The Human Library is an international organization and movement that first started in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, in 2000. It aims to address people's

prejudices Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's perc ...

by helping them to talk to those they would not normally meet. The organisation uses a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

analogy of lending people rather than books. These people have "experienced prejudice,

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

or stigma," and participants can ask them questions so as to "learn about the other person and also challenge their own prejudices." The Human Library Organization is active in over 80 countries, in which there are a few permanent Human Libraries but most happen as events.

History

The organization began in Copenhagen in 2000 when the first Human Library event was held at

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

. The event was run by Ronni and Dany Abergel, Asma Mouna, and Christoffer Erichsen, then working at the Danish Youth

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

Stop Volden (which translates to Stop the Violence), inspired by the American

Stop the Violence Movement Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

. The first event ran four days with eight hours of conversations each day and more than 1000 people took part. The next Human Library was hosted in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

, by Ronni Abergel for the Nordic Minister Councils youth assembly "Unge I Norden". The event was prepared in partnership with Terese Mungai-Foyn and went on to inspire the establishment of the Norwegian Human Library program in 2003. The first permanent Human Library was established in Lismore, Australia, in 2006. As of 2019, the project has grown to have partners in more than 70 countries across the world.

Awards

*Labour Union Worker Culture Award 2017 *Danish Dialogue Award 2017 *Danish UNITY Award 2017 (Fællesskabsprisen) *Danish National Library Associations Honorary award 2010 (Doessing Prisen)

References

External links

* Social philosophy International organizations based in Denmark Organizations established in 2000 International nongovernmental organizations International human rights organizations Non-profit organizations based in Copenhagen Prejudices {{int-org-stub