Connie Parsons of Nevada City sent this report on their successful Café

Report from Nevada City, CA

Graphic Recorder Sherrin Bennett recorded the event

Our Global Cooling Café was overflowing with people, animated conversation, and numerous innovative ideas. It was very clear that many of us are concerned about the climate crisis and feel an urgency to act now. As a result, nineteen action groups have been formed and are currently beginning to focus on specific tasks that support carbon reduction in our community!

Next we will contact all the point persons to see how they are
progressing. We will also send photos to all participants showing the
wonderful graphics inspired by their conversations and ideas.

Because this was our first use of the World Café process, we tried
some new things and, in a few things, fell short.  The participants
gave us excellent feedback that we will integrate to make our next Café
even more successful. The suggestion that we received the most was that
people wanted more time for action-oriented discussion.  Bravo!

At our debriefing meeting, we lamented the fact that, for a variety
of reasons, we got a late start on our program. As a result, we ended
up with less time than planned for the action sign-up process. We also
realized that it was not made clear to those who were ready to roll up
their sleeves and get to work on specific action items, that this would
not take place until the third conversation round of the evening. Due
to this misunderstanding, some who were eager to go into action found
the initial phases somewhat frustrating.

On the other hand, the first questions were quite effective in
building a sense of community and fostering the creativity that emerged
in the action stages. Many who came to the meeting, especially those
who were new to social activism and the café process, expressed
appreciation for the opportunity to voice their concerns and to
discover that they were not alone. The success of this process was
demonstrated by their participation in the formation of action teams
during the latter part of the meeting.

We invite you to attend our next Café Team planning meeting. For details, please contact Power Up – NC at 470-8642.

Our second Café is open to participants of the first, and to others
who wish to join us. Please come, and invite your friends and family.
We will be able to accommodate almost twice as many participants, with
less crowded conditions. With the experience of our first Café to build
upon, it will be a productive, action focused evening. The Café will be
held at the Methodist Church in Nevada City, July 17th from 6:00 – 9:30
PM.

Please mark your calendars for the third Café at the Power Palooza – Miner’s Foundry, Nevada City, August 19th!

Thanks again for joining us in this process!

The Global Cooling Café Team
Connie Parsons, Reinette Senum,
Kelly Casterson, Emmett Miller, Sandra Miller, Jim Bair, Terri Hicklin,
Aeron Miller, Sharyn McDonald, Giza Valentiar Kelly

Café Sponsors
Power Up – NC, APPLE, KVMR