Shetland Partnership Network Tuesday 10th December 2024
The fifth 2024 meeting of the Shetland Partnership Network took place on Tuesday 10th December with the Human Library Organisation online via Zoom.
As part of the work on Compassionate Communities, Shetland Partnership Network members had the opportunity to experience an exciting piece of online training through the Human Library. The Human Library is a registered international not for profit, with headquarters located in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Shetland Partnership Network aims to help partners create a sense of shared ownership of community planning and to create a safe environment for open and honest conversations around the challenges and opportunities to tackle inequalities in Shetland. The Network brings together representatives of all community planning partners in Shetland and offers opportunities for information sharing, developing ideas and building relationships.
The Human Library experience is a rare opportunity to discover the differences of others without fear of judgement, and encounter learning opportunities through conversation and dialogue. The Human Library publish people as open books on varied topics describing life experiences from beliefs to diagnoses, family relations to gender, social status to identity, disability to surviving tragedy or trauma. In breakout rooms, participants can engage via curious yet courteous questioning and have courageous conversations with cultures and experiences other than their own without the risk of offence being taken or language and knowledge needing to be perfect. The Human Library turn awkward or uncomfortable encounters with strangers into exciting adventures with people you perhaps would not typically come across or engage with. It is a safe place to take a risk, develop communication confidence, and connect with our common humanity.
In groups, members were able to speak with two books each, with half an hour for each book.
23 members took part, representing 12 partner organisations. 15 attended an in-person debrief following the event in the Solarhus Boardroom.
In person, members discussed what they had got from the session. Participants appeared to find the session impactful. Members liked the honest and open conversations, found it inspiring, thought-provoking, and enjoyed doing something different.
The next Shetland Partnership Network will take place on Thursday 27th February.