For many people, the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will be their first chance to see ‘global history in the making’. At MLA, we want to ensure they are participants rather than simply viewers.

How can the MLA Partnership make it happen?

The MLA Partnership will help to deliver the best ever Games for people across the country by ensuring inclusive and inspirational cultural events with a sustainable legacy. The wider festival for the Cultural Olympiad launches in August 2008 and will include projects and events across the nation, as part of the London 2012 Culture, Ceremonies and Education Programme.

With the collections held by museums, libraries and archives we will celebrate world cultures and diversity in the nation – we will bring the nation to the world and the world to the nation.
Our work will focus on opening up opportunities to ensure the 2012 Games will be a world-class attraction for visitors from around the world and the UK.

The outcomes will be:

• Reduce barriers for people with disabilities
• Local community creativity and the participation of young people
• Greater understanding among communities
• A coordinated cultural sector, delivering value and access for all.

What has MLA West Midlands done already?

In 2006, as part of the MLA Partnership, we published Setting the Pace. This was a call for contributions from museums, libraries and archives to work together as part of the Cultural Olympiad between 2008 and 2012. There was an excellent response from the West Midlands. A prospectus containing the five key activities where museums, libraries and archives can help deliver our vision for 2012 was produced in 2007.

The key activities are:

Stories of the World
Telling the ‘Story of the World’ through the re-interpretation of UK collections involving communities and international curators.

The People’s Record
Capturing people’s life stories throughout the UK and their engagement with the Cultural Olympiad and the 2012 Games

The Record
Developing a comprehensive Games archive and enabling the rich legacy to be used to inform and inspire.

Literature and Storytelling
Inspiring young people by celebrating ‘London and the UK welcoming the world’ with the written and spoken word.

Information Hub
Showcasing the cultural wealth of London and the regions to an international audience.

Our ambition is that the engagement of museums, libraries and archives in the West Midlands with the Cultural Olympiad will lead to a transformation in the way people experience the inspiration, learning and creativity that the sector’s collections generate.
Increasing participation by non-traditional audiences - particularly young people, black and minority ethnic communities and people with disabilities – is a core target for this programme.

The role of MLA West Midlands
Our role will be to lead the regional response from our sector over the next 4 years. We will add further value by securing additional funding through direct gifts, grants or sponsorship from funding bodies and business. We will support the sector in marketing and promoting their projects and stories within the region and the UK. We will seek to establish new partnerships across the cultural sector and with key tourism, skills and business partners.