Literature and The Development of Empathy

Manifold challenges keep testing our human limits today. The development of digital technologies, the disruption of social ties due to the influence of social networks, the COVID pandemic, climate change, war in Europe, but also the rapid development of artificial intelligence - all of these are making unprecedented demands on us and changing the paradigms of our everyday existence. As the OECD study clearly shows, one of the key areas that need to be focused on in education to enable young people to meet the challenges of the 21st century is the development and strengthening of (so far) uniquely human social and emotional skills such as: empathy, critical thinking, respect for others, and the ability to communicate.

The DOX Centre has long sought to create educational activities that respond to current issues in society and work with the involvement of different artistic approaches. Since 2021, DOX has focused on a line of programmes inspired by the Narrative 4 project’s story-sharing methodology, founded and promoted by leading Irish writer Colum McCann. The project, which has been successfully implemented for several years in Ireland and the US, is based on the belief that by sharing our own stories we can develop empathy, foster cohesion between diverse groups and collectives, and contribute to a greater level of understanding between people in general.

Storytelling has been a part of people and their memories since time immemorial. The basis of these experiential programmes is the sharing of one’s own authentic stories, which participants develop based on current DOX exhibitions or selected excerpts from literature. The storytelling and sharing of stories in the program has the potential to bring people from different backgrounds and cultures closer to each other and to completely different personalities, thanks to securely established rules.