Supported by a wealth of literary talent, Empathy Day Live has kickstarted what could become a movement towards a better society, driven by research and education organisation EmpathyLab.
Launched by Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell, the online events series also featured authors Malorie Blackman, Jaqueline Wilson and Michael Morpurgo among many other stars sparking children’s imaginations through literature.
“Broadly, the aim of Empathy Day is to help as many children as possible explore, experience and practice empathy,” explained social justice entrepreneur and co-founder of EmpathyLab Miranda McKearney.
She continued: “We hope to spark a national conversation about why empathy is so important because EmpathyLab passionately believes in empathy’s potential.”
Throughout the day audiences were treated to a drawing workshop, experts’ thoughts on empathy and authors’ top tips for creating characters with empathy. They learned listening skills, followed an empathy walk to understand others’ experiences and enjoyed a whole range of other live events celebrating empathy.
At the heart of all these broadcasts was a faith that empathy can help us all. Speaking in the ‘Authors’ secrets’ discussion, young adults’ author Holly Bourne said: “I truly believe that increased empathy will change the world, maybe even save it.”
The awareness day has been well received by their online following, with events reaching thousands of viewers.
“We’ve been astonished and blessed by how many people have got behind Empathy Day,” Miranda said. “It’s trending on social media and filling the airwaves, which is just extraordinary.”
Promoting empathy through research and education, EmpathyLab is the first organisation to build children's empathy, literacy, and social activism through the systematic use of high-quality literature. They are a non-profit building on scientific evidence showing the power of reading to build real-life empathy skills.
Their strategy is built on two key findings of their research - that empathy is a learnable skill and that reading builds real-life empathy.
“We’re not born with a fixed quantity of empathy,” explained Miranda. “It’s best learned young, but you can still develop your empathic skills.
“One way to do this is through reading. When we identify with the feelings of book characters we incorporate this into our real-life experiences of how other people might feel. This means we can teach children to be more empathetic and we should harness this knowledge to empower the next generation to create a better world.”
Catch up on Empathy Day Live events here.
For more information about EmpathyLab visit EmpathyLab.uk.
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