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On December 19th, we officially launched COTAF - Connected Towns for a Shared Future with an inspiring Kick-Off Meeting that brought together over 160 participants from across Europe - Italy, Spain, Latvia, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Together with our consortium of partners, we shared the vision, the values, and the roadmap of this EU-funded journey.

On February 5th, we started the first of three sessions of COTAF – Train the Trainers, an incredible meeting that brought together over 105 participants from across Europe - Italy, Spain, Latvia, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Together we are preparing to approach  the event of Living Libraries in the right way thanks to the help of professionals.

On February 16th, we attended the second session of COTAF – Train the Trainers, an incredible meeting that brought together over 130 participants from across Europe - Italy, Spain, Latvia, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Together we focused on inclusive facilitation, intercultural dialogue, and ethical methodologies for organizing Living Library events with migrants and refugees. Special attention is given to trauma-informed approaches, ethical data collection, and participatory tools.

On March 18th, we attended the third session of COTAF – Train the Trainers, an incredible meeting that brought together over 130 participants from across Europe - Italy, Spain, Latvia, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

The session aimed to strengthen the analytical and strategic competences of partner organisations responsible for implementing Human Library events across the project’s transnational network of towns. This module specifically addressed the measurement of social impact and the translation of citizen-generated insights into policy-relevant knowledge, reinforcing the project’s Theory of Change linking dialogue processes to inclusive civic participation and policy influence.

This comprehensive toolkit provides a step-by-step framework for designing and scaling Living Library events within the COTAF project. It bridges community dialogue with policy-making, transforming personal storytelling into actionable civic insights for participatory democracy across Europe.

The first LL was organized by Fondazione Yunus Italia ETS and took place on April 17th in Bologna, Italy. Originally conceived to address economic violence, the initiative was redesigned into a broader Living Library event to tackle gender equality through an intersectional lens.

The discussion sessions centered around six "Living Books" who shared seven personal stories. These narratives explored complex and sensitive themes, including trans identity and self-determination, workplace harassment, structural vulnerability, consent, migration, and the path to overcoming physical, psychological, and economic abuse.

The second LL hosted by Impact Hub Liepāja, was held on April 24th in Liepāja, Latvia.
This session utilized a visual "Life Timeline" methodology, where storytellers mapped out their life achievements and challenges to guide their interactions with readers.

The event focused on building empathy and community cohesion by discussing themes of personal resilience, social integration, migration, and overcoming adversity. Key stories included the integration experience of a Vietnamese immigrant and the career success of a former orphanage resident.

The third LL was organized by Movement on the Ground (MOTG) and took place on May 15th on the island of Lesvos, Greece.
The event centered around 9 refugee and migrant women acting as "Living Books." Prior to the event, each presenter collaborated with MOTG staff to create a hand-drawn "Life Map" of their journey. These maps served as visual anchors to help bypass language barriers during small-group discussions.

The topics explored were highly diverse and touched upon post-displacement gender roles, acculturation, access to education and qualifications recognition, risks of economic exploitation, gender-based violence, motherhood, and the challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals within the asylum system.

As part of Work Package 8, Impact Hub Istra hosted COTAF's first Human Library in the Slovenian Istra region on 16 June 2026, in Koper. Twenty-seven citizens took part in facilitated, face-to-face conversations with "living books" willing to share their lived experience, on the theme of gender equality. Opening with shared ground rules for a safe and respectful exchange, the event created a genuinely two-way dialogue rather than a one-directional presentation, with high engagement throughout.

Participants reflected that gender equality is too rarely discussed and that its growing politicisation can divide people when the topic should bring them closer together. The report documents the event's design, its Theory of Change, the outcomes achieved and the follow-up identified for future dialogues. Read the full report to see how a single conversation can start to shift stereotypes.

Under Work Package 9, Impact Hub Budapest organised the Living Library "Stories of Migration and Inclusion" on 25 June 2026, bringing together 34 participants and five "human books" from Mexico, Cuba, Ukraine, Myanmar and India. Rather than approaching migration through statistics, the event placed lived experience at its centre, with stories of international study, labour migration, forced displacement and family reunification.

Creative visual storytelling - from a traditional Mexican bookmark to a painting symbolising freedom - gave participants multiple ways to connect with each journey. Five rotational reading sessions, followed by an informal networking moment with Cuban food, generated dialogue so engaged that many stayed well beyond the closing time. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees asking for longer sessions and future editions. Download the full report to discover how five personal stories challenged assumptions about migration.

For Work Package 10, HUB Mladá Boleslav delivered a Human Library on gender stereotypes at Impact Hub Prague on 25 June 2026, deliberately engaging company representatives, CEOs and public institutions - settings where stereotypes shape everyday decisions. Six Living Books opened an intersectional spectrum of experience: non-binary leadership, sexuality and disability, male victims of domestic violence, life without children, social work in the sex industry, and men's mental health.

The 46 participants (38 Readers, who carried out 48 readings) reported very high willingness to return (9.0/10) and a meaningful shift in attitude, while the Living Books recorded top scores for safety, respect and control over their own story. A mandatory-break rule, used twice for extended pauses, proved a key safeguarding mechanism. This is the most in-depth impact analysis in the series. Download the full report to read the data, the stories and the lessons learned.

As part of Work Package 11, Fondazione Yunus Italia hosted the Living Library "Voices of Migration: Belonging and Inclusion" in Bologna on 2 July 2026, with a particular focus on second generations and the barriers to their full participation. Nine Living Books shared nine stories across five themes - migration and journey, identity and belonging, prejudice and recognition, integration and community, participation and contribution - supported by cultural mediators and readings in Italian and English.

When early attendance was lower than expected, the format was flexibly redefined into a collective circle of dialogue, joined by City Councillor Siid Negash, before moving to one-to-one readings as participation grew. A Digital Living Library of institutional interviews, subtitled and accessible by QR code, extends the event's reach on the project's YouTube channel. Download the full report to hear the voices behind migration and belonging.

Under Work Package 12, Impact Hub Donostia organised the Living Library "Stories of Migration" at Medialab Tabakalera on 14 July 2026, bringing together 45 participants and five Living Books with lived experience of migration. Through small-group, face-to-face conversations, participants engaged with migration not as an abstract issue but as a collection of individual journeys shaped by resilience, adaptation and hope.

Post-event evaluation was strongly positive: Living Books rated safety, respect and agency between 4.6 and 4.8 out of 5, while Readers gave equally high marks for the value of direct dialogue and their willingness to recommend the experience. Participants described feeling listened to and valued, and many said personal dialogue had a greater impact than traditional awareness-raising. The report sets out the methodology, the survey findings and the follow-up for future editions. Download the full report to see how personal testimony became collective learning.

For Work Package 13, Movement on the Ground hosted a Living Library at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Athens on 25 June 2026, gathering around 81 participants - including diplomats, civil servants, the Greek Ombudsman and civil society - around 20 refugee and migrant narrators. Each narrator had prepared a personal "mental life map" and a photography exhibition, giving them full authorship over the topics they chose to open, from migration journeys and resettlement to cultural identity, work and religion.

Hosting the event in a diplomatic residence placed lived experience at the heart of the spaces where policy is shaped. Dutch Ambassador Barbara van Hellemond closed by placing dignity, independence and belonging first, giving institutional weight to the narrators' stories, whose insights will feed the COTAF Policy Lab. Download the full report to see how community and institutions met in a single room.

As part of Work Package 14, Impact Hub Istra hosted the Living Library "Stories, Voices and Conversations about Migrant Inclusion" in Postojna, Slovenia, on 31 August 2026, focusing on young people building a new life in Slovenia. The event was co-organised with two local organisations. PUMo Postojna helps young migrants complete their education, learn the language and join the community. Sangai is a resident-led initiative supporting the local Nepalese community.

Living Books included young people in local educational programmes, members of support organisations and people with a personal or family history of migration. Together they explored migration journeys, language learning as a first step towards integration, the move from education to work, sport and community life, and the role of local organisations in welcoming newcomers. Guiding questions and informal moments helped make the space feel safe for everyone, and the day ended with a shared lunch. To protect the young participants, photos were limited and no one can be identified in them. Download the full report to discover the stories behind migrant inclusion in Postojna.