Living Library: Youth Mobility Exchange

Breaking stereotypes through living stories
Between 25 September and 2 October 2021, Stichting Sunny Days brought together young people from across Europe for a powerful experiment in empathy: the Living Library. Instead of borrowing a book, participants “borrowed” a person — a peer willing to share their lived story.

Through these encounters, young people confronted prejudice, opened up about discrimination and hate speech, and discovered how dialogue can dissolve stereotypes.

What we created together

• Public Living Library sessions where community members “read” human books.
• Youth-produced videos capturing lessons learned.
• A Good Practice Booklet that now guides others in hosting similar events.

The impact
Participants left with deeper empathy, practical facilitation skills, and stronger belief in inclusion. Communities gained a tool for dialogue that challenges exclusion and builds solidarity.

42 young people joined the exchange from the Netherlands, Turkey, Spain, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania produced the following outputs during this one week exchange.