The World Cafe

LEARNING PARTNER: ORIGIN & EVOLUTION STORIES
2025-10-07 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
In collaboration with World Cafe Learning Partner Beehive Productions.
90 Minutes, on the first Tuesday of every month

October 7th, 2025

FEATURING HEATHER PLATT ON “HOLDING SPACE”

Heather Plett has been instrumental in creating awareness and insights into the art of holding space: holding space for others, for ourselves and for what is needed in these times.

In this call, we will explore how this started for her, how it has evolved over the years and what Heather is seeing about this practice today.

For More Information and Registration

30% off for Community Table Members

Hosted by Amy Lenzo and Rowan Simonsen and Mary Alice Arthur

LEARNING PARTNER: Beyond Facilitation 2025
2025-10-27 11:00 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
JOIN World Cafe Learning Partner Amy Lenzo and Mary Alice Arthur in
BEYOND FACILITATION 2025
MONDAYS, OCTOBER 27TH – NOV 11TH
There are so many things changing right at the moment, that it can feel we are continually standing on the edge of the unknown. In many places the mood is fearful, conflictual or depressed. Systems, businesses and people are struggling.
We’ve been keeping an eye on some of our close colleagues who are pioneering how to work at the edges and at the intersection of CHAOS and CHAMOS — which is a Greek word for fundamental breakdown. We want to hear and harvest their stories to give us both courage and new perspectives about how to host in these challenging times.
Sharing and harvesting stories of working with challenge and pioneering at the edges is a great practice for times like these.
We will be using the Collective Story Harvest method — which Mary Alice helped create — to work with these stories and to give you a powerful methodology for engaging and involving the people and systems you work with so they can survive and thrive.
It’s time to do things differently. Come and learn from practitioners working at the edge and see how our stories and applied story work can provide a place where we can take shelter from the storm and find understanding and strength with each other. This is how to find the future in the present.
MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION
(30% OFF GROUPS OF 3 OR MORE + COMMUNITY TABLE SUBSCRIBERS)

OCTOBER COMMUNITY CAFE - AMERICAS & EUROPE
2025-10-28 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
October’s Community World Cafe
Tuesday, October 28th, 2025
Topic: Celebrating the World Cafe’s Gift to the World

10 am – 12:30 pm Pacific Time
1 – 3:30 pm Eastern Time
19:00 – 21:30 Central European Time

Cost: $0 – 20
(Community Table Subscribers use the discount code on the Community Table calendar for free access)
MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION
Read more about the whole Breaths of Design series here in the Calendar, above – where you can register for the whole year of Community World Cafe, including this one, and get archived recordings and resources from each one.

OCTOBER COMMUNITY WORLD CAFE - ASIA PACIFIC
2025-10-30 12:00 - 14:30 (Asia/Tokyo) | ONLINE
October Community Cafe
Thursday, October 30th, 2025
Topic: The Power of Conversation: What World Cafe Brings to Humanity

8:30 – 11am in New Delhi | 10 am – 12:30 pm Jakarta / Bangkok | 11am – 1:30 pm in Beijing | 12 – 2:30 pm in Tokyo | 1 – 3:30 pm in Sydney | 3 – 5:30 pm Wellington
Cost: $0 – 20
(Community Table Subscribers use the discount code on the Community Table calendar for free access)
MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION

Read more about the entire Breaths of Design series here in the Calendar, above – where you can register for the whole year of Community World Cafe, including this one, and get archived recordings and resources from each one.

LEARNING PARTNER: ORIGIN & EVOLUTION STORIES
2025-11-04 10:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
In collaboration with World Cafe Learning Partner Beehive Productions.
ORIGIN & EVOLUTION STORIES
90 Minutes, on the first Tuesday of every month

As part of a thriving community of practice, the Beehive believes that knowing our lineage and history as a field is core to our collective evolution. Join them on the first Tuesday of every month for a new series designed to continue to unpack the origins and evolution of the methods and models that shape and inform our work.

FEATURING
Tom Hurley On “Chaordic Stories”
November 4th, 2025
The Chaordic space, path, practice, organizations, lenses and chaordic leadership have been the foundation of how many of us understand complexity, living systems and our work in an ever changing world.

As the previous CEO of the Chaordic Alliance, with VISA founder Dee Hock, Tom consulted widely on the design of purpose-centered, values-based organisations that can thrive in today’s complex, fast-paced world.

REGISTRATION, MORE INFORMATION
(and a link to Subscribe to the whole series)
30% off for World Cafe Community Table Members
Hosted by Amy Lenzo and Rowan Simonsen and Mary Alice Arthur

November Community Cafe - Americas & European Time Zones
2025-11-18 10:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
10 am – 12:30 pm PDT | 1 pm – 3:30 pm EDT | 7 pm – 9:30 pm CEST
Join us for this month’s Community World Cafe in an Asia Pacific time zone. Our topic for this month is “Reflect & Learn”, which is the last of the “Breaths of Design” series that was our theme for 2025.
We will review what we’ve learned over the last year, before turning our focus to the possibilities for future Community Cafes.
REGISTER HERE
(free to Community Table subscribers – see code in your calendar)
This online Community Cafe is part of an ongoing series we host every month with and for the World Cafe community and for the larger Central Garden of participatory practices.
These Community Cafes give us as a global community a time to “lean in”; a time to listen to others and to speak our truth; a time to remember we are all in this together.

November Community Cafe - Asia Pacific Time Zones
2025-11-20 12:00 - 14:30 (Asia/Tokyo) | ONLINE
10am – 12:30pm Jakarta | 11am – 1:30 pm in Beijing | 12 – 2:30 pm in Tokyo | 1 – 3:30 pm in Sydney
Join us for this month’s Community World Cafe in an Asia Pacific time zone. Our topic for this month is “Reflect & Learn”, which is the last of the “Breaths of Design” series that was our theme for 2025.
We will review what we’ve learned over the last year, before turning our focus to the possibilities for future Community Cafes in this time zone, including a different start time that may make it easier to access.
REGISTER HERE
(free to Community Table subscribers – see code in your calendar)
This online Community Cafe is part of an ongoing series we host every month with and for the World Cafe community and for the larger Central Garden of participatory practices.
These Community Cafes give us as a global community a time to “lean in”; a time to listen to others and to speak our truth; a time to remember we are all in this together.

January Community Cafe – Americas & European Time Zones
2026-01-27 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27TH
10 am – 12:30 pm PDT | 1 pm – 3:30 pm EDT | 7 pm – 9:30 pm CEST
Join us for this month’s Community World Cafe in an Americas and European time zone. Our topic for this month is “Gifts of the World Cafe: Imagining Community Together”, which is the first Community Cafe of the year.
REGISTER HERE
free to Community Table subscribers – see code in your calendar)
This online Community Cafe is part of an ongoing series we host regularly for the World Cafe community and the larger Central Garden of participatory practices.
These Community Cafes give us as a global community a time to “lean in”; a time to listen to others and to speak our truth; a time to remember we are all in this together.

January Community Cafe – Asia Pacific Time Zones
2026-01-28 20:00 - 22:30 (Asia/Tokyo) | ONLINE
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
6 – 8:30 pm Jakarta | 7 – 9:30 pm in Beijing | 8pm – 10:30 pm in Tokyo
Join us for this month’s Community World Cafe in an Asia Pacific time zone. Our topic for this month is “Gifts from the World Cafe: Imagining Community Together“.
REGISTER HERE
(free to Community Table subscribers – see code in your calendar)
This online Community Cafe is part of an ongoing series we host every month for the World Cafe community and for the larger Central Garden of participatory practices.
These Community Cafes give us as a global community a time to “lean in”; a time to listen to others and to speak our truth; a time to remember we are all in this together.

From Practice to Presence: Listening Together for These Times
2026-02-21 15:00 - 17:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
These are times for “world service” cultivated in our own local settings and connected by our personal care and loving friendships across the globe. We need each other, with our diverse perspectives and discoveries now more than ever!
We invite you to join World Café Co-Founders Juanita Brown and David Isaacs along with other TWC pioneers in a unique collaborative learning experiment:
From Practice to Presence: Listening Together for These Times
THREE PHASES
more information & registration

February Community Cafe - Asia Pacific Time Zones
2026-02-24 20:00 - 22:30 (Asia/Tokyo) | ONLINE
Wednesday, February 24, 2026
6 – 8:30 pm Jakarta | 7 – 9:30 pm in Beijing | 8pm – 10:30 pm in Tokyo
In a world full of quick fixes and personal wellness trends, what if well-being is less about individual improvement and more about how we live together? This Community Café invites us to explore well-being as a shared practice — shaped through relationships, purpose, care, and even moments of friction. Through our conversations, we’ll reflect on what truly nourishes us and what it means to cultivate a life of meaning, connection, and collective flourishing.
Join us for this month’s Community World Cafe in an Asia Pacific time zone. Our topic for this month is “Gifts from the World Cafe: Imagining Community Together“.
REGISTER HERE
(free to Community Table subscribers – see the discount code in the Community Table calendar)
This online Community Cafe is part of an ongoing series we host every month for the World Cafe community and for the larger Central Garden of participatory practices. These Community Cafes give us as a global community a time to “lean in”; a time to listen to others and to speak our truth; a time to remember we are all in this together.

March Community Cafe - Asia Pacific Time Zones
2026-03-25 20:00 - 22:00 (Asia/Tokyo) | ONLINE
🌿 What Allows Real Connection to Grow?
Wednesday, March 2, 2026
6 – 8:30 pm Jakarta | 7 – 9:30 pm in Beijing | 8pm – 10:30 pm in Tokyo
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
~ Lao Tzu
In a world that moves quickly and fragments easily, real connection rarely happens by accident.
Lao Tzu reminds us that growth begins in letting go — of fixed identities, fixed opinions, fixed expectations. Perhaps connection, too, requires a kind of spaciousness. A willingness to release certainty. A readiness to meet one another freshly.
Real connection goes beyond surface interaction. It forms when presence deepens, when listening softens us, when trust quietly takes root. It grows where there is courage to be authentic and generosity to truly receive one another.
In this March Asian Pacific Online World Café, sponsored by the World Café Community Foundation, we gather across cultures and time zones to create the conditions where such connection can emerge.
Through shared reflection and meaningful dialogue, we explore how connection is discovered, cultivated, and sustained — and how, as connection grows, so do we.
Let us gather.
Let us listen.
Let us grow — together.
REGISTER HERE
(free to Community Table subscribers – see the discount code in the Community Table calendar)
This online Community Cafe is part of an ongoing series we host every month for the World Cafe community and for the larger Central Garden of participatory practices. These Community Cafes give us as a global community a time to “lean in”; a time to listen to others and to speak our truth; a time to remember we are all in this together.

April Community Cafe - Americas & Europe Time Zones
2026-04-27 10:00 - 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
In 2026 we are experimenting with a quarterly Community Cafe for the Americas and European time zones, rather than a monthly one. Here’re the details:
TUESDAY, APRIL 27TH
10 am – 12:30 pm PDT | 1 pm – 3:30 pm EDT | 7 pm – 9:30 pm CEST
Join us for the April Community World Cafe in an Americas and European time zone. Our topic for this Cafe is “Gifts of the World Cafe: What Allows Real Connection to Grow”.
REGISTER HERE
free to Community Table subscribers – see the discount code in the Community Table calendar)
This online Community Cafe is part of an ongoing series we host regularly for the World Cafe community and the larger Central Garden of participatory practices. These Community Cafes give us as a global community a time to “lean in”; a time to listen to others and to speak our truth; a time to remember we are all in this together.

Asia-Pacific July Cafe: Hope that Grows Between Us
2026-07-28 20:00 - 22:30 (Asia/Tokyo)
Hope That Grows Between Us:
REGISTER HERE
We have been on a beautiful journey together through our dialogues. In May, we shared our deep worries and cared for each other (Shared Care). In June, we created a safe space to speak from our hearts and listen deeply (Honest Conversation).
Our July topic: “Hope That Grows Between Us.”
Today, we live with so many SNS and AI. With just one click, we can connect with the world and get any knowledge. It looks very convenient. But on the other hand, do you feel a deep loneliness or sadness inside? Information on a screen cannot truly fill our hearts.
For human beings, true learning or discovering does not mean just consuming information alone.
As human beings, we deeply need a real connection with people. True learning always starts from dialogue. We look at each other’s faces. We listen to the tone of voice. We feel each other’s presence, and we ask questions.
The “hope” we want to talk about today is not just easy optimism that ignores reality.”Even in the era of AI and SNS, we can gather like this and resonate from our hearts.”
This connection, which is born only “between us,” is the true source of our hope.

Think of a moment in your life or work when you felt a spark of hope—even a small one. What was happening? Who was with you?
We are connecting here across different cultures and speaking from our hearts. What kind of hope is beginning to grow “between us” right now?
How can we take this “hope” back to our daily lives? What is one small step you want to take with people around you?

Engaging the Heart of Social Innovation
2026-08-25 08:00 - 09:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Tuesday, August 25th, 2026
8 am – 9:30 pm PDT | 11 am – 12:30 pm EDT | 5 pm – 6:30 pm CEST
Engaging the Heart of Social Innovation
Let’s come together to strengthen social innovation by practicing becoming Wiser Together.
This first conversation is for any social innovator, at whatever stage or in whatever context of their work, to meet and become a companion on this journey. We will build relationships and share experiences that explore the heart of social innovation for these times.
Either a donation or your Community Table subscription code is required to register. Zoom link will be provided upon registration.
Tuesday, August 25th, 2026
8 am – 9:30 pm PDT | 11 am – 12:30 pm EDT | 5 pm – 6:30 pm CEST
Register here

Embracing the World Cafe Pattern
2026-09-06 09:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Embracing the World Cafe Pattern:
A 4-Session Introduction
SUNDAYS
SEPTEMBER 6TH – 27TH, 2026
9:00 – 11:30 am Pacific Time
12:00 – 2:30 pm Eastern Time
18:00 – 20:30 Central European Time
(Check a Time Zone Converter for Local Time in Your Area)
$425
MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION
The World Cafe invites groups of people, organisations, & communities to co-create a living network through meaningful dialogue that often leads to new insight, collective knowledge and action.
We are offering an introductory workshop of four 2.5 hour online sessions – for those who are curious to learn more about The World Cafe – what it is and how to host it well.

2026 Community World Cafes: Gifts from the World Café
2026-10-26 10:00 - 2027-07-29 12:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | ONLINE
Subscribe to the whole 2026 series for real-time access to every 2026 Community Cafe & key resources you can utilize throughout the year.
SUBSCRIBE
