The Human Library Project team at the University of Westminster ran their first virtual session since the lockdown began.
The Human Library is an international equalities movement that aims to challenge prejudice and discrimination through the power of conversation. Currently, there is a Human Library in over 80 countries, including the US, China, and the UK.
Human Libraries celebrate difference by connecting communities and encouraging a better understanding of people who come from varied cultural or lifestyle backgrounds. The initiative offers an important space for challenging implicit attitudes and unconscious bias. The project contributes to the University’s commitment to support its diverse community based on its core values of being progressive, compassionate and responsible.
Participants can choose to be an ‘open book’ and speak about their experiences or a ‘borrower’ and listen to another person’s experiences. The team ran a pilot virtual session to consider the feasibility of running the project online.
Volunteers from Academic and Professional Services participated as both ‘books’ and ‘borrowers’ for the pilot virtual session. Those who were ‘books’ took part in challenging but respectful conversations on Microsoft Teams about their experiences of bias, stigma, prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping as part of Black History Month.
The outcome of the pilot session exceeded expectations, with positive feedback on the experience from all the volunteers. Following this successful pilot, the team will be offering more virtual libraries across the academic year. The sessions are open to colleagues across the University.
Deborah Husbands, part of the Human Library Project team, said that the process of listening as a selective activity permits access to experiences that are broader than just the individual. The conversations can be used to learn more about the intersection of identities that make up our collective University community.
To get involved in the next event, contact the Human Library Project team.
Learn more about the Human Library Project at the University of Westminster.
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