In the rush of daily life, it is easy to forget how complex each and every person around us is. You may see hundreds of faces in a day, but rarely do we take the opportunity to learn about their inner thoughts and experiences. Projects like the Living Library hope to change that.
Inspired by the Human Library organization based in Copenhagen, participants are invited to “check out” a one-on-one conversation with a human “book” — volunteers willing to share with strangers about their lived experience.
At TRU, the Living Library is organized annually by the Intercultural Ambassadors. The 2026 “books” included Indigenous elders, students, professors, and staff members — all with unique perspectives and backgrounds.
“I just want people to feel related,” shared Deiveek Agarwal, the event’s primary organizer. Agarwal has worked at the Intercultural Learning office for several years as an ambassador, co-op support specialist and now as a peer mentor. He hopes the event reminds people that with “what’s happening everywhere right now, it’s very fine to just sit down and have a nice, long conversation.”
In promotional posters, the event was billed as an opportunity to unlearn one’s biases through challenging conversation.
“The system is 15 minutes for each talk, but right now, we are keeping it pretty open,” Agarwal said. “I want everyone to just enjoy these conversations, have fun and find some insights.”
He added that the ambassador team, who showed up in droves to ensure the event ran smoothly, were keeping “an eye out” in case conflicts arose. While The Omega was in attendance, however, the atmosphere seemed relaxed and jovial.
Agarwal said he hopes the Living Library prompts visitors to be curious about those around them, beyond surface-level judgments.
“If I walk into a room, the first thing people are going to notice is I’m a male, maybe I’m a young adult, maybe I’m Indian or maybe I’m a student,” he said. “It’s only after that, when you go deeper, [that] you actually know the person. There are many things that can be changed through events like this when you’re sharing about yourself… This is the space where you can be open. That’s why we tried keeping it one-on-one, so it’s more intimate.”
Mónica Sánchez-Flores is an associate professor of sociology and one of this year’s “books.” After a short discussion with one student, she discovered that they not only hailed from the same city but also from the same neighborhood. She described the conversations she had as “really lovely and engaging.”
The Living Library event is sustained by the intercultural ambassadors and strong community support.
“Last year, we had a fabulous student, Azadé, and they did an incredible job of pulling [the Living Library] together in collaboration with the TRUSU Human Rights Club,” explained Amie McLean, TRU’s intercultural co-ordinator. “It was such a powerful event, and we had so much really positive feedback from community members, who continued to speak about how impacted they were, that we wanted to do it again.”
But as with many campus supports, the future of the Intercultural Learning office seems uncertain in the wake of TRU’s budgetary challenges. With it, opportunities for spontaneous connection, like the Living Library, may leave campus for good.
“It just makes me sad, because I enjoyed [being an ambassador] a lot,” said Yunisha Bist, a current intercultural ambassador, of the office shutdown rumours. “We have lots of international students [at TRU], and having a space where you can go there and have a sense of belonging, and [now] knowing that it won’t be there in coming semesters … it’s like, ‘Oh no, now, where do I belong?’”