Cool Globes is a US-wide project that was launched in Chicago last year using the power of art to bring a more positive message about the need to "cool" the planet. Here in the San Francisco bay area where I live we’re gearing up for a Cool Globes exhibition in Chrissy Field. It opens this Tuesday and will be showing through October 12th.
Here’s a video of local artist Lauren Davies creating her piece – "The Butterfly & the Tsunami":
Hi everyone,
I’ve just recently returned from the Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership in Nova Scotia, where Tom Hurley, who is guiding the global evolution of the World Café network, led a module on Leadership in Emergent Networked Systems. I co- hosted, with Claudia Chender, a young leader from the board of Shambhala, an inquiry into future possibilities for the Shambhala Institute in the arena of multi-generational collaboration, a thread we had begun with the first Intergenerational Dialogues at Shambhala in 2004.
What we thought might be a small group of about 20 to explore the multi-generational possibilities became a group of more than 60 of all ages and stage of life. It was an exciting time, once again revealing immense interest in the possibilities that could emerge if we came together across the generations on behalf of accessing collective intelligence and wise action on issues of common concern.
Claudia stepped forward to join Samantha Tan, Ryan Feinstein and others to help both the Shambhala Institute and the World Café become global learning laboratories for true multi-generational collaboration, an effort which we hope to link to our research partnership with the Fielding Institute for Social Innovation.
All in all, was a wonderful time for me personally, as many friends from previous years were there, including Toke Moller and Nissen, who along with Chris Corrigan led a module on the Art of Hosting and Harvesting. I was asked by the Art of Hosting group to come to their module as a guest "storyteller" to share my sense of the "deeper work" of the World Café–seeing the possibilities of conversation as a co-evolutionary force for constructive change, and the powerful ideas that come when we create the conditions for what Finn Voldtofte, a World Café pioneer from Denmark, called the "magic in the middle"–that special state of collective consciousness–what some call "the field" that enables true creativity and innovation to reveal itself.
I was also deeply honored by the wonderful offer of Ravi Tangri to help inaugurate "World Café TV!". Ravi spent the week filming varied aspects of the World Café so that we can begin to develop short videos (on You Tube, of course!) of the World Café process, principles, and deeper pattern with the burgeoning
World Café community of practice around the globe. Ravi and his wife Kathy Jourdain have been doing groundbreaking work integrating Otto Sharmer’s "Theory U Process" with the World Café in their work in transforming the health care system in Nova Scotia. I had the chance to meet with the leaders of this effort at their home the day after the Institute ended. It was truly heartwarming to see how the World Café is serving these kinds of efforts.
I look forward to continuing to collaborate with Ravi Tangri, Nancy Margulies, Emmett Miller, and others to develop innovative ways to communicate the essence of the World Café and to invite others to play.
If you are interested in learning more about either the multi-generational work, or ways to spread the word about the World Café in your communities please contact us at info@theworldcafe.com.
Warm regards to all,
Juanita
Inspired by the achievements of the Basque government and a number of
the world’s renowned architects, World Café Europe held its second
European Gathering in Bilbao, Spain from June 5 – 7th. The Gathering’s
theme “Looking at Renewal with New Eyes: The Bilbao Experience”
attracted participants from as far away as Australia, Bolivia and the
United States to join in the conversation with citizens from all over
Europe.
This year 11 local World Café conversations with representatives from a
broad spectrum of sectors from society were held: education, health,
business, R&D, business, city and regional development, youth,
social services and the arts. Over 770 people from Bilbao and the
Basque country participated in these local World Cafés.
Two local World Cafés offer a special insight to the spirit of these
conversations with the citizens of the Bilbao and the Basque country: a
World Café with the Basque television (EiTB) and another in the Prision
Nanclares de Oca.
The topic of corporate social responsibility was the topic for the
Basque television’s World Café conversation. This tri-lingual World
Café – Spanish, Basque and English – engaged 120 individuals to reflect
upon how the television station could more effectively fulfill its
purpose as a supporter of the Basque culture and community. Results of
these conversations will serve to inform the EiTB’s strategy for the
up-coming years.
The prison of Nanclares de Oca provided a unique setting for a World
Café conversation. The director of the prision welcomed the proposal by
prision’s psychologist to host a conversation to discuss the topic
“Enhancing the atmosphere of the prision environment”. Over 120 people
from in and outside the prision walls – prisioners, guards,
administrators, politicians, family members and victims – engaged in a
lively dialogue to voice their thoughts and recommendations. The
graphic recording for this conversation was a joint collaboration
between a current prisioner and a graphic recorder. Both the graphic
recording and harvesting of ideas will be used by the prision
management to create a better environment for everyone living and
working in the prision Nanclares de Oca.
Over 100 participants joined the conversations of the central World
Café on the topic of renewal. Using Bilbao as an inspiration, this
World Café was designed to inspire renewal in communities, cities,
and/or organizations by exploring their unique creative potential. The
questions were aimed to generate energy and “chispa” in the
participants for renewal, enable them to “live” renewal on a personal
and collective level, as well as enable them to jointly create new
knowledge and know-how to lead the renewal process. The innovation of
a “Walking World Café” made its debut in Bilbao during this central
World Café. Based on questions about the renewal process formulated by
the participants themselves, the role of innovation, creativity, nature
and tradition in Bilbao’s renewal process were explored by teams of 4
people. The Guggenheim Bilbao (by the Architect Frank Gehry), the
Zubizuri Bridge (by the architect Santiago Calatrava), the park of
Doña Casilda and the Palacio Euskalduna (former site of Bilbao’s
shipyards) all served as inspiration for these conversations. Jumping
into the Cypernetic Fountain in the park added to the joint learning
experience for one group!
World Café Europe is thankful to innobasque – The Basque Agency for Innovation – for their sponsorship of this year’s Gathering.
Mark your calendars! Next year’s Gathering will be held in late May 2009 at a location to be announced this fall.
Here’s a book suggestion from Dennis Dougherty, who says ” Lester R. Brown reviews our global resource situation and provides strategic action plans to start to rectify our use of our global resources.”:
Blogger Liz Strauss wrote a great post yesterday – she was talking about that glass-full of crayons and the butcher block paper on the table in your local restaurant, and how the images we create together often serve as a catalyst for conversation. She was asking if crayons qualify as low tech social media. 🙂
So of course I had to leave a comment and tell her about the World Café and our tablecloth doodling!
On August 3-8 in Boston I am planning to attend a powerful teaching seminar with Dr. Humberto Maturana and his colleague Prof. Ximena Davila, two pioneering Chilean cultural biologists focused on the deeper process of co-evolution and renewal in human systems. They will help us see how we, as human beings with the unique capacity for language, reflective consciousness, and meaning making through the networks of conversation in which we participate have evolved today’s world…..and what our possibilities might be for consciously co-evolving our futures together in more life-affirming ways.
Maturana’s work has had a profound influence on the deeper intention of the World Cafe as an approach through which people can experience these living networks of conversation and their potential for co-evolving the futures we want rather than being forced to live with the futures we get. I encourage any of you who want to learn the scientific underpinnings of the World Cafe to join me in this powerful joint
inquiry.
