Human Library was developed in Copenhagen in the spring of 2000 as a project for Roskilde Festival by Ronni Abergel and his brother Dany and colleagues Asma Mouna and Christoffer Erichsen. A bit different from the traditional library, the human library offers readers to borrow humans as books. The readers listen to their stories and engage in dialogue. It is different from any other around the cor
ner library in the sense that it introduces a concept that will help our society to understand the emotions and the values of the people instead of judging one another. Its goal is to challenge stereotypes, encourage cross-cultural communications, and build relationships between people with different backgrounds. The Human Library is now a global social movement & we, the Human Library Dhaka, are a part of this worldwide organization. Here, people can check out the list of human books, choose the book that interests them and engage in dialogue to know their story. Every person, no matter what colour their skin is, what language they speak or what rituals they follow, has a story to tell. And without actually knowing their story, there is no way to understand them or the kind of life they lead. This concept aims to break stereotypes and help the society to embrace diversity. Even today, in the modern era of advanced technology where everything is available with a tap on your smartphones, there are thousands in your mere surroundings who suffer away silently as victims of different unjustified accusations such as racial, domestic, religious, etc. Books that will tell their impactful stories at the Human Library will enable readers to go beyond the boundaries of race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or social status and teach them to empathize better with other humans who are an equal part of the society. The Human Library Dhaka shall try to bring all enthusiastic readers, especially the youth together to teach them not to judge a book by its cover; in other words, to promote empathy and tolerance.
