What is a World Café? World Café Conversations are an intentional way to create a living network of conversation around questions that matter. A Café Conversation is a creative process for leading collaborative dialogue, sharing knowledge and creating possibilities for action in groups of all sizes. Source: The orientation of the Café is toward contribution. It starts with somebody giving something. The purpose of the Café is not to criticize, but to contribute. You cant blame anybody for giving. In the Café you dont have to perform, only contribute. And when you contribute, the knowledge grows. Source: The World Café (Brown & Isaacs)

The Principles of the World Café Source: Create Hospitable Space Explore Questions That Matter –How can HP be the best lab in the world? –What can be done to reverse the declining birth rate in Singapore? Connect Diverse People and Ideas Encourage Each Person's Contribution Listen Together for Patterns, Insights and Deeper Questions Make Collective Knowledge Visible See also:

Hospitable Space Most meeting places are sterile, cold, and impersonal. Consider choosing warm, inviting environments with natural light and comfortable seating. Honor our long traditions of human hospitality by offering food and refreshments. Hospitable space also means "safe" space--where everyone feels free to offer their best thinking. Our workplaces, and many hotels and conference centers, arent designed to create the right environments for the kind of strategic thinking and quality conversation that is so important for the future of our business. Boardrooms and conference rooms are so sterile and cold. And those big tables are barriers too.

Methodology of the World Café The environment is set up like a café, with tables for four, tablecloths covered by paper tablecloths, flowers, some colored pens and, if possible, candles, quiet music and refreshments. People sit four to a table and have a series of conversational rounds lasting from 20 to 45 minutes about one or more questions which are personally meaningful to them. At the end of each round, one person remains at each table as the host, while each of the other three travel to separate tables. Table hosts welcome newcomers to their tables and share the essence of that table's conversation so far. The newcomers relate any conversational threads which they are carrying -- and then the conversation continues, deepening as the round progresses. Source:

Café Hosting Tips Source: Set up Café-style tables or another relaxed setting. Provide food, beverages, music, art, natural light, and greenery. Encourage informal conversation focused on key questions. Allow time for silence and reflection. Encourage members to cross-pollinate ideas and insights across groups.

Example of Graphic Recording Please refer to:

Café Hosting Tips Source: Have materials available for visually representing key ideas – markers and paper. Weave and connect emerging themes and insights. Honor the social nature of learning and community building. Help members notice that individual conversations are part of and contribute to a larger field of collective knowledge and wisdom.

Hosting Conversations that Matter This concise guide details how to use the six principles of the World Café in designing Café conversations. It contains tips for creating powerful questions, explains the World Café assumptions and etiquette, and has checklists for setting up your meeting space, as well as all the supplies you will need on hand to support your gathering. Reference Book: The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter by Juanita Brown, David Isaacs, World Cafe Community, and Margaret J. Wheatley

Ideas Generated from a World Café: What can be done to reverse the declining birth rate in Singapore? Girls in the same National Service (NS) camps 1 year parent leave (to be shared between both parents) Legalize and practice polygamy Allow kids in offices Have SDU leave Cheaper hospital bills Plan power failures Priority for families with more children to attend school Legalize pornography Curfews for married adults No examinations for post-grads home dads Ban condom sales Legalize surrogate mothers Distribute leaky condoms No TV programs after 10PM Remove all entertainment Free child delivery Advocate family values in society Relax adoption criteria Reduce working hours to reduce stress Build a family bonding culture Legalize the use of sperm bank for single mothers Social security for single mothers Free education, esp for IHIL Kamasutra in National Education Remove social stigma on single/unmarried parents Subsidize IVF Support groups on housework and childcare Incentives to PRs Increase paternity & child sick leave Nanny support groups Relax HDB rulings on homes for single parents Generate family building emotions through banners & adverts

Exercise Break into groups of 5. Conduct a World Café based on the topic: How can I leverage informal knowledge networks at my workplace?