News article
Living Libraries national conference
The first ever national conference on Living Libraries, where the books are replaced by people, was held on 8 December at Barking Library where delegates shared good practice.
Living Libraries give people the opportunity to sit down and talk to homeless or vulnerable people (in the case of Crisis) on a subject of their choice. The aim is to empower all involved and promote interaction.
The day was led by Ronni Abergel, one of the co-founders of the Living Library concept. It provided existing organisers with an opportunity to network and share experiences. It was also be open to those interested in taking part in LLs in the coming months.
Veena Torchia, Senior Tutor at Crisis, said: "Having been proactively involved with Living Libraries,I feel that it is a highly effective tool in both breaking down people's barriers-racial,cultural,linguistic and social,demystifying myths about 'the other' so to speak and empowering the hardest to reach. Rolling this out across the country was a fantastic way to challenge discrimination, promote social and inter-cultural harmony and champion diversity."
