Business in Henley - Punjabi Families to experience Wind in the Willows

The River & Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames, will be adding an international element to its Wind in the Willows exhibition when it launches Punjabi versions of the audio guides on Wednesday 26 July at 2.15pm.

Punjabi speaking children and their families from High Wycombe and Slough will be attending the launch at the Museum to try out the new audio guides to hear for themselves what adventures Mr Toad and his
friends get up to in the tale of Wind in the Willows.

The guide, which was created with the help of young Asian film maker Asham Kamboj from Paperknife Productions in Slough, who assisted in
sourcing local language specialists for the translation, has provided the Museum with the opportunity to reach out to a range of different
communities throughout the Thames Valley region.

The Museum has made links with Asian youth & community centres, pre-school playgroups and adult literacy groups in order to encourage all family members to experience this classic work of children's literature together. One of the best-loved books of childhood, appealing
to visitors both young and old The Wind in the Willows has delighted generations of readers for over a century with its endearing characters
and comic escapades and the Museum was keen to explore how the story could be shared with other communities.

The Chair of Culture South East, Kalwant Ajimal, who will be attending the launch says: "'Culture South East sees investment in diversity as one of the priorities for all cultural organisations in our region. I am very impressed with this initiative taken by the River and Rowing Museum to access wider audiences and to engage new participants by using this creative and innovative project. It is a landmark for us all and I commend the Museum for its enthusiastic and practical approach."

Valerie Wardlaw, Head of Education at the River & Rowing Museum, comments: "The tale of Wind in the Willows is a story that has such wide appeal we were keen to ensure that as many people as possible could
enjoy the exhibition."