Issue #10: November, 2008
 Greetings! Welcome to TableTalk!
The winds of change are stirring everywhere, and the energy of movement and dynamic change is palpable in the World Café network as well. As people in the U.S. are gearing up for what's going to be called from them as participatory citizens in a new government, the World Café too is coming into maturity and responding to what is being called from us in these times. As part of this movement, we're engaged in a deeper inquiry into stewardship and what it means within the World Café network, which you'll see reflected in this issue.
There's a lot happening, so let's dive right in... read on for the waves of appreciation that came in response to last issue's invitation, stories of bravery and spirit, the first of a series of interviews with key stewards of the World Café, and an introduction to some wonderful new stewards who are helping to usher in the healthy resourcing ecosystem that will support the World Café's ongoing ability to share its gift in the world.
Your ideas and thoughts about the content and focus of this newsletter are not only welcome, they ARE the TableTalk, the news we have to share with each other. What's happening in your part of the World Café network? Drop a line and let us know! We look forward to hearing from you!Warm Wishes,
 Amy Lenzo, Editorand the World Café Community Foundation
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If you have received value from the World Café, please consider giving back.
Make your tax-deductible donation now!
The World Café Community Foundation is registered as a 501c3
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| Great Dates
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November 16 - 19
Pegasus Systems Thinking in Action Conference
Boston, Massachusets
November 16 - 18
Laying the Foundation
for a Global Summit
San Francisco, CA
November 17 - 21
Global Human Development Conference
Takayama City, Japan
November 24 - 25
Happiness & its Causes
San Francisco, CA
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Details on all these events & more on the World Café website Calendar.
Send us your dates!
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"Conversation is the cellular level of knowledge creation."
~ Verna Allee
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Stewardship in the World Café
 Stewardship. Part of the word comes from the Old English "weard", or "keeper" and in a living systems structure like the World Café the stewards are pivotal points in the network that keep the whole organism viable and connected.
In this issue we're publishing the first of a series of interviews with key World Café stewards and we begin with Carlos Mota of Mexico City. Carlos is the perfect choice to begin - you'll see why when you read his interview - but he is just one of a number of extraordinary men and women who volunteer their time and invest their energy and passion to help guide the World Café forward and keep her connected to her own essential being as she spreads so quickly around the world. You'll get to know some of them better in the months ahead.
We started this interview series because we wanted to highlight stewardship within the World Café, so that we all might begin to "live into" what it is to be part of a living organism that nourishes each part and fosters care for the whole. We hope you'll find the interviews inspiring and informative, and we welcome your thoughts about how you too can become involved in caring for the World Café and her stewardship circles.
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Interview with Carlos Mota
In this first of a monthly series highlighting stewardship in the World Café, new resourcing steward Nicole Anne Boyer interviewed Latin American regional and global steward Carlos Mota, from Mexico City. Here is an excerpt from their conversation:
 NAB: What does being a steward mean to you personally?
CM: First of all, being a Steward is a tremendous privilege and responsibility, because it's of course a voluntary position where you are trying to look for the best of all worlds for this practice of dialogue. It's like being an ambassador, to create the conditions for it to grow and expand and be embraced by many people in different parts of the world.
It's a thrill, actually. But this brings with it a strong sense of commitment to make sure the spirit of TWC is intact, that we are loyal and faithful to the intention of creating a web of conversations, that we prevent TWC from becoming a fad-a tool to be used for any purpose, and to avoid the temptation of using TWC just for sparking the same kind the results that created the problems we see in the world today.
So being a Steward is a two-way function: first, to expand its potential; second, to be cautious and careful and to have very clear what TWC is not for. It's important to be clear on its purpose, and what we don't want to create because it's so easy at this time to find another "flavor of the month".
TWC is a very popular tool partly because there is a tremendous sense of anxiety and dependence on tools, techniques and formulae to solve problems, and that is not necessarily what we want for the future.
Read on for Nicole's whole interview with this wonderful friend and exemplary steward of the World Café ...
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New Horizons for World Café Resourcing
As the seasons shift, the World Café too is
experiencing its own cycles of change and transition. While change can
surface questions and unknowns, it can also open up opportunities for
potential and new possibility.
Given our exponential growth and the changes in our model of financial support over the last year or two, the World Café Community
Foundation has made it a priority to focus on developing a healthy "resourcing
eco-system" that can sustain the work of supporting the global
World Café as we continue to grow and evolve.
In the World
Café tradition of evolving through friendship, our need for more stewardship in the resourcing area was met by two wonderful friends of the World Café who have
stepped forward to be of help: Erica Peng and Nicole-Anne ("Nicole") Boyer.
These two young women bring an infusion of the joy and energy of inter-generational collaboration to the WCCF resourcing team along with inspired new ideas and the wisdom of their extensive experience in a variety of key areas.
Over the next few months the World Café
Community Foundation resourcing team will be inviting you too to
participate, and we'll be sharing what's happening in the resourcing
process as it evolves. Current plans include an enhanced website, a
series of short videos and other web 2.0 invitations for the general
public, as well as addressing Foundations, key individuals and the
World Café network as a whole.
We will be exploring ways to
engage your thinking and participation in this important project and
your ideas are very welcome. If you have initial thoughts to share,
please contact Tom Hurley or Amy Lenzo.
Stay tuned!
Read more about Erica and Nicole and the valuable gifts they offer the World Café.
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 In the last issue of TableTalk we asked "What do you most appreciative about your work with the World Café?". We received some wonderful heartfelt responses, including an early video interview with David Cooperrider.
Have a look at them here.
This month's question was triggered by something our featured steward, Carlos Mota, said in a recent stewardship meeting. He was talking about not just using the World Café for "business as usual", but reminding us that the real power of the World Cafe is in its ability to support transformational work on real issues.
So the question for this month, and an inquiry to accompany our work long into the future, is "When have you seen the World Café really make a difference? Either immediately, in one café, or cumulatively over time?"
Please send your stories & responses to this question to Amy Lenzo, or post them on the Community Blog or StoryNet.
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What Else is New?
 World Café: Shaping the Future through Conversations that Matter, declared a "best seller" by publisher Berret Koehler and currently in translation in seven languages (with three more in process), is now available in e-book form. We're looking forward to being on Amazon's Kindle soon!
As part of the ongoing conversations with stewards all over the world, regional steward Ulric Rudebeck from Sweden had these beautiful and insightful thoughts to share about the nature of the World Café.
Ulric also introduced us to Anders Vesterberg, a thoughtful World Café host who has been holding "Green Cafés" throughout Sweden. We're looking forward to hearing more about these Cafés, and in the meantime here are two blog posts by Anders; one about what touches him and why he is drawn to the World Cafe, and one about the power of cross-cultural conversation and why online cafés are an idea whose time has come.
 World Café host Victoria Throop did an incredible job reporting on
the first of two community-wide World Cafés in Valdez,
Alaska. The Cafés focus on the significant challenges faced by this beautiful but extremely isolated small town, where the bear population out-numbers humans ten to one.
Her moving story comes complete with a number of photographs and materials documenting the event's promotion as well as the results of an informative
survey she did with participants at the end of the first Café.
Read the full story...
The Cities of Dialogue in Solothurn, Switzerland this September was a measured success, according to the event's organizer Daniel Gut. With 270 people in 10 Cafés around the city, the turn-out was less than he'd anticipated, but apparently all the participants were pleased and said the experience was very powerful. There's already been follow-up from the event leading to a recent World Café with 75 CEOs and managers of the Swiss Management Association. Well done, Daniel!
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Upcoming Events
Nov 16 - 18 ~ Laying the Foundation, the planning stage for a Global Summit scheduled in 2009 will be happening in San Francisco.
This part of the project is an invite-only event, but we've been asked to extend an invitation to the World Café network, soif you're interested in being part of this momentous event, have a look at the Global Summit website for more information and an invitation.
Nov 17 - 21 ~ The 7th Global
Conference on Human Development: Unlocking the Potential to Build a New
World Together will be held in Takayama City (Gifu Prefecture) in
Japan, at the Earth Wisdom Center.
The first day will feature a
World Cafe as the first step of a five day process with 650 people
exploring their passions for creating a New World Together. Join in!
For more information or to register.
November 24 - 25 ~ Human Happiness and it's Causes: An Exploration of Human Happiness is a conference in San Francisco, California, supported by World Café host Monika Broeker. Free Admission, donations welcome. Contact Monika; or see the website for more information and registration.
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Visual Intelligence
The very talented Mariah Howard has just launched her new blog - Arterior Motives - about listening for and recording social change. Subscribe now and watch for Mariah's images of the World Café in action!
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The World Cafe Community Foundation
Email: news@theworldcafe.com
Web: www.theworldcafe.com |
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