Blackman, Cowell and Rosen spearhead Empathy Day 2022 festival

Waterstones Children’s laureate Cressida Cowell, Malorie Blackman, Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Rosen are among authors leading this year’s Empathy Day festival on 9th June. 

Organised by EmpathyLab, an organisation and movement founded in 2014 aimed at using books to help children “experience empathy’s transformational power”, the day-long virtual event promises to provide a “super-charged morning of ‘empathy superpower’ activities packed full of your favourite authors and illustrators – ready to stream into your classroom, assembly, library or home”.

Every session will feature a five- to ten-minute-long video of authors and illustrators helping participants at home to complete an activity in the ‘Empathy Superpower Challenge’ – a series of nine activities spanning three categories: read, connect and act, which can be found here. 

Also launching the event alongside Cowell, Wilson and Blackman will be Michael Morpurgo and Joseph Coelho. Authors and illustrators such as Sophie Dahl, Stephen Mangan, Nadia Shireen, Onjali Raúf, Rashmi Sirdeshpande, Phil Earle and Rob Biddulph will lead other sessions, such as those entitled “Superpower X-Ray Glasses”, “Speak Empathy to Power” and “Listening Switch Power Bank.” The “Empathy Power Pose” session will invite children to share their own power poses online. 

The organisers say the goal is to inspire children, families, schools and libraries to learn more about empathy and put it into action, harnessing the talent of some of Britain’s favourite authors and illustrators to encourage the nation to get involved.