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“Uzhgorod is a multicultural city and we live together peacefully,” wrote a high school student from High School No. 5 in a pre-event questionnaire.  “I don’t have much interest in learning about national minorities,” wrote another.

For the forty students and teachers that gathered in the Zakarpatyya Scientific Library to participate in the Living Library and Debate which took place on 27 January in Uzhgorod, the format of the event was a novelty.  They were welcomed by two librarians, Inna and Vera, who had volunteered for the event and taken the day off from their normal work in the NGO “Vesta”.  “We are here to read books,” announced Inna. “Unlike normal books, these books are alive and will come to you.”  She stepped back and indicated eleven people standing behind her, “you can ask these books anything you like, but keep in mind they are also people so please don’t be rude.”  Thus began the living library.

Each of the eleven “books” was read by a team of 2-3 students for about 10 minutes. The librarians then rotated the books among the teams to ensure that each team was able to read 3 or 4 books over the course of an hour.  The books were all from Uzhgorod and included an Afghani translator, a 79 year old Belarusian community leader, a Roma artist, a Hungarian librarian, a Ukrainian expert on migration in Uzhgorod, an American Peace Corps volunteer, a Jewish university student and an Ethiopian asylum seeker among others.

Following the Living Library’s principle that barriers can be broken down by talking person to person, students were encouraged to share what they knew and thought about particular ethnic groups and verify their knowledge directly with the relevant book. Conversations with the books were conducted in a variety of languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, English, Polish, and French. The topics covered were quite varied and revealing. For example, Dima, the Jewish book, was surprised to learn from his readers that Jews are people who ride camels and who moved from Israel to Ukraine a few years ago. 

In addition to breaking down stereotypes and prejudices, the books also found that talking to the students offered them a unique opportunity to present their lives and the challenges that affected them on a day to day basis just because they look different. The Ethiopian book told students how he and his friend were attacked in broad daylight the day before the event by strangers for no reason. “The students had no idea that things like this happen in Uzhgorod,” said the Ethiopian book. “I showed them my bruises and told them my friend was put in the hospital because of the beating, and all of them said how sorry they were that this happened, and that they would never do such a thing, especially now that they have met me. This really shows me that acceptance of others can be taught.” 

During the 2-hour event, the students were divided into two groups of 20. One group participated in the living library and the other in a debate. After an hour the two groups switched activities. Olena Sadoma from the All-Ukrainian Youth organization “Debate Academy”, who served as the debate moderator for both groups of students, was very impressed by the difference between those who participated in the living library before debating versus those who started off with the debate. “The first group of students was very passive and not very interested in exploring the topic ‘People of different nationalities permanently living in Ukraine are Ukrainians’. Their arguments were shallow and they mainly supported statements saying ‘I think this because its right.’,” stated Olena,  “But the second group who had gone through the living library before coming to me was very passionate. Everyone wanted to express their point of view on the topic, and the supporting statements for their arguments brought in real life examples from their own families and from the books they had spoken to. I could really see that their horizons had been expanded and they were actively thinking about this issue.”   

By the end of the living library and debate, there was an atmosphere of excitement. When thanking the organizers, the school director expressed that the school had really not known what to expect from the living library and debate, but after experiencing it, they were very interested in holding a similar event with their entire school. This positive point of view was echoed by students in the post-event questionnaire in which they wrote statements such as, “I have broken my stereotypes concerning Jewish people, found out about their traditions, and was impressed by the Afghani book,” “I learned a lot about national minorities and other people living in Uzhgorod, when they talked about their lives and things that happened to them, it was brilliant!” and “Everyone should visit this event as it can change their attitude to life.” 

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The Living Library and Debate in Uzhhorod was the second event that was organized within the IOM’s Diversity Initiative project “Promoting Cultural Dialogue in Lviv and Zakarpattya Regions of Ukraine”, in partnership with two Ukrainian NGOs: Zakarpatyya NGO for Women Vesta and the Debate Academy.  The project is financially supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.

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