Black History Month 2009 was another huge success; Niki and myself were extremely busy touring London schools with our thrilling (and sometimes gory!) re-telling of Yoruba Myths. Each year, during October we have this wonderful opportunity to share tales from Africa and the Caribbean with school children. But why restrict celebrating our cultural diversity to just one month of the year?

Many schools also celebrate diversity with an International Evening, and we are performing increasingly at these events, allowing us to share with parents as well as pupils. But one night of the year is also very limiting. Schools often have ‘language of the week’, learning greetings in other languages. How about adding a traditional tale to this? Children really enjoy exploring the global community through its stories.

Sharing and celebrating different cultural perspectives through stories allows for respect, understanding and discussion,  and ultimately increases emotional literacy. I love to tell stories from Africa, India, Japan, Ireland, Russia- anywhere and everywhere! Storytelling gives history and culture a voice, and sharing these diverse voices with children increases knowledge and understanding. I feel very honoured to be able to learn and share tales of wisdom and wonder from across the globe, but would love to be given more than one month of the year to do so!