Report on Human Libraries workshop in Leskovac

Monday, 05 April 2010 11:11

Educational centre Kruševac and Educational centre Leskovac realized a partner program titled "Regional youth action - Prejudice catalogue", sponsored by the Norwegian People's Aid and the Balkan Trust for Democracy. The aim of this project was to initiate discussion about the intolerance and discrimination among the youth, and causes and circumstances leading to conflict situations between groups with opposing views. As a part of this project, a series of workshops called "Human Libraries" was held in the high schools of the Rasinski and Jablanički counties. The aim of the "Human Libraries" was to promote human rights and respect for differences. "Human Libraries" open a constructive dialogue among the youth regarding the prejudices and stereotypes leading to intolerance and discrimination toward groups and individuals. "Human Libraries" are composed of "books", "readers" and "librarians". "The books" in the "Human Library" are people representing groups or individuals who are often prejudiced, stereotyped, and experiencing discrimination. "The readers" are high school students from these counties, who "read" the book by asking questions.

As a result of the high school students' need assessment and the expressed interest of the students to include the members of sexual minorities in their "book list", the Educational centre Leskovac contacted Labris - lesbian human rights organisation at the end of 2009.  In January, Marija Savić, an activist from Labris, held a total of six workshops in three high schools in Leskovac - Medical High School, Technical High School, and the Gymnasium - for a total of 67 students of these schools. The same number of workshops was held in March in Technical High School in Medveđa and high schools for Chemistry and Textile Industry in Leskovac, for a total of 64 students. In addition to the "Lesbian book", also included were a Roma woman, a former addict, a local politician, etc.

Most often asked questions during these workshops were concerning the most common prejudices towards lesbians, such as: Why do we hate men? Did we have unpleasant experiences with men? Do we want to have children and is it a good idea to raise children in same-sex families? Is there a "man" and a "woman" in lesbian relationships? Do we often change partners?

Labris - lesbian human rights organisation would like to thank the Educational centre Leskovac for the opportunity to participate in the "Human Libraries" workshops, as it is our opinion that the methodology of these workshops ensures maximal results in dissipating prejudices for a large number of students and within the minimal timeframe. We are aware of the fact that the main cause of prejudices is ignorance, and through these workshops, students have an opportunity to actually meet the members of discriminated groups. We hope for the opportunity to continue our cooperation with the Educational centre Leskovac in the future.

Marija Savić

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