Young people are growing up in a society with a major empathy deficit; hate crimes are at their highest level since records began and there are increasing concerns about the negative effects of social media.EmpathyLab is the first organisation to build children's empathy, literacy and social activism through a systematic use of high-quality literature. Our strategy builds on new scientific evidence showing the power of reading to build real-life empathy skills. We believe that empathy is a beacon of hope in a divided world.