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Curious. Authentic. Thoughtful.

Our Story

We believe in the power to Think Together. 


Everyone is unique and can bring in perspectives that should be seen, heard, and valued. While traditional dialogues often feature input from dedicated speakers and subject-matter experts, here, we feature participants from all walks of life - the experience and wisdom that each individual possesses. 


What is World Café?

World Cafe is a rotating small groups discussion driven by intentionally crafted questions, for 12 or more people to Think Together. 🌎☕️


In the process, participants are put into small groups, discuss a question, and move to a new group to discuss the next one. There will be usually three rounds of 15-20 minute discussion (depending on the group size) At the end of the café, they come together to identify themes and emergent insights - the collective wisdom  


Imagine: a bee carrying pollen (key ideas) from one flower(table of 4) to another flower, and repeat this several times. The cross-pollination of ideas is the source of emerging patterns and possibilities. 


Drawing inspiration from the World Café Community Foundation (https://www.theworldcafe.com), Shirley Lam (LinkedIn) founded World Café CAT in 2024 as a way to connect spaces, topics, and communities that foster Curious, Authentic, and Thoughtful discussions.


This way we empower communities through collective wisdom, at the same time promote and facilitate broader access to the World Café approach. 

A world café cat experience

Space

Community

Community

We support local neighborhood spaces through meaningful actions.


By hosting World Café events in various cafés and underused spaces, we invite participants to explore and rediscover areas of the city they may have overlooked, thereby contributing to the vitality and survival of these spaces.

Community

Community

Community

We collaborate with communities for a good cause. 


Whether you are (1) just starting to build a community that needs growth, a pivot, or a clear identification of its unique value, or 

(2) leading or serving an established community that needs to bring together siloed members, foster engagement, and generate new ideas.

Communities list

Topic

Community

Topic

We facilitate collaborative conversations on topics that matter to us all.


From universal or popular subjects, or a niche and challenging discussion. World Café creates a safe space with a clear focus and diverse input, where people feel comfortable sharing their perspectives to form new possibilities. 

Past topics

Highly intentional design for dialogue

What is unique about World Café CAT

  • Targeted Audience: Participants share a common interest in the topic, ensuring higher engagement. 
  • Thoughtful Questions: Thoughtfully crafted discussion questions by the World Café host to stimulate deeper conversations. 
  • Hospitable Space: Spaces designed to create a relaxed atmosphere that facilitates discussion while maintaining focus.  
  • Collaborative and Engaging: Participants share their viewpoints, actively listen to others, share and connect ideas, fostering a sense of group cohesion and togetherness.

Upcoming Events

Check out our monthly World Café event from the below calendar to experience it firsthand. If you want to request a World Café, please reach out to shirley@worldcafecat.com

Event calendar

Fact sheet of world cafe

Description

A rotating small groups discussion driven by intentionally crafted questions, for 12 or more people to Think Together to identify emergent insights.

Purpose

To connect diverse perspectives in a safe space akin to a café setting.

Formality

Some degree of formality is maintained to ensure everyone gets a chance to speak; outcomes or solutions are not pre-decided.

Minimum Participants

Events require at least twelve participants, with no upper limit on attendance.

  • Smaller Groups (12-50 participants)
  • Larger Groups (50-2,000+ participants)

Advantages and Applications

  • Fostering open discussions on important topics
  • Gathering diverse perspectives quickly
  • Building community among participants
  • Encouraging collaborative problem-solving and idea generation

Key Components of the World Café

  1. Setting: The environment is designed to be welcoming and informal, often with small round tables, tablecloths, and materials like paper and colored pens for participants to jot down ideas.
  2. Welcome and Introduction: A host begins the session by introducing the World Café process, explaining the etiquette, and setting the context for the discussions.
  3. Small-Group Rounds: Participants engage in several rounds of conversation, typically lasting 15-20 minutes each. After each round, participants rotate tables to discuss the same topic with different people, which helps to cross-pollinate ideas.
  4. Questions: Each round is initiated with a specific question designed to guide the conversation. These questions can evolve over the rounds to deepen the discussion.
  5. Harvest: At the end of the session, insights and themes from the conversations are shared with the larger group, often visually recorded to capture collective knowledge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cannot find an answer to your question.? Please reach us at @worldcafecat or drop us a message below. 

Definitely! The process of World Cafe is simple yet robust. You can start by understanding the steps and key principles of World Cafe, or join a World Cafe to experience it firsthand. Some past participants have taken this approach to their work, and hosted their own World Cafe for topics they care, such as sustainability, changemakers. 


The latest info are posted on Luma and Instagram. Subscribe to our Luma event calendar and follow our Instagram @worldcafecat should save you from missing any updates from us. 


The events are conducted in Cantonese for local Hong Kongers, but there are also English-language events that welcome participants of all nationalities who are comfortable speaking in English. For questions and suggestions, please contact shirley@worldcafecat.com


We appreciate various ways to amplify our impact, including:


  1. Share the World Café Method with your friends.
  2. Participate in World Cafés to experience it firsthand.
  3. Recommend event spaces for us to consider for future events.
  4. Have a conversation with us to explore hosting a World Café for your community or company.


What we ask is that you always honor the originality of the World Café Method and give proper credit, as detailed on their official website.


The final selection of the space for the World Cafe event depends on various factors such as the topic being discussed and the number of participants. However, the basic criteria for the space include:


  • Having at least 3 tables and 12 seats, and being spacious enough for people to move between them.
  • A cozy atmosphere resembling a cafe is preferred but not mandatory.


If you know of a space that fits these criteria, please message @worldcafecat 


The typical duration for a World Cafe event is 3 hours, allowing ample time for everyone to participate fully by speaking, listening, and reflecting, particularly in larger groups exceeding 12 participants. Nonetheless, it is feasible to condense the event into a shorter timeframe, like a taster session. The shortest World Cafe event we have conducted lasted around 1 hour.


If you have any questions regarding how the World Cafe format can be adapted to suit your specific needs or circumstances, please don't hesitate to reach out.


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