Locals reveal world heritage with museum treasures

Hidden stores of the nation's museums will be opened up as part of the Olympic cultural legacy in a £6 million scheme announced today.

Stories of the World is the museum fraternity's contribution to the Cultural Olympiad.

It will tell stories of Britain's diverse communities from the viewpoint of local people. Led by the nation's youth, the communities will be invited into museums and galleries to explore and speak about objects likely to have been overlooked by normal exhibitions.

The first volunteers announced their chosen objects at the launch today where supporters such as Billy Bragg also shared their treasures.

Objects include African cloth, Tudor jewellery, Roman artefacts, Booth's Poverty Map — made in 1891 to show wealth levels within London — and stark reminders of Britain's more recent imperial past.

Hedley Swain, from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Association, said: "It's about making the most of our collections, involving young people and communities, and re-interpreting collections and making them relevant. The Olympic Games act like a big adrenaline rush to make it happen."

The association's chairman and poet Andrew Motion added: "This is a real opportunity to do something that's bold and creative on a national scale like never before.

"It's hugely exciting that curators and historians are taking a back seat and we are connecting museum collections with the people and communities they came from."

The four-year project hosted by 59 museums will create 14 connected Stories of the World exhibitions for 2011 and 2012. Themes range from immigration and trade to sex.

The largest project will be in London where 32 institutions are to take part, led by the Museum of London, the London Transport Museum, the Horniman and Geffrye Museums.

The Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch, will focus on how English homes reflect world cultures, looking at identity, home, journeys and place.

The British Library is opening up its 150 million collection of objects, books, manuscripts, photographs, maps and sound recordings for young people to create responses for a project called "In Your Own Words".

Jack Lohman, director of the Museum of London, said: "We can offer new excitement about working in a cultural field at a time when it's difficult to break into culture."