Hello. This is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Sam.
If you browse through a library,
you'll find a variety of
different books, from fiction
to crime to romance.
And if you walk through a city
you'll see a variety of people
of different ages, body shapes,
skin colours and genders.
In this 6 Minute English, we'll
be hearing about an unusual
library where the books are
people, made of flesh and bone
instead of paper. It's called
The Human Library and the 'books'
are individuals who have faced
prejudice - which means an
unreasonable dislike of
certain types of people.
Readers may borrow these 'books',
who are people from all walks of
life, for a thirty minute conversation.
The book titles are short and to the
point - titles like 'transgender',
'former criminal' or 'immigrant'.
The human books are volunteers,
and visiting readers are encouraged
to ask those awkward or embarrassing
questions they've always
wondered about.
This means the Human Library
needs to be a safe space - a place
where people feel protected
from danger and harm.
It's a fascinating idea but before
we find out more, I have a question
for you, Sam. The Human Library
started out in Denmark but
soon spread across Europe
and the world.
So how many countries
have a
Human Library now? Is it:
a) 75?, b) 85? or, c) 95?
Well, everyone likes to hear
a story - so I'll guess c) 95.
OK, Sam, we'll find out if that's
right later in the programme.
The first Human Library was
founded in Copenhagen
by Ronni Abergel.
Here he is telling BBC World Service
programme People Fixing the World
about the inspiration behind
his original idea.
We don't have time on the street
to stop and get
to know everyone,
so we drop people in little
boxes... so it's instinct that's
guiding us, and we never get
beyond the instinct
if we don't
get to know the person...
so in our library, we
recommend sitting down
and meeting some
of the people
that you normally might
actually not feel interested in
sitting down with because
there's something about them
that you may feel a little bit
uncomfortable about. You learn
tremendously not only about
them, but also about yourself.
When we meet someone new,
we often already have ideas
about what they are like.
Ronni says we put someone
in a box - an expression
meaning to judge what kind
of person someone is based
on their appearance or on
a limited understanding
of who they are.
He recommends meeting people
who you wouldn't usually
spend time with, even if
this makes you feel
uncomfortable - feel slightly
worried or embarrassed
in a social situation.
So the main idea of the
Human Library is to
challenge the assumptions
and stereotypes that
we all have about other people.
Ronni uses social media to
find volunteers who are
willing to talk about their
lives at public meetings,
which anyone can attend.
As the Human Library spreads
around the world, more money
is needed to keep the
project going. This mostly
comes from hosting events
for private companies,
including famous businesses
like Google.
Transgender volunteer
Katy Jon Went is a regular
host for the Human Library's
business events. Listen to
this clip of her introducing
the project to a group of
Dutch businessmen from
BBC World Service programme,
People Fixing the World.
When we're in the workplace
or on social media, what we
often find is we re walking
on eggshells around
diversity and difference,
and many people don't
want to get it wrong,
quite understandably.
The important thing to
remember is that you can
ask them anything - they're
never going to make to
feel wrong for the question
you ask today, which is an
incredibly rare offer.
When meeting someone with
completely different life
experiences, people can be
worried about saying the
wrong thing or asking
embarrassing questions.
Katy says they are walking
on eggshells - an
expression which means to
be very careful about
what you do and say
because you don't
want to offend or
upset anyone.
But in fact the human 'books'
are rarely offended.
The event is all about
celebrating people's
difference and diversity - a
term which describes how
many different types of
people are included together.
Exactly. It's a celebration
for everyone regardless
of race, age or gender...
Or nationality... and that
reminds me - what was
the answer to your
question, Neil?
Oh yes, I asked how many
counties today have a
Human Library. What
did you say, Sam?
I guessed it was
c) 95 countries.
Which was... the wrong answer,
I'm afraid. The correct
answer was b) 85 countries,
from Norway and Hungary
all the way to
Australia and Mongolia!
Wow! I bet that makes a lot
of interesting stories!
OK, let's recap the
vocabulary for this
programme about people
sharing their experience
of facing prejudice - the
unreasonable dislike of
certain groups of people.
A safe space is place where
you feel protected from
danger and harm.
When we put someone in
a box, we judge them based
on their appearance or
a limited understanding of them.
If you feel uncomfortable,
you feel slightly worried
or embarrassed in
a social situation.
The expression walking on
eggshells means being very
careful about what you do
and say because you don't
want to offend anyone.
And finally, diversity is
a term describing many different
types of people being
included together.
Well, it's time to return
these human books back to
the library shelves because
our six minutes are up!
Join us again for more real-life
stories and topical vocabulary
here at 6 Minute English from
BBC Learning English.
Goodbye for now!
Bye!