A Syrian Muslim, a homeless person, a blind ceramicist, a Ukrainian activist and a Roma policeman have all shared their stories with Czech school children as "living books" under an educational program visiting schools throughout the country.

"Thanks to their stories, I’ve realized how difficult it can be for some people," one student said after listening to her "book."

Borrowing takes 20 minutes and is attended by one book and four or five "readers." Books engage voluntarily during their free time. Readers can ask them anything they are interested in—how they deal with prejudices in society, for example, or what their hobbies and interests are outside of work. The main purpose is to strengthen tolerance and highlight the diversity that exists in society.

"We want to tell readers to be more aware of people around them, to be open to learning about differences and to try to look at contemporary issues from the perspective of minorities or of a specific person directly. Our main goal is to share the personal experiences of people we hear about from the media but never meet personally," said Nela Armutidisová of Amnesty International, which helped initiate the program in 2013.

In addition to national and ethnic minorities, readers can meet with refugees, migrants, disabled people, members of the LGBT community, religious minorities and people with drug problems, as well as people with alternative lifestyles, like vegans or freegans.