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22 February 2011: Today, the Florence Nightingale Museum at St Thomas’ Hospital in Waterloo will unveil its latest audio guides.  Researched and written by 18 young people involved in the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme Stories of the World: London, the guides will add a new perspective to the museum’s collection. 

 The existing guides for adults and 7-11 year olds share Florence’s story in her own words, drawn from her writings.  These new one to two minute guides add a new perspective to her story and look at key periods of Florence’s life including her childhood with sister Parthenope, the marriage proposals she received and her return to the village of Lea Hurst following the Crimean war.

 Following the £1.4 million re-opening of the museum in May 2010, on the site where the visionary Victorian nurse established her first training school, these new guides will be free to all visitors and heard through a set of stethoscopes. The audio guides were developed by young people from Lambeth Connexions, SE1 United and St Matthews Academy in Lewisham, who also produced three films which are shown in the ‘legacy wall’ of the museum. Clips can be seen on the museum’s website.

 The guides will be launched tonight at an event at the Museum with the young people as special guests.

 Michael Cameron, 16, an aspiring hip-hop artist, said “I got involved in the project mainly because of my interest in performance and was keen to get more recording experience. However, I was struck by Florence’s life and the prejudices she had to overcome to achieve what she felt she had to do. I think we all left pretty inspired.”

 Abimbola Adebayo, 15 an army cadet, added: “Florence Nightingale always intrigued me at school and it’s been brilliant to look deeper into her life and times. Creating this audio guide we all discovered a lot more about her life, while also learning a lot about audio production – from researching and drafting the scripts, to performing alongside a professional actor - the experience is definitely one I’m recommending to friends.” 

 Caroline Worthington, Director, Florence Nightingale Museum, added: “These new guides by young people provide a fascinating 21^st century take on her story. We are delighted with the result and expect a great response from all our visitors, old and new. In fact we’re so pleased with the guides we are now fundraising to have them translated into French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.

 “Since the project closed the youth panel has continued to meet and their involvement in museum events and planning will provide another long-term legacy for the museum.  For instance through a series of young people-focused events they are planning, including open mike nights, we’re delighted to welcome a new audience of young people and their families into the museum.”

 Part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Stories of the World: London is involving more than 1,000 young people aged 14-24, across 23 London museums in 17 boroughs.  Led by the London Museums Hub, young people are getting involved in activities from staging a ‘Roman’ fashion show in Greenwich to taking part in poetry slams at Keats House and producing films inspired by the Geffrye Museum’s domestic interiors collection.  Latest activities and events can be found on the facebook page: www.facebook.com/storiesoftheworldlondon

  Public events and activities will be seen by more than one million people from 2009 to 2012, including the four major 2012 finale exhibitions to be created by the young people at the Museum of London, Geffrye Museum, Horniman Museum and London Transport Museum.

 ENDS

 To speak with Michael Cameron, Abimbola Adebayo and Caroline Worthington please contact Emily Hewitt This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 0870 626 9914 

Michael Cameron took part in the museums Stories of the World project in July 2010. Michael now takes part in the museums youth panel which meets regularly at the museum. Michael is an aspiring music artist. 

Abimbola Adebayo took part in the museums Stories of the World project in July 2010. Abimbola now takes part in the museums youth panel which meets regularly at the museum. Abimbola loves maths and is an army cadet.

Caroline Worthington has been Director of the Florence Nightingale Museum since early 2008. The museum re-opened in May 2010 year following a £1.4million refurbishment in time to celebrate the centenary of Nightingale’s death. Caroline was formerly curator of art at York Museums Trust and has worked at museums and galleries in Exeter and Newcastle. Her exhibition, Making Faces, was shown at the National Gallery in 2004.

Notes to editors

Funded by the MLA, the London Museums Hub, a partnership of some of the region’s flagship museums, invests in and transforms the 250 or so non-national museums in the London region.  The Hub’s key role is to promote London’s non-national museums and seeks to work with and support these museums to maximise access for London’s diverse communities and to prepare them for involvement with the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. 

 The London Museums Hub is enabling better public access to London’s heritage and is developing innovative ways of unlocking the potential of collections as resources for learning and creativity.  Our programmes have a particular focus on cultural diversity, community cohesion, education, family learning, the environment, young people and preparing for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. 

 The 23 London Museums Hub members involved in Stories of the World: London are:

3. Renaissance

Renaissance is the Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) Council’s £150million programme to transform England's regional museums. For the first time ever, investment from central government is helping regional museums across the country to raise their standards and deliver real results in support of education, learning, community development and economic regeneration. A network of 'Hubs' has been set up in each English region to act as flagship museums and help promote good practice. Alongside the Hubs, MLA Regional Agencies and Museum Development Officers are providing advice and support, Subject Specialist Networks have been set up, and national museums are sharing their skills

4.     About MLA

Leading strategically, the MLA promotes best practice in museums, libraries and archives to inspire innovative, integrated and sustainable services for all. Visit www.mla.gov.uk

5.     About The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad  

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements.  Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people. Millions of people around the UK are already part of the Cultural Olympiad, through the Inspire programme and Open Weekend.  

 The finale of the Cultural Olympiad will be in a twelve week UK-wide Festival in the summer of 2012, bringing together leading artists from all over the world.

 The Cultural Olympiad has benefited from a National Lottery grant of £16.6 million from the Olympic Lottery Distributor. Other funders include The Legacy Trust and Arts Council England. British Council will commit £3million to the international development of London 2012 Cultural Olympiad projects. BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad. Panasonic are the presenting partner of Film Nation: Shorts. For more details visit www.london2012.com/culture    

FNM filming contract.doc

FNM filming outside the museum contract.doc