The World Café method is used to make implicit knowledge explicit through discussion and visualization in a playful manner. It involves breaking a large group of 12-40 people into smaller groups of 4 at tables, where they discuss and visually map out their ideas on topics for 15 minutes before rotating to new tables. This continues until all groups have discussed all topics. Then each table presents their results while others listen and provide feedback. The ideas are then further developed into an action plan. World Café can generate rich results over the course of a full day event with good facilitation and breaks for community building.

1. Tool A12World Café
World Café is an extension of our second variation of the brainwrit-
ing method (cf. Tool 37) for much more people, at least 12, better
16 or 20 people and up to 40. Under certain
circumstances up to several hundreds of
people can participate in a World Café. In
this case the event would certainly last two
days. Like brainwriting, it is very useful for
making implicit knowledge explicit in a play-
ful manner. The important difference here
is that people talk to each other and write.
The method as such is simple, but it needs
very careful planning of all environmental
conditions. For a larger group two modera-
tors and an assistant are recommended.
• A room is needed large enough to host
all participants at individual tables for
no more than four persons per table,
• each table equipped with paper tablecloth and
• permanent markers in two or more colours like the ones used for
flipcharts and moderation.
• it is useful to have several pinboards at the periphery
• and a device for recording reports in the second phase.
Let’s assume you have a group of 24 people from a regional
cluster who want to find solutions to the growing pressure of
globalisation. You have predefined six topics (for six tables)
related to problems in the cluster arising from globalisation.
• For each table you need to identify an anchor person or
host who is the owner of the table’s topic. He or she will
later present the results visualised on the tablecloth.
• During the first phase,
people start giving their views talking to each other and
writing, scribbling, doodling or drawing what they want
to contribute to the table’s topic. The anchor person can
moderate the process, if needed, e.g. suggesting a com-
mon way of visualising the contributions. A mind map
which permits many forms of contributions might result
in a meaningful structure.
• After 15 min – the time span is defined by the modera-
tors – all but the hosts change tables. Each person joins a
Graphs taken from
www.theworldcafe-
europe.net
Cf. Tool 37:
Brainwriting
18.07.2008, 11:39:16

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different new table forming a completely new group who works
on the specific topic of this new table (see graphic).
• This phase is over when all participants with exception of the
anchor persons have worked at all six tables.
• In the second phase,
the host or anchor persons report the results of their respective
tables. All other participants move to the reporting table gather-
ing around it for listening to the report and looking at the visual
results. If the reports are going to be used for further planning of
actions it may be helpful to record the reports. Together with
the notes on the tablecloth they can constitute a very rich
source of ideas. All participants receive the reports and a foto-
graph of the tablecloth.
• In a possible third phase
the plenary may now proceed to select the most relevant ideas
and concepts and develop them to a more coherent concept or
action plan. If several ideas are to be implemented, further work
can be organised in parallel groups at separate tables. If the ta-
blecloth with the basic idea is too chaotic for further planning, it
is pinned to a moderation board and the planning is developed on
a new tablecloth paper.
Such a process can easily last a whole day, with even larger groups
quite as well a day and a half or two days. The more people and the
longer the duration, the more complicated becomes the final elabo-
ration of results.
Needless to say that for such an event the whole setting must be
well organised providing drinks, light food and a few planned breaks
where people can experience their community in a different way (cf.
Tool A4: The setting of workshops)
Cf. Tool A4:
The setting of
workshops