World Cafe Community

Inter-generational World Cafés at NCDD 2008

photo by Mitchell Findley

This year the Youth Dialogue Project presented a series of inter-generational World Café sessions at the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation conference in Austin.

Project Director Deborah Goldblatt and World Cafe host and graphic recorder Mariah Howard collaborated on a tremendously informative story chronicling their experiences, during which they learned a number of important lessons that will be of interest to everyone who cares about inter-generational dialogue.

Read on for their story ...

Michael Jones, World Café and the Significance of Place

A few weeks ago my/our friend Michael Jones (yes, the brilliant pianist) shared a remarkable story of his innovative work integrating the arts and a sense of place into the unique World Cafés he hosts. I asked him to please write up his experiences so that others can learn from what he's doing, and this is what he sent:

Meetings Among the Many
A Dialogue on Community Wellbeing and The Significance of Place

"When every place looks the same- there is no such thing as place any longer."
James Howard Kunstler - Geography to Nowhere

Beginning the New Conversation 

Around the world a consensus is growing about the need for a more holistic and transparent way to measure societal progress, one that accounts for more than just the economic indicators such as GNP and takes into account the full range of concerns of the community

In the context of this global movement, in November 2008, leaders in health, culture, public administration, the aboriginal community, students and many others in the Simcoe Muskoka region north of Toronto, Canada met together at The Fern Resort for an historic occasion. Through the day they engaged in conversations as part of the pre-launch of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing, a new and transformational initiative founded by the Hon. Roy Romanow that will report on the wellbeing of all Canadians.

The introduction of music, art, time in nature, story-telling, seeded dialogue, small table conversations and personal reflection shifted the focus from strategic planning and priority setting to a more generative process that allowed time and space to come into the moment, to listen and to speak from the heart and to engage the questions that mattered most to their communities. In this respect the day offered a new and emergent model for what could be possible in future CIW - community partnerships and collaborations.