardigan presents Clebran - Flowing Tides, a series of discussions and performances at Mwldan from 26 to 28 October.

Clebran’s third edition brings together a variety of compelling voices across different disciplines to consider the flowing tides of past, present and future to ask how our communities can address unprecedented challenges, from the local to the global.

Curated in partnership with the Irish event and podcast Ireland’s Edge, Clebran grows from the friendship between the two small coastal towns of Dingle – the hometown of Other Voices – and Cardigan, places that share a deep appreciation for culture and community, and show how things look different from the edge.

On Thursday, 26 October, special guest Mark Drakeford returns to Cardigan for a second year to open the festival ahead of the first Clebran sessions, followed by a very special performance from ‘master of the Welsh triple harp’ Cerys Hafana.

Writer and broadcaster Jon Gower will begin the programme with words on the relationship between Ireland and Wales, echoing his latest book, The Turning Tide, which offered a ‘biography of the Irish Sea’.

Acclaimed triple harpist Cerys, language historian Dr John Gallagher and former Welsh teacher Wayne Howard, who recently featured in the S4C docu-series Teulu, Dad a Fi (Family, Dad and Me), will then join Jon to discuss their ‘Language Journeys’, sharing stories of learning and speaking Irish and Welsh, and how these languages have enriched their lives.

Mr Drakeford and Deirdre de Bhailís, an expert in sustainable rural development and general manager of the Dingle Hub in West Kerry, Ireland will join Christopher Kissane for ‘Small Places, Big Ideas’, exploring how seemingly remote places can become powerful examples of progressive change.

On Friday, 27 October, journalist and broadcaster Damian Kerlin hosts ‘Creating Space: Queer Voices in the Creative Sector’, speaking with writer-director Tracy Spottiswoode and award-winning playwright and screenwriter Daf James, whose drama Lost Boys and Fairies is coming soon to BBC1, about telling compelling queer stories, the far ranging impact and influence of the LGBTQIA+ community on the creative industries, and the increasing importance of the arts to society.

On Saturday, 28 October ‘Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)’ will explore the perils of short-term thinking, and ask what can be done to protect the interests of future generations.

Christopher will be joined by BBC Future’s Richard Fisher, author of The Long View: Why We Need to Transform How the World Sees Times, and psychologist Dr Sharon Lambert from University College Cork, a participant in Ireland’s ‘Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use’.

This year’s Clebran draws to a close on Saturday afternoon with ‘The Stories We Tell’, a panel of acclaimed writers from Wales and Ireland who will discuss our storytelling traditions and the stories we choose to tell.

Booker-nominated Sophie Mackintosh, author of The Water Cure and Cursed Bread, is joined by playwright CN Smith and National Poet of Wales Hanan Issa in a discussion hosted by Christopher Kissane.

Mr Drakeford said: “We’re delighted to be hosting the Other Voices festival again in west Wales this year. It’s a celebration of age-old connections and deep cultural understandings between Wales and Ireland, as we seek to further strengthen our relationship through the Wales-Ireland Shared Statement.

“Our two countries have produced some of the world’s most talented performers and if last year’s line-up was anything to go by, then we’re in for a spine-tingling, awe inspiring treat once again this year.”

The full Clebran schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.