Tradition has a story to tell all of us. For thousands of years, people have gathered in a circle to hold a group discussion around a fire. Through the ages, practices how to honor each person's voice emerged from a broad spectrum of indigenous communities which are observed up to this day. A World Café conversation celebrates this shared tradition. Envision a room full of round tables each with 4 people sitting across from one another. Imagine the energy emerging from a mindful exchange of their collective thoughts and ideas. This is a tradition which we all share. Let's embrace [...]
Beautiful outcomes start with small efforts. It's the level of attention which we give to everything we do. It makes the seemingly impossible, possible. Imagine being bold enough to bring a group of individuals together to envision a shared future - whether it be addressing climate change, digital transformation or social inequity. The emergent collective wisdom about these (or any other) issues will amaze you! This wisdom provides a powerful source of motivation to take action. NOW Be inspired by the following example
The use of a World Café conversation among employees (and even stakeholders) strengthens community building throughout an organization. Even the authors of the Agile Manifesto state that "The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is FACE-TO-FACE conversation." :-) Bringing employees and stakeholders together in a large scale conversation not only busts silos between departments but also encourages them to co-create new solutions together. The rich spectrum of ideas which emerge from a World Café conversation is a reflection of the diversity of experience and know-how of the participants. Take a look [...]
Our world really needs conversations that matter - for our communities, businesses and planet - more than ever. World Café Europe has been experimenting with new ways to plan, design, facilitate and analyze the results of impactful World Cafés for over a decade. To date, we have had the privilege to collaborate with passionate individuals all over Europe in 21 countries and 18 languages. With this unique online course, the co-founders of World Café Europe aim to share our know-how and insights. We aspire to empower the course participants to facilitate powerful change in their communities, organizations and businesses. Take [...]
Change is happening at a rate faster then ever before. This causes traditional planning efforts to be unsuited to address this rapid change in a timely and effective manner. Imagine a group of employees - ranging from 40 to 200 individuals - identifying solutions for a strategic issues for your organization with each other in real time. The result? A rich collection of novel ideas to tackle the issue(s) in question. After a reflection on the organization's strategic priorities, the proposed ideas can be put into action - in days, not months (or even years). A World Café dialogue provides [...]
Everyone is talking about AGILITY. But how can it be truly realized throughout an organization? True agility requires effectively mobilizing people to focus on working out creative solutions for a specific task at hand. A World Café conversation brings a diverse group of individuals together and energizes this collective mobilization. The result? Enhanced motivation, engagement and emergent innovation. Through an exchange of diverse perspectives and ideas, the World Café process provides everyone a voice. This encourages each member of the conversation to become an integral partner and co-create original solutions. Embracing the use of a World Café dialogue cultivates [...]
A World Café approach channels the energy of a group to delve into a question that matters to them collectively. How is this achieved? By focusing the group's awareness and attention on a common issue which matters to the group. As a result, new insights and creative ideas emerge from questions, reflection and group conversation. This power of the collective focus embodies the unique "magic" of the World Café process. Take a look at the 7 different types of World Cafés which World Café has developed: https://cli.re/7Types
Exploring an innovative approach for the World Café Eight World Cafés were held throughout the city of Dresden as part of a Festival of Conversation which was initiated by a World Café Europe team. As these conversations were being conceived, World Café Europe wanted to experiment with the World Café format and try something unusual. The initial idea was to integrate music into the design as a kind of choir-like experience in which participants would become choir members. World Café Europe went to the Director of the University of Music Carl Maria von Weber Dresden for his advice. Since [...]