GrandPeople: What if we could challenge what we think we know, about people we think we don’t like?

What if we could challenge what we *think* we know, about people we *think* we don’t like?

Back in the spring of 2000, Ronni Abergel posed this question to his brother Dany, and colleagues Asma Mouna and Christoffer Erichsen. Soon after, the idea debuted at the Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen, wherein Ronni and his colleagues organized an event that ran for four days, with eight hours of conversations each day—and more than 1000 people taking part. By giving individuals a chance to tell their story, and engage with those who might think differently than them, participants walked away from the Human Library experience with an improved understanding of the worldviews and lived experiences quite different than their own. That’s when Ronni realized he had a truly powerful idea on his hands.

Now, the Human Library concept exists in more than 85 countries worldwide, and is internationally known as the “Human Library Organization.” Interested participants can “check out” an individual from the Human Library—in locales from Australia to the United States—to create open, unstigmatized dialogues and dispel harmful stereotypes.

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