World Café is a facilitation method that allows small groups of people to have conversations, sketch, and brainstorm around in an informal setting, around cafe tables. Groups typically have several rounds, switching tables and starting new topics.
The World Cafe is a tool that allows for meaningful collaborative discussions, sharing information, and positioning for action. The World Cafe aims to bring together diverse groups of people in open settings. Small groups gather around a set of Cafe Tables, each of which represents a particular discussion occurring in a larger whole.
World Cafes can take the place of (or supplement) focus groups or working committees in planning situations, with small discussions formed around specific issues relating to the community. They can also be used to engage people in discussing a particular issue or aspects of one challenge in a public meeting format.
World Cafes are best organized in rooms set up like actual cafes, with tables that seat 4-5 people. Conversations can be set up with about three rounds, each 20-30 minutes long, and with participants moving around the room and forming new groups in between. Each table typically has one topic; that topic remains the same, so each new group builds on the conversation at the table. Tables are usually covered with large sheets of paper or paper placemats, on which participants can doodle and take notes. Often a table "host" remains at the table for each round, and can update the new group on what the previous group discussed and where the conversation left off. World Cafe settings work best with more than 12 participants total, which allows for cross-pollination of ideas.
The World Cafe suggests several guidelines for creating successful Cafe discussions:
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