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In the Nørrebro neighborhood of Copenhagen, there's a small building with a garden and wooden seats. At first glance, it looks like some sort of neighborhood cafe, but it's actually the Menneskebiblioteket or Human Library, where the "readers" and "books" are people having deeply personal and intimate conversations about topics that might normally be considered off-limits or taboo in polite society. The library is staffed by volunteers whose life stories and experiences mean they face some sort of stigma, whether it be due to their ethnicity, religion, orientation, occupation, disability, or social status.
“I always had this idea about creating a space where we could ask the questions that often were potentially frowned upon,” said Ronni Abergel, who came up with the concept of the library about 25 years ago.
“Sometimes we meet people and there's just the elephant in the room. There's something about them that we really want to address, but it's too personal.”
His goal with the Human Library — he told me — was to create a safe space where people of disparate backgrounds could connect and build acceptance through understanding, even if they don’t necessarily agree on everything.
“We're here to promote those difficult conversations, to make them less difficult and less dangerous,” he said.
On the latest episode of Far From Home, I speak with Ronni and I pay a visit to Copenhagen’s Human Library where I chat with a librarian and several "books."
Since its humble beginning in Denmark, the Human Library concept has now spread to more than 80 countries on 6 continents! You can visit the library's Facebook page to find out about upcoming library events near you.
(This episode includes the following music: Shapeshifters, Go to Sleep, Moodswing, Mont Blanc, Ice Pack, The Gall, Scaffoldings, Downtown, and Well and Good by Podington Bear from the Free Music Archives - CC by N.C. 3.0 and 1960s 2 House from Mobygratis)