The Living Library

The Living Library is an informal activity set up in Valongo (PT) for students from 14 to 18 years of age, with the slogan “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. The organisers took the concept of the Living Library held at Denmark’s Roskilde Festival in 2000, and adapted it for a school audience. It allows an informal and constructive dialogue between students and ‘Human Books’ – volunteers who are frequently the recipients of prejudices and stereotypes.The Living Library also creates the opportunity to promote an interpersonal relationship between groups that are usually not able to interact. It enables participants to challenge their own stereotypes and prejudices in a structured, protected environment, and in a limited time. More than 4,200 young people have taken part since Valongo’s Living Library was launched in 2010, and the project has been extended to six schools.