The most common prejudice is feeling having no prejudice at all

• Living Library

Born in Denmark in the Eighties, it’s an innovative way to promote dialogue, reduce prejudice and favour mutual (?) understanding between different people. It is recognized by the Council of Europe as a good practice for intercultural dialogue as a mean to promote human rights.
Living Library allows to tackle stereotype and to challenge the most common prejudice in a positive and constructive way. Categories do not really exist, but people with their personal stories, their choices and the reasons of these choises. With Living Library, the “readers” may come in touch with people they would  not have the opportunity to meet.

• Issues

Since 2011, ABCittà has organized several editions of Living Library has integrated the format with its particular expertise in community planning and has enhanced the intercultural dimension. ABCittà has developed a process model, never spontaneous, but coordinated and facilitated at all stages of its development. At the end this process produces the event which favours the dialogue between human books and readers.
Different cultures, detention and imprisonment, addictions, disability, mental illness, sexual orientation, professions, religions, Roma culture, values and local stories, neighborhoods and suburbs, veganism are the issues the Living Libraries of ABCittà has addressed so far.
For each of these issues, Living Library helps to break down prejudice, facilitating dialogue and understanding of the complexity of people and their stories.

• ABCittà

ABCittà is a social cooperative composed by a group of professionals with different skills engaged in the development of and participation in social planning processes.
It commits skills regarding human and social sciences, sustainable development, organization and management of complex events, planning and urban design, educational psychology, development psychology and culture of childhood and adolescence.
It works since 1999 at the local, national and international level, turning to institutions, organizations, public agencies and private non-profit and profitCurrently composed of 16 members, ABCittà employs other professionals both in Italy and in other countries.

abcitta.org