How do you unjudge someone?

Imagine sitting down for an open conversation with someone whom you just don't understand or perhaps don't agree with.

The Human Library is a remarkable, and frankly beautiful organization dedicated to bettering our understanding of diversity in order to help create more inclusive and cohesive communities across cultural, religious, social and ethnic differences.

It's "books" are human beings willing and eager to talk to others about their experience. Every "human book" from this library represents a group that faces prejudice or stigmas because of their lifestyle, ethnicity, beliefs, or disability.

At a Human Library event, people can "borrow" these people who are open books for a one on one conversation where it is safe to ask hard questions, as long as those questions are asked with respect.

The idea is to challenge our inherent stereotypes by putting a human face on them and listening to their real, lived experiences, including things like homelessness, drug addiction, being an alcoholic. But also topics like being transgender, or embracing body modification, or being Muslim or atheist.

The Human Library was founded 20 years ago by Ronni Abergel, a Danish human rights activist interested in creative nonviolent activism. He says he based his idea on his own town library -- "the one truly inclusive institution" in his town.

From its inception the idea has grown to hold events in more than 8o countries, and has more the 1000 human books in circulation in more than 50 languages. With the onset of the pandemic, the Human Library has also adapted to using virtual session.