Description Long

The World Café method was developed in the 1990s by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs in the United States and has since spread across the globe. It is based on the idea that the best ideas emerge in a relaxed and informal setting – such as during a coffee break. The World Café is a global movement that supports meaningful conversations in business, political and social contexts. It creates a café-like atmosphere where participants discuss a key question or issue in small groups. At regular intervals, participants change tables. One person remains as the host, welcoming new guests and summarising what has already been discussed. This allows the new conversations to build on ideas developed by previous groups. At the end, the main ideas are summarised and shared in the plenary.

The method is based on seven simple guiding principles:

1. Clarify the Context
2. Create Hospitable Space
3. Explore Questions That Matter
4. Encourage Everyone's Contribution
5. Connect Diverse Perspectives
6. Listen Together for Insights and Deeper Questions
7. Harvest and Share Collective Discoveries

Preparation

• Choose a helper in advance.
• Define the purpose and focus of the World Café.
• Create a café-like atmosphere, e.g. small round tables with tablecloths, flowers, paper and pens. There should be four chairs per table.
• Prepare the questions for the discussion.
• Online: Set up private breakout rooms in Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

Execution

1. The facilitator warmly welcomes the participants, introduces the World Café, and ensures that everyone understands the context and concept, and feels at ease.
2. Four (maximum five) participants are seated around each table.
3. At least three rounds of conversation are held, each lasting 15 to 20 minutes.
4. The questions or issues should relate as closely as possible to participants’ own lives, professions or environments.
5. Participants are invited to note down their key ideas on cards or directly on the table covering.
6. One person remains at the table as host, while the others take the ideas they have gathered to their new tables.
7. The opportunity to engage with different ideas, questions and topics in successive conversations helps create connections.
8. In the final round, travellers can return to their original tables to share and synthesise their experiences.
9. It is possible to keep the same question throughout all rounds or to vary the questions to allow for deeper insight.
10. After at least three rounds of conversation, findings should be shared. Patterns may emerge, shared knowledge expands, and opportunities for action begin to take shape.

Hints from experience

• At the beginning, it is important to explain how the World Café works and what the role of the host is.
• The questions should be chosen with care and made clearly visible to everyone.
• Where possible, the ideas that emerge should be captured – for example, on the table covering or on Post-its.

Tools list

• Pencils, board markers
• Flipchart or Whiteboard
• Snacks and beverages
• Paper off the reel
• Visualisation for the introduction (powerpoint)
• Paper and pencil
• Chairs
• Supporting tables
• Wall for collective work

References

Schieffer, A., Isaacs, D., & Gyllenpalm, B. (2004). The World Café: Part One. Ojai, California: World Business Academy.

Slocum, N. (2005). The World Café. Steyaert S., Lisoir H., a cura di, Participatory Methods Toolkit. A practitioner's manual. Belgium: King Baudouin Foundation and Flemish Institute for Science and Technology Assessment.

The World Café. (2015). A Quick Reference Guide for Hosting World Café. The World Café Community Foundation. Retrieved 6 August 2015 from, http://www.theworldcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Cafe-To-Go-Revised.pdf

The World Café. (2015). Book Images. Retrieved 6 August 2015 from, http://www.theworldcafe.com/tools-store/hosting-tool-kit/image-bank/book-images