Today’s beautiful thing is truly sweet and I just love the idea! In Denmark, you can go to The Human Library (Menneskebiblioteket in Danish) and borrow a person rather than a book. The person then tells you their stories for half an hour. Every human “book” is given a title like “Muslim” or “transgender” or “bipolar,” but they show themselves to be so much more than their labels. It’s meant to humanize people whose experience is different from us. What a wonderful way to encourage empathy and understanding!

“The Human Library… was created in Copenhagen in the spring of 2000 by Ronni Abergel and his brother Dany and colleagues Asma Mouna and Christoffer Erichsen. The original event was open eight hours a day for four days straight and featured over fifty different titles. The broad selection of books provided readers with ample choice to challenge their stereotypes and so more than a thousand readers took advantage leaving books, librarians, organizers and readers stunned at the reception and impact of the Human Library.”

The idea is so brilliant, it’s now being practiced in more than 85 countries across 6 continents. The Human Library also offers DEI training for companies that want to deepen their employees’ understanding of human nature and communication. I’ll bet they’re great at that.

You can learn more about The Human Library Project on their website and on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.