City of Copenhagen to host Human Library festival in 2009

The department of culture in the City of Copenhagen, decided on its meeting the 4th of December, to accomodate an application to support the "Understanding Diversity" Human Library Festival in Copenhagen next summer. The application from the Human Library Organization represents a journey back to the roots of the Human Library, were it all began eight years ago, but this time its different. The Human Library is not a guest on a festival or in a Library or School. The Human Library is the host to an event which is expected to attract more than 10.000 visitors over its four day course. A celebration of dialogue and diversity is one step closer to becoming a reality with the 200.000 danish kroner (USD 35.000) in support from the City.

Back to the roots.

The Human Library was created and developed by Tobias Rosenberg, Sune Bang, Dany Abergel, Christoffer Erichsen, Asma Mouna, Philip Lipski and Ronni Abergel, in the offices of the Danish Stop the Violence movement, a Copenhagen based non-governmental youth organization founded in 1993 by five youngsters (Dany Abergel, Asma Mouna, Christoffer Erichsen, Thomas Bertelsen, Ronni Abergel), as a response to the rising problems with youth violence. The first Human Library was created through a vital partnership with the world renowned, Roskilde Festival. The Roskilde Foundation provided the financial support to produce and prepare the original event, offering festival visitors to take out one of the 75 different books. The inventors of the Human Library and founders of the Human Library Organization, felt it only natural to stage the celebration of diversity and understanding, where it all began eight years ago, in Denmark.

Record number of living books.

At the event the organizers expect to present more than 250 different book titles, representing a world of stereotypes and prejudices in combination with rare titles and unusual topics. The living book collection will be the largest collection ever presented at a Human Library and as such should offer something for everyone. Including those who like to claim that they do not belong to the group of people that typecast or observe prejudices in their life. More information about the event will follow in the months to come.