The World Café: Social Innovation in Action

This is the story of the World Café, an approach that has and can change how we relate to one another. Co-founded by Fielding graduate Juanita Brown, PhD, and her spouse, David Isaacs, the World Café is a powerful tool in the world for uniting us through conversation and story. Part of the idea of the World Café is that, for every divide between us, there is something that unites us. By creating the conditions for people to explore powerful questions, a new understanding emerges. These conversations can lead to varied and rich outcomes: a way forward for a complex problem, a deeper understanding of ourselves in relationship with others, a new strategy that shapes next steps, or a way of healing amongst diverse groups and cultures. It is this magic that the World Café evokes, repeatedly in many settings and with many different people. This book is laid out to convey what a World Café is like. With contributions from 20 scholars worldwide, each section intentionally draws on one of the Café’s design principles. Edited by Katrina S. Rogers with associate editors Frederick Steier, Flavio Mesquita da Silva, and Elena Nicklasson, The World Café is a definitive handbook for organizing and leading World Café encounters around the globe.“The editors have brought together an important collection of articles on the World Café – its origin, rationale, development, and practice. It ranges from deeply emotional stories of Cafés in conflict zones via tips on good practice to academic analysis and typologies of World Café. An inspiring read for practitioners and participants alike with valuable insights on the importance of methodological purity and razor-sharp focus on harvesting and artifacts.” Ian Andersen, European Commission Participatory Leadership Adviser (retired).“We first began experimenting with World Cafés three decades ago in small gatherings of 30 or fewer to huge ones of more than a thousand. The simplicity and natural intuitiveness of the process became a godsend for meetings that created both substantive spaces for inquiry and connected spaces for deepening relationships. We need both today, more than ever.” Peter Senge, Author, The Fifth Discipline, Founder, Society for Organizational Learning, Co-Founder, MIT Systems Awareness Lab.“This book makes the quieter case our current moment requires — that the knowing-doing gap cannot be closed by more knowledge, but only by a different quality of conversation. Thirty years of practice, across six continents, is gathered here in voices that are grounded, honest, and hopeful for the times we’re in.” Otto Scharmer, Author, Theory U; Co-Founder, Presencing Institute; Senior Lecturer, MIT.“World Café: Social Innovation in Action captures one of the most effective and humane methods I have seen for fostering meaningful dialogue, shared discovery, and practical results across diverse professional communities… This book will be of great value to both scholars and practitioners who want to engage people thoughtfully, surface important ideas quickly, and turn conversation into lasting impact.” Wit Ostrenko, Former Chairman of the Association of Science Centers, Washington D.C.“This is a rich and insightful account of The World Café, from its serendipitous origins to its many uses: as a scaffold for collective intelligence, as a cornerstone of community building, and as a vessel for the cross-pollination of ideas and perspectives - all nourished by the transformative power of dialogue.” Laurence Habib, Professor, Oslo Metropolitan University. Read more