Living Library UM50: openhearted conversations connecting UM and local residents
In celebration of Diversity Day and Maastricht University's 50th anniversary, UM will host two connected Living Library events. One will welcome local residents into UM at the University Library in Randwyck, while the other will bring UM into the local community at De Rink.
Our university and local residents are part of one interconnected community, but we don't always have opportunities to meet beyond familiar roles and assumptions. By bringing our community members together through personal storytelling, the two events will create space for mutual vulnerability, meaningful conversation and greater understanding.
Breaking down barriers
A Living Library is a space where the ‘books’ are people. Readers ‘borrow’ a person and engage in a 20-minute conversation, with clear ground rules that support safety and respect. The books are people who often face stereotypes or exclusion, and who the average reader may not meet in daily life.
At these two Living Libraries, the books will be people from UM and the local community. They could be, for example, a professor with a disability, a former miner, a transgender researcher or someone who receives social assistance. Books share their stories on their own terms, while readers can ask questions they might hesitate to ask in an everyday situation. These openhearted encounters humanise the living books and the groups they represent in a powerful, lasting way.
Read an interview with Netty Bekkers, initiator of the Living Library UM50 events
It’s only when you’re face to face with someone telling their story that it really hits home.
Event details
Event 1: Living Library at University Library Randwyck
Thursday, 1 October 2026, 13.30–17.00
University Library Randwyck, Universiteitssingel 50, Maastricht
Event 2: Living Library at De Rink
Saturday, 10 October 2026, 13.30–17.00
De Rink, Zoetmanstraat 75, Maastricht
Each event will begin with opening remarks, and visitors are welcome to drop in throughout the afternoon to borrow a book. Living books and volunteers will be invited to attend a lunch and orientation session before the public programme begins.
Languages: There will be books who speak Dutch, English and Maastricht dialect. The language(s) spoken by each book will be listed in the book catalogue next to the book's title.
Register for the Living Library
Become a living book or volunteer
Would you like to share your story as a living book? Or would you like to help make the events possible as a volunteer? We welcome participants from both UM and the wider local community.
Why take part in the Living Library?
The meaningful conversations between books and readers reveal how much we share, even when our experiences and perspectives differ.
Research on the Living Library shows that these conversations can foster empathy, break down stereotypes and help combat discrimination.
For books, reflecting on questions with readers and being met with openness and understanding can give new meaning to their identity and experience.
The conversations offer readers an opportunity to encounter experiences they may know only through assumptions or second-hand information.
These conversations have a lasting effect, and participants often share what they have learned with friends, family and colleagues, creating a ripple effect through their social networks.
