Taiwan World Café

Inspired by the achievements of the Basque government and a number of the world’s renowned architects,  World Café Europe held its second European Gathering in Bilbao, Spain from June 5 – 7th. The Gathering’s theme “Looking at Renewal with New Eyes: The Bilbao Experience” attracted participants from as far away as Australia, Bolivia and the United States to join in the conversation with citizens from all over Europe.

This year 11 local World Café conversations with representatives from a broad spectrum of sectors from society were held: education, health, business, R&D, business, city and regional development, youth, social services and the arts. Over 770 people from Bilbao and the Basque country participated in these local World Cafés.

Two local World Cafés offer a special insight to the spirit of these conversations with the citizens of the Bilbao and the Basque country: a World Café with the Basque television (EiTB) and another in the Prision Nanclares de Oca.

The topic of corporate social responsibility was the topic for the Basque television’s World Café conversation.  This tri-lingual World Café – Spanish, Basque and English – engaged 120 individuals to reflect upon how the television station could more effectively fulfill its purpose as a supporter of the Basque culture and community. Results of these conversations will serve to inform the EiTB’s strategy for the up-coming years.

The prison of Nanclares de Oca provided a unique setting for a World Café conversation. The director of the prision welcomed the proposal by prision’s psychologist to host a conversation to discuss the topic “Enhancing the atmosphere of the prision environment”.  Over 120 people from in and outside the prision walls - prisioners, guards, administrators, politicians, family members and victims – engaged in a lively dialogue to voice their thoughts and recommendations. The graphic recording for this conversation was a joint collaboration between a current prisioner and a graphic recorder. Both the graphic recording and harvesting of ideas will be used by the prision management to create a better environment for everyone living and working in the prision Nanclares de Oca.

Over 100 participants joined the conversations of the central World Café on the topic of renewal. Using Bilbao as an inspiration, this World Café was designed to inspire renewal in communities, cities, and/or organizations by exploring their unique creative potential.  The questions were aimed to generate energy and “chispa” in the participants for renewal, enable them to “live” renewal on a personal and collective level,  as well as enable them to jointly create new knowledge and know-how to lead the renewal process. The  innovation of a “Walking World Café” made its debut in Bilbao during this central World Café. Based on questions about the renewal process formulated by the participants themselves, the role of innovation, creativity, nature and tradition in Bilbao’s  renewal process were explored by teams of 4 people. The  Guggenheim Bilbao (by the Architect Frank Gehry), the Zubizuri Bridge (by the architect Santiago Calatrava), the park of Doña Casilda and the Palacio Euskalduna (former site of Bilbao’s shipyards) all served as inspiration for these conversations. Jumping into the Cypernetic Fountain in the park added to the joint learning experience for one group!

World Café Europe is thankful to innobasque – The Basque Agency for Innovation - for their sponsorship of this year’s Gathering.

Mark your calendars! Next year’s Gathering will be held in late May 2009 at a location to be announced this fall.

i am Benjamin, very happy to work for and with The World Cafe from now on in global communications. Please let me share with you what i will be doing and tell you a bit about me...

by Tom Atlee

I want to expand the concept of conversation.

The Latin and Indo-European roots of "con" and "vers" connote "turning together".

This deeper understanding opens up new meanings.

When we speak our truths and hear each other deeply, letting each other's voices and ideas and stories and passions shift us, we turn together.

When we dance or listen to music, and our bodies and attention resonate with its shifting vibrations and emotional resonances, we turn together.

When we all share the same perspectives, hopes or horrors within the vibrational embrace of mass media and the webs of telecommunications -- 9/11, elections, earth from space -- we turn together.

When we respond adaptively to the situations we face -- individually or collectively -- we are turning together with the energies and realities that reside within those situations.

When we as a community come together in times of crisis, rather than splitting apart into adversarial or self-aggrandizing camps, we are turning together.

As all plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breath out oxygen, and all animals breath in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, we turn together in and as one great cycling flow of oxygen and carbon, 

releasing the energies of Life.

As our one small and beautiful planet spins out its days and nights, and circles the sun into seasons, and glides with our whole solar family on one vast arcing arm of our spiral Milky Way galaxy, we turn  together.

We are in conversation -- all of us, all the time, at more levels than we know -- turning together.

Waking up is our emerging realization that we can converse more consciously, learn to do it more knowledgeably and heartfully, inspired and inspiring, and thereby evolve together with -- and into 

-- greater wisdom, wholesomeness, and grace... turning, together.