Compassionate Shetland - Blog Post

Developing a Compassionate Workforce through the Human Library

What does it take to build a more compassionate community in Shetland? One that listens, understands and accepts people’s stories, no matter their background?

Compassionate Shetland is part of the Shetland Partnership’s drive to reduce stigma and support people to fulfil their potential. It’s grounded in the idea that kindness is not a soft skill – it’s fundamental to building trust, supporting wellbeing, and enabling people to seek help without shame.

As part of this work, a series of continuing professional development (CPD) sessions were held in 2025, facilitated by the international Human Library organisation. These sessions brought together around 50 staff and leaders from Shetland Partnership organisations, the Shetland Children’s Partnership and the Community Learning & Development Partnership.

The Human Library offers a powerful and practical way to challenge stereotypes and encouage empathy. Developed in Copenhagen over 20 years ago and now active in more than 80 countries, the approach invites participants to have open, honest conversations with people who have lived experience of being judged or marginalised. In Shetland, these “books” included individuals with stories of bereavement, neurodiversity, transgender identity, disability, obesity and more.

Each session encouraged staff to slow down, listen deeply and reflect on how assumptions shape our interactions with others – in services, in workplaces and in communities.

The experience was emotional, thought-provoking and memorable. It gave participants a rare opportunity to hear directly from people with perspectives different from their own, supporting personal reflection and greater cultural awareness. Several partner organisations have since engaged directly with the Human Library to explore additional sessions tailored to their own teams – including a recent in-service day hosted by UHI Shetland.

Compassionate Shetland is about reshaping how we think, speak and act – across health and care, education, housing, community services and more. The Human Library is one of the tools helping to make that shift, one conversation at a time.

Compassionate Shetland sits alongside a number of other key Improvement Projects being taken forward through the Shetland Partnership – all aligned with the community planning priorities set out in the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan. These include:

• EmPowering Shetland:  strengthening financial wellbeing and tackling hardship
• Person Centred Delivery:  reforming how support systems work for people
• Climate Conscious Shetland:  addressing climate change through local action and sustainability

Together, these projects are helping to put the Shetland Partnership’s vision into practice — building a more inclusive, connected, resilient, and future-focused Shetland where services follow people, not the other way around. More information on these Improvement Projects is available here.