World Café

Purpose of the activity: harvesting knowledge among a large group of people

The World Café methodology is a simple, impactful, and flexible format for hosting dialogue among large groups of people.

World Café is based on the presumption that we know everything there is to know through collaborative conversations. We gain fresh insights through active listening and building on each other’s ideas. For the CommUnity Project and similar civil society projects, it is very important that we connect with people from different personal and professional backgrounds.

After a brief introduction where the host welcomes the group, introduces the World Café process, and shares the World Café etiquette, the main question is introduced to the group of any nature or object. The question is carefully crafted for the specific context and/or intended purpose of the World Café. The same questions can be used for more than one round, or they can be built on each other to focus or steer the conversation.

The group is divided into small groups of 3-5 people. They take place around a table, discuss the question and come up with an answer or opinion during the first of three or more 20-minute rounds of conversation. At the end of each round, each group member moves to a different table with new participants. They may or may not choose to leave one person for the next round as a “table host” who welcomes the next group and briefs them on what happened in the previous round.

After the small groups (and/or between rounds as needed), individuals are invited to share insights or other results from their conversations with the rest of the large group. These results are reflected visually in a variety of ways, most often using graphic recording, in the front of the room (drawings, word clouds, or mind maps).

Want a more detailed activity description? Check out the Methodological Guide! 👉 https://www.thecommunityproject.eu/community-methodological-guide/ 

Want more in-depth information on/about the World Café method? 👉 Check out the World Café website http://www.theworldcafe.com/key-concepts-resources/world-cafe-method/