An event held as part of Belfast Pride this week is aiming to give an insight into the lived experiences of the LGBTQI+ community in Northern Ireland.
The event, created by The Rainbow Project, is called the Pride Living Library and will take place at The MAC in Belfast on July 27.
Elaine McIvor, Co-Cultural Counsellor for The Rainbow Project, explained that the event was inspired by human library events she read about taking place in the Netherlands.
Read more: Guide to events taking place across the city for Belfast Pride 2022
Human libraries are very much like a regular library where people go to check out books. However, the differences is the books are all human volunteers who have opted to speak about their experiences openly to an interested audience, and answer any questions they're asked.
The Pride Living Library is a free event, and can be booked in advance or you can walk-in on the day. You get to chose from eight "books", and have 15 minutes to hear the experiences of the volunteer behind the "title."
"All our stories offer so much hope and encouragement for anyone who's struggling with their identity, but it also offers great education for the general public," Elaine explained.
"Maybe people who don't understand what terms like 'asexual' mean, have been curious and are now able to find out.
"We have eight 'book titles' to choose from, suitable for ages 16+. We have gay man, gay woman, trans male, transitioning, queer, asexual, bisexual, and LGBTQI+ ally. So there's lots to choose from.
"They're actual people telling their own lived experiences. You can either book on The MAC website or drop in between 11 and 3, and you go to the librarian, and you chose a "book" of your choice from those eight titles.
"You have 15 minutes with each book. With each, you'll be sitting down with each person and they'll tell you their stories of what it's like to be that title that you have "borrowed" from the library.
"There's an opportunity for the borrower to ask questions too, which you don't often get if you go to a regular library where you may be left in suspense. It's quite interactive that way."
Elaine said she is proud to be able to bring events like this to the city, and The Rainbow Project are hoping it could lead to similar events in the future.
She said: "Not that long ago, books like these would have been banned altogether so it shows how far we've come. It's exciting to say the least.
"It's the first of it's kind so we don't really know what to expect, but the main point is we're doing it and we're making it accessible and visible. We're proud to be doing it.
"There's something about telling someone your life story, there's something powerful and emotional about it. We were doing a practice run at the weekend and there wasn't a dry eye in the room."
You can find out more about the event and get your free tickets by clicking here.
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