HUman library and talking to your mother in law

Dear friends, 
I  hope that you had a nice summer. In this irregular “out of my bubble” newsletter, you will find an invitation to a fun event, an idea and a quote.

1. Invitation

On Sunday the 10th of September together with the Czech branch of Amnesty International, I coordinated an event called the “living” or “human” library. It is a fun format - readers come into a “library” (we were in the beautiful medieval convent of St Agnes) and borrow a “book” for 20 minutes. Except that the book is a person, so the readers listen and ask questions. It is a great format, originally from Denmark, and very relevant to “out of my bubble” conversations. I cannot invite you to our event in Prague (at least a photo below), but you might find Human Library events near to where you are. 

2. Idea! You might be talking about Charlotesville, the German elections, Brexit or the upcoming elections in Czechia. And you are still surprised that your mother in law/friend/neighbor does not understand your logical arguments supported by hard data. In that case, maybe you should watch this 3-minute video. It explains why your excellent data might not be welcome and that you are better off first reminding each other of what you have in common. Or even better, you can first go and build something, for example a bar, as in this advertising (for beer and dialogue).

3. A quote, courtesy of the twitter feed of Urban Confessional. From Desmond Tutu. “If you want peace, do not talk to your friends. Talk to your enemies”.

Thanks for reading! Wishing you a great beginning of the school year and lots of intriguing “out of my bubble” conversations!

Eva
P.S. On a recent trip to Boston I spoke to my friend Belle who is involved with a cool initiative bringing together Jewish and Muslim women, the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom. Another way of meeting real people in a real setting! 

---