We were delighted to be hosted by Her Majesty the Queen at Clarence House in November 2025 to celebrate the first anniversary of the World Story Bank, our initiative to preserve and rewild traditional stories and folktales around the Globe. Our enormous thanks to Her Majesty, our guests, and everyone who helped make it such a special occasion.
From the Athenaeum Club, London
For much of human history, wisdom, knowledge and experience were passed down from one generation to the next in a chain of transmission formed from folklore and traditional stories.
Yet with today’s challenges, this ancient and central resource – our 'mythodiversity' – is being threatened like never before.
We believe that folktales – humanity’s supremely precious asset – must be protected – by being gathered and rewilded back into society.
The World Story Bank initiative is designed to collect folklore and traditional stories from all points of the compass to weave this fragile and ancient wisdom system back into global culture.
A treasury of traditional story collections from around the Globe, collected and edited by Tahir Shah
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