The World Cafe

Conversations Matter!

by David Shaw | Sep 21, 2015 | 20th Anniversary Messages, Conversation

David-Shaw-candle

What if we are immersed in conversation like fish swimming in water? What if it is through conversation that we have built everything in our world? The World Cafe reminds us that conversations matter – no matter how small or large – and to consider what we might do together with our wild and precious lives.

As The World Cafe turns 20 years young, I am supporting its next 20 years by making a financial contribution, hosting Impact Cafes this fall at the Bioneers Conference and UC Santa Cruz, and offering my time to the World Cafe Stewardship Council. I attribute a tremendous amount of my personal, professional and organizational fulfillment to the friends I have made through The World Cafe, and the many projects we’ve launched together. Cheers to our global community! May we grow and co-evolve. For you, the spirit of The World Cafe, I light this candle.

David Shaw :: UCSC Common Ground Center, Co-Director

Please join us in celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the World Café.

ULab Session#1

by Michaela Sieh | Sep 19, 2015 | U.Lab, World as Cafe

Communication is the Key

by Michaela Sieh | Sep 19, 2015 | U.Lab, World as Cafe

This is a little video I made to show a special kind of communication happening all around the world through Twitter, in relation to the ULab MOOC sponsored by MIT happening now … and in particular, the journey of one little message written to convey our gratitude to be part of it.

Special thanks to Otto Scharmer and our friends at Kommunikationslotsen.

Personal Impact

by Amy Lenzo | Sep 17, 2015 | Impact, Relationship

Seth Godin, photo by Brian Bloom

This blog post from Seth Godin says something profound to me about impact.

It’s just the sort of inspiration I want to share with anyone thinking of hosting a Local Impact Cafe to help celebrate the World Café’s 20th Anniversary because it shows that impact begins at home, with how we see each other, and how we see ourselves:

The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.

Seth goes on to say:

“If we can help just one person refuse to accept false limits, we’ve made a contribution. If we can give people the education, the tools and the access they need to reach their goals, we’ve made a difference. And if we can help erase the systemic stories, traditions and policies that push entire groups of people to insist on less, we’ve changed the world.”

Thanks so much to Greg Guiliano for posting this link on our World Café group on LinkedIn.

Integrating Intimacy and Scale

by David Isaacs | Sep 15, 2015 | 20th Anniversary Messages

The World Café integrates intimacy and scale, as it designs and facilitates networks of collaborative conversation around questions that matter in service to life-affirming possibilities.

David Isaacs, Co-Founder World Café

Please join us in celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the World Café.

World Café Impact – Japan-style

by Amy Lenzo | Sep 11, 2015 | Book, Impact, Video

Thanks to Michael Shell of GLPA, I recently discovered this video of myself sharing stories of the Japanese translation of the World Café book*, and the ongoing impact of World Café within Japan. In watching it, I was struck by how fully our Japanese friends have embraced the possibilities and potential of World Café conversation.

I’m very excited to be going to Japan (for my first time ever!) to co-host two Impact Cafés with Juanita Brown (who will be coming in by satellite) and Kazuaki Katori – one in Tokyo on October 25th, and an Asia-wide Online Impact Café on the 27th. I’ll also be co-hosting an all-day Master Class for World Café practitioners in Tokyo on October 23rd. It is a great honor to be part of these 20th anniversary celebrations in Japan. See the Impact Café Listings for more details.

Members of the original Japanese translation team and publishers include: Daisuke Kawaguchi, Toshimitsu Kanekiyo, Kazuaki Katori, Mikako Yusa and Riichiro Oda.