Issue #12: January, 2009
 Greetings! Welcome to TableTalk!
A new year always offers a fresh start, as well as an opportunity to reflect on what matters most. In this time of new beginnings, all of us here at the World Café Community Foundation are experiencing a renewed commitment to supporting the spread of conversations that matter. We are so thankful for all of you in this community of practice and friendship that share our energy and commitment for this work. Now more than ever there seems to be a need and search for collective wisdom, in virtually every area of our lives. In this issue we'll read several stories about the emergence of this collective wisdom. One in particular really stands out for me - the report from the inter-generational World Cafes hosted at the 2008 National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation conference, where participants harvested ideas and information that is of value to all of us, whatever our age. This month we also continue our focus on the incredible circle of stewards who give their time, energy and financial support to help ensure the ongoing development and dissemination of the World Café. In this issue, Nicole Anne Boyer interviews Nancy Margulies, a pioneering steward whose contributions to the World Café have been immeasurable.Finally, as I mentioned briefly in
December's letter of gratitude, we'll soon be launching a resourcing
campaign to draw on your support in keeping the gift of the World Café
moving forward. I hope we can count on you - to contribute your ideas
about how we can best reach those in a position to help, to let others
know about opportunities to support us, and to continue to make
financial contributions yourself. Our deep appreciation to all who have made gifts in the last few weeks.
As we go forward in this new year, please take the opportunity to become more involved, even in small ways. Step forward with your news and ideas and make this newsletter reflect your part of this wonderful community. Drop us a line; share your stories and let us hear your voice.Warm Wishes,
 Amy Lenzo, Editorand the World Café Community Foundation
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| Great Dates
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Jan 22
Change Your Questions, Change Your Life
Washington DC
Feb 3 - 5
Learning and Leading for Sustainability
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Feb 11-15
American Citizen's Summit
Denver, Colorado
March 21 - 29
Conversation Cafe Week
Everywhere
April 5 - 8
Leading Profound Innovation
Toronto. Ontario
April 22-24
Energie Cités Conference
Brussels, Belgium
April 27 - 30
Art of Hosting
Ontario, Canada
May 14 - 17
Leadership in a Self-Organizing World
Leavenworth, Washington
May 19 - 2
Authentic Leadership
in Action
Victoria, British Columbia
June 12 & 13
Dialogue in/as Action
New York City, NY
June 21 - 27
Shambhala Summer Institute
Halifax, Nova Scotia
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Send us your dates!
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""[W]hatever we have been given is supposed to be given away not kept.
Or, if it is kept, something of similar value should move in its stead...
[T]he gift may be given back to its original donor, but this is not
essential... The only essential is this: the gift must always move.""
~ Lewis Hyde, The Gift: The Erotic Life of Property
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Inter-Generational Wisdom
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.
YDP
Director Deborah Goldblatt and World Café host and visual recorder
Mariah Howard collaborated on this invigorating story
chronicling their experiences, during which they learned a number of
very important lessons that will be of interest to everyone who cares about
inter-generational dialogue and youth leadership.
Read on for their story ...
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Nicole Anne Boyers
Interviews Nancy Margulies
 Many of you will know Nancy Margulies by her artwork, which has been such an influential force in creating the hospitable space for World Cafés everywhere.
Nancy also created many of the graphic images you see used throughout the World Cafe's communications, including the image on the website's front page, many of the illustrations in the World Cafe book and images in this newsletter.
Others of you will know her as an amazing World Cafe host, as a tireless mentor for new practitioners, and as a pioneer of the Global Climate Change Cafés. From the earliest days of the World Café, Nancy has been an effective ambassador in bringing the World Cafe into service wherever it is needed.
Read on for some of the truly exciting details of Nancy's stewardship and community activism in her interview with Nicole Anne Boyer.
Read on for Nicole's interview with Nancy Margulies ...
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Reclaiming the Gift Culture
 As the financial bubbles burst around the world, it is good to remember and revive an ancient, widespread and effective form of exchange and interaction: the gift culture, a culture of reciprocity, giving, receiving, conviviality and sacred exchange.
World Cafe friend and colleague Manish Jain recently published an inspiring cross-cultural booklet called Reclaiming the Gift Culture (download the pdf here), for which Amy Lenzo, Tom Hurley and Juanita Brown co-wrote an article that shares our own sense of the gift culture as an essential part of our collective learning commons.
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What Else is New?
 There sure seems to be lots of excitement and activity in the realm of social and environmental transformation these days!
* Read this story from a group of students doing an Environmental Cafe at University of Northern Virginia
* Have a look at Tom Atlee's full report (rich in video and resource links) about Rob Hopkins and his exciting initiative Transition Towns in the World Cafe Global Climate Change blog.
* The World Café contributed a section to a Thoughtful Citizens Guidebook sponsored by Marilee Adams of Inquiry Institute.
 The brilliant Canadian pianist, author and consultant Michael Jones has been hosting some unique World Cafés which are distinguished by their innovative use of art and a powerful sense of place.
Michael shared the story a recent event in the World Café Community blog.
Read Michael's story here
And from Eastern Europe ... a beautiful story from Ágota Ruzsa about a World Cafe in Budapest, hosted in partnership with World Cafe hosts from the Society for Organizational Learning. This World Café was convened for an annual partners meeting of the Young Students of Economics at the Corvunis University of Economics in Budapest, and Ágota's story reflects the hope and enthusiasm of these young leaders.
Linda Knudsen McAusland sent a stylish report with some wonderful photographs to follow up on the series of four World Cafés she organized and helped host in the town of L'viv in the Ukraine. You might remember these World Cafés from her posts during the planning and design phase a few month ago.
 Another fabulous visual report of a special series of World Cafés came from Yuya Nishimura in Japan. She calls his events, which are held in a restaurant, Dialogue Bars, and they look like a lot of fun! |
Upcoming Events
by the World Cafe and Friends
Jan 22 ~ Change Your Questions, Change Your Life A one-day workshop in Washington DC, with acclaimed author, coach and consultant Marilee Adams.
To register
Feb 3 - 5 ~ Learning and Leading for Sustainability
An event with Peter Senge and others put on by the Society for Organizational Learning, held at the MIT Faculty Club in Cambridge Massachusetts.
To register, or for more information
Feb 11 - 15 ~ If
you are interested in restoring a healthy balance of power between
government, corporations, and the American people, join We the People
at the American Citizens' Summit for an exciting experiment in
"transpartisan" political empowerment.
To register or for more information
April 5 - 8 ~ Leading Profound Innovation A Shambhala event with World Café friend Otto Scharmer, at the Kingbridge Centre in Toronto, Ontario. For more information
April 27 - 30 ~ Art of Hosting and Convening Conversations is a combined experiential
training, learning lab and retreat, combining Circle, World Café and Open Space. It provides a space where you can
connect to what matters most, discover what is possible, and inspire
co-creation. For more information and to register May 19 - 22 ~ Authentic Leadership in Action Tom Hurley will be co-leading a module at this three-day intensive which follows the same design as the Shambhala Summer Institute in Halifax. For more information
To register or for more information, see the Energies-Cités website
May 14 - 17th ~ Leadership in a Self-Organizing World Join Harrison Owen, creator of Open Space, and other dialogic practitioners, learners and pioneers in Leavenworth, Washington, seeking new ways as we find the old practices insufficient to meet the challenges we are facing today. For more information
For more information, click here. Open registration starts March 1.
June 21st - 27th ~ Shambhala Summer Institute This five-day intensive features 15-hour modules led by internationally
recognized and respected leaders working at the edge of emerging new
fields, including Tom Hurley and Meg Wheatley - in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
For more information
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The World Cafe Community Foundation
Email: news@theworldcafe.com
Web: www.theworldcafe.com |
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