Help
Loading...
The Human Library Comes to Hampshire
| Author: null null | Published: 13th February 2013 22:23 |
Over 20 volunteers from around Hampshire gathered at the Portsmouth Guildhall in January to take part in a unique training event to launch Human Library events in Hampshire.
Funded by the Big Lottery Awards for All, our first Human Library event will be hosted by Portsmouth Central Library on Thursday, 21st February between 10am and 3pm.
The Human Library is an international equalities movement which started in Denmark in 2000. Today events take place in over 60 countries world wide to promote positive social change.
At a Human Library ‘Books' are people, and reading is a conversation. Events are completely free and great value.
Human Books are volunteers who share personal experience to challenge prejudice, stigma and discrimination. People like Susan who has experienced bipolar disorder, or like Peter who found himself homeless, or like Katrina, an immigrant working in the UK.
In Portsmouth, a Human Library event was held in October 2011 as part of activities to mark World Mental Health day. This sparked off the interest which has led to this project during 2013.
Here are some comments from people who took part:
"This is one of the most inspiring experiences I have come across in a long time! Learning from people with first hand experience is critical in the march towards eliminating prejudice from our society. The human library is simply a must be visited library with a great deal of potential to bring about a better society."
"Thank you for being so brave to talk to us about your conditions. I learned a lot through this. Thanks "
"Good to talk to such an inspirational lady. Good to find out about a person's lived experience and have the chance to ask questions."
Further events are being planned with the Gosport Discovery Centre, and venues in Fareham, Winchester and Southampton. Enquiries from organisations or venues interested in hosting Human Library events are welcomed.
More information:
To find out more about the Human Library movement in the UK, go to http://humanlibraryuk.org
The project is being coordinated by Portsmouth based social enterprise, The Good Mental Health Cooperative. Go to www.goodmentalhealth.org.uk to find out more, or contact Carolyn Barber via email Carolyn@wayfinderassociates.co.uk , or mobile 07540751910.
The project is funded by Awards for All, a small grants scheme administered through the Big Lottery. The Big Lottery Fund distributes half of the National Lottery good cause funding across the UK. The Fund aims to enable others to make real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need.
For more information go to http://www.awardsforall.org.uk/england
Report this article as inappropriate
Comments
You need to log in before you can do that! It's only a quick registration process to join the AMA network and completely free.
Help