Human Libraries: Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover.
“One good conversation can shift the direction of change forever.” It is based on this lasting effect of a deep conversation between two people that the concept of the human library evolved.
Human Libraries are a worldwide movement for social change. They are designed to connect people from different walks of life to break down social barriers and challenge prejudice and stereotypes through conversation.
Serving as outlets to those who’ve been on the receiving end of prejudice, social exclusion or stigma, ‘human libraries’ are places where readers get to ‘borrow’ human ‘books’ and converse with them, thus helping them understand various societal issues better. Being event-based, these libraries do not have a fixed physical location.
Book: A person who’s experienced social stigma and is willing to share.
Borrow: Conversing with human book for a period of 30- 40 minutes.
Page: Every experience of the book is considered a page.
Cover: The appearance of the person can be compared to the cover of a book.
The first human library was founded in the spring of 2000 in Copenhagen, Denmark as a brainchild of the organisation ‘Stop the Violence’, and was open for eight hours a day for four days. It featured over 50 ‘titles’ and witnessed the participation of over a thousand readers. Chapters of the Human Library, established in over 70 countries since then, debuted in India in the city of Indore, eventually spreading to other cities such as Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi, before coming to Trichy for Pragyan 2018.
The Human Library is a place where real people are on loan to readers.
Leaving anyone who read the books at an event with a radical change in their thoughts on prevalent issues in the society, the impact of these libraries is astounding. Proven to be an out-of-the-box solution to various problems of the society, it is no surprise that the human library is a place where challenging questions are ‘expected, appreciated and answered’, as aptly written by Prabalika M. Borah, a newstracker at The Hindu.
A place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered.
With these libraries providing a unique solution to various societal problems by profoundly impacting the reader and giving the reader a different vantage point on the issue, participation in these event-based congregations will go a long way in bettering the society. Besides, India being a country where social standing plays a major role in the way people are perceived, it is highly essential that our mind’s eye is not blocked by misconceptions of any sort.
(Click & watch ) What can a Human Library do to you?
"What did some of readers say about this".
‘This was a fantastic opportunity to promote social cohesion. I really enjoyed being able to hear the personal stories of people whom I would meet in everyday life but be otherwise unaware of their challenges and triumphs.’
‘The honesty and openness of participants, and hearing about how they faced and overcame prejudice and adversity. Even as someone who feels they are open to everyone from any walk of life, there is still a lot to learn from the plight of those who are judged by their background, beliefs or situation.’
“This helped me better understand myself and honestly, I mean “Human Library”, sounded kind of square to me, so I had never expected it to be such a powerful and moving experience.”