Barnstaple Celebrates Diversity at ‘Human Library: Prologue’ Event
On Thursday 23rd April, Barnstaple Library in collaboration with the Devon Mental Health Alliance (DMHA) and Rose Young French held the ‘Human Library: Prologue’ public event.
The first Human Library was held in 2000 in Copenhagen, and has become a standout way to hear first hand stories from minority groups. 'Books' with titles such as 'Black', 'Muslim', or 'Refugee' can be read by members of the public, inspiring honest dialogue and fascinating insight shared between people who may otherwise never meet.
The Prologue was hosted as a learning event, ahead of the official ‘Human Library Day’ currently being organised for later in the year; the first of it's kind in North Devon.
DMHA’s Community Mental Health Development Lead, Phil Harris described the event’s meaning:
“A book with us is a person that volunteered to represent a stigmatized group in the community and, based on their personal experiences, can answer questions from readers to help challenge what is being said/told/understood about a given topic. To help shed light on the facts as you know them. Books are not political or on a mission when with us, but rather able to surrender to the agenda of the reader and allow them control of the conversation.”
“Books are not political or on a mission when with us, but rather able to surrender to the agenda of the reader and allow them control of the conversation.”
Resonating with the DMHA’s core values, the Human Library is a brilliant example of empowering community voices, and highlights a desire to hear the experiences from diverse backgrounds, building community empathy and understanding. The DMHA are proud to support the Human Library in celebrating the diversity within our communities, listening to human experience and learning from local people.
Reflecting on the event’s success, Phil Harris said:
“Our prologue event had great uptake, with our Books kindly offering to stay longer than planned as demand to read them was so high. We are planning another Human Library event in Barnstaple, with triple the number of books available”.
The Prologue event featured 5 'Books', live music, refreshments, local community stalls, and 4 hours of shared conversation.
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