Museums, libraries and archives will enable people to have their say on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of The People’s Record programme. Nineteen projects, supported by the MLA, will record the impact of the Games on communities across England and help sustain a legacy for people in all regions.
Museums, library and archive services will work with local partners to collect first-hand experiences from local people and ensure they are recorded for posterity. This phase of projects runs to March 2011 and the results will be captured online as part of a unique long-lasting record.
The People’s Record is a network of museums, libraries and archives led schemes which support local communities to play a part in a national debate of international relevance. Celebrations, controversies and debates will be uncovered and recorded to show what it means to all kinds of people, when the nation hosts an Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Essex Record Office and Hadleigh Community Archive are training young people to interview local residents about the Olympic Mountain-bike event to be held in Hadleigh and the associated effects on the town.
Vestry House Museum, Walthamstow and Leytonstone Historical Society are recording the Leyton High Road area before its make-over as an access road into the Olympic site.
Loughborough University Library and the County Sports Partnership will be creating videos with local sports groups about the influence and profile of Paralympic athletes.
Roy Clare, MLA Chief Executive, says, "Whatever your location, ability or point of view, you can get involved and share with the world what the London 2012 games means to you. Thanks to our sector’s unique relationships and expertise, local people across the country can contribute their opinion about this once in a lifetime event. The People’s Record will be the first co-ordinated record by a host nation of the public’s reaction to the Games and illustrates how we can all play a key role in the Cultural Olympiad and transform the way people experience museums, libraries and archives.
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• The People’s Record - Since 2008 MLA has enabled a network of museum, library and archive led projects supporting communities to tell their stories about the impact of 2012. http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/programmes/setting_pace/peoples%20record The People’s Record has been granted the London2012 Inspire mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games.