The aim of Living Libraries is to work against violence, stereotypes and preconceived ideas, and to understand and accept difference. Since it was first conceived, the themes have broadened from those targeting marginal populations, inviting a wide audience to express themselves. We wanted to apply this concept to the three areas where the partner organisations are based, which are socially, economically and/or culturally divided, on the theme of food from the past to the present. The aim was to invite people from all walks of life - the elderly, migrants, the homeless, employees, managers, the unemployed, young people with and without qualifications, permanent residents and those just passing through - to share their experiences and memories, or to listen to/perceive others, similar to themselves beyond their otherness, as they exchanged views. Our aim was to break down taboos and social barriers and recreate, within our territories, a strong link between past and present generations, cultures and practices in the form of a shared memory around food and the event created.
In the Gers, this project has given a boost to the area, which is characterised by an ageing, unskilled and economically insecure population with poor public transport links, attracting skilled newcomers to the area who work in the Toulouse employment basin. The Living Libraries food project has helped to unite the population. In Montpellier, in the project's priority areas, the population is characterised by social insecurity and/or is mainly made up of descendants of immigrants and new migrants. The project has responded to a need for social mixing, the promotion of knowledge, the creation of bridges between cultures, transmission and solidarity. In the Chalandri region, the endemic economic insecurity since 2011 has been enforced with the pandemic in 2019, leading to social, professional and family instability and a deterioration in living conditions. The project has brought people together and helped to forge social links. The living library has been an ideal tool for establishing dialogue and launching a local dynamic of cohesion and social emancipation by promoting the knowledge and culinary traditions of each person.