Next Up

Next Up Saskatchewan Presents: Reconciliation, Redress, Remembering and Resilience: Individual and Collective Stories of Injustice and How We Respond to It

Our 2016 Human Library provides an exciting opportunity for the public to connect with diverse narratives and worldviews. Instead of taking books off the shelves, “readers” listen to human “books” and learn new perspectives, histories, and lived realities.  

Topics storytellers may share with community “readers” at this particular event include, but are not limited to:

• Indigenous stories of injustice, healing, or apologies regarding residential schools, Sixties Scoop, and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls

• Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (Occurring in Canada, nation to nation, and internationally – e.g., Guatemala, South Africa, Argentina, Nepal, etc.)

• Histories and legacies of the Chinese head tax and Japanese Canadian Internment and other human rights atrocities in Canada

• Stories of Compulsory Sterilization in Canada of Indigenous peoples, people living with mental illness, etc 

Next Up Saskatchewan is looking for local community members to act as living 'books' for a upcoming Human Library event on Monday, March 21st, 2016 in Saskatoon.

Human libraries provide an exciting opportunity for the public to connect with diverse narratives and worldviews. Instead of taking books off the shelves, “readers” listen to human “books” and learn new perspectives, histories, and lived realities.  

This year’s title is “Reconciliation, Redress, Remembering and Resilience – Individual and collective stories of injustice and how we respond to it”.  Throughout our use of the Living Library process, we wish to meaningfully collaborate with people interested in being a human “book” to ensure the title and theme of this event is inclusive and honours diverse voices. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or comments. We will finalize the title on Friday, February 5th, and other details as needed after that, but will do our best to incorporate feedback throughout the process.

If you have personal stories, experiences, knowledge, and/or teachings on human rights abuse, reconciliation, healing, public memory and apology we would like to invite you to be one of this year’s human “books”. 

If you have a story you wish to share related to this theme of reconciliation, redress and remembrance, please send a 100-word “book blurb” or “book jacket” describing the story that your human book will tell to [email protected]. Please send your proposal by March 4, 2016* if you wish to share your story, as space is limited.

*the proposal deadline has been extended to March 4.