Reweaving the Social Fabric Café

• Welcome people, thank them for coming and share what motivated you or your organization to organize this healing and social fabric reweaving event.
• Purpose of Reweaving the Social Fabric Café:
  • To heal and transform the frayed social fabric of our communities and country around race, politics, economics, religion and ethnicity or wherever there is and “us and them” divide.
• Introductions – 10 minutes
  • Invite people to answer these three questions.

1. 1. 1. Name
      2. Where you live
      3. Reason for attending

• Invite them to share their reflections in the large group—15 minutes.
   
  o Use a graphic facilitator, if possible, to capture the visions on large butcher paper displayed on one of the walls in the room. If virtual, capture learning via screen sharing.

• Describe World Café assumptions, guidelines and logistics – 10 minutes

1. Café Assumptions:

• The knowledge and wisdom we need is already present and accessible.
• Collective insight evolves from:
• Honoring unique contributions
• Connecting ideas
• Noticing deeper themes and questions’
• Accessing the collective wisdom
• Intelligence emerges as the system connects to itself in diverse and creative ways.

2. Café Guidelines:

• FOCUS on what matters
• CONTRIBUTE your thinking
• SPEAK your mind and heart
• LISTEN to understand
• LINK AND CONNECT ideas
• LISTEN TOGETHER for insights, patterns, and deeper questions
• PLAY, DOODLE, DRAW – writing on the tablecloths is encouraged
• ENJOY

3. Café Logistics:

• Divide group into 4 to 6 people.
• Facilitator presents the questions to be explored.
• Use a pen from the table or a symbolic talking object to pass around the table to each person. When you hold this object, it’s your turn to speak and answer the question. No one should interrupt the person. Once everyone has spoken then general discussion is encouraged. (If done virtually, the Café Facilitator can call on people to share.)
• You will move in rounds of conversation at different tables/breakout rooms and cross-pollinate ideas. The Café facilitator will let people know when to move to the next table/room.
• Choose one person who would like to act as host and who will stay at the same table/breakout room to welcome each round of guests. When the new guests are seated/arrive the host briefly shares the high points of last conversation and then encourages the guests, using the talking object or selects if virtual, to link and connect ideas coming from their own table/breakout room.
• As each person shares, the others continue to record and or draw key ideas and new connections on paper tablecloths or if done virtually on their own drawing paper.
• As part of the final round the facilitator will ask: “what’s at the center of our conversation?” Invite people to “listen into the middle” for the deeper themes and larger patterns. Access the collective wisdom.
• These insights will be shared in the larger group and if possible, visually recorded for the larger community to observe.

Note: See Appendix for more information on the World Café logistics.

• Questions: Allocate approximately 15 minutes per round times 4 rounds (2 rounds per question) plus approximately 10 minutes for moving from table to table. If done virtually, the extra time for moving is not needed. Just move people into another breakout room. – 70 minutes
• What are my fears around the torn social fabric in our community? In our country?
• What provides me hope that we can reweave the social fabric in our community? In our country?
• Invite spokespeople from tables or breakout rooms to share the essence of the fears and hopes. First a round on fears, then a round on hopes. If a large group, do with representation from some of the tables/rooms.
• Use a graphic facilitator, if possible, to capture the learning on large butcher paper displayed on one of the walls in the room. If virtual, capture learning via screen sharing. Divide into three sections: fears, hopes and Peace on Earth Team (POET) Leaders (which you will do later). – 20 minutes

• This part of the Reweaving the Social Fabric Café is designed to help participants take direct action to reweave the social fabric of their community and country through participation in the Peace on Earth by 2030 game.
• Purpose of the Game – 2 minutes
  • Explain that the purpose of this part of the Café is to help us take personal action to reweave the social fabric of our community and country through playing the Peace on Earth by 2030 game.
  • If there is a POE Zone campaign going on share what is happening and get them excited to participate as a POET.
  • If not, let them know that this meeting is laying the foundation for creating a POE Zone.
  • If no POE Zone share your desired outcome for the game.
• Peace on Earth Video – 10 minutes
• Reweaving the Social Fabric Vison Exercise– 10 min
• Have them answer on their mobile device or computer.
  • In your highest vision what does the rewoven social fabric of our community look like? Of our country?
  • In your highest vision what reweaving the social fabric personal practices have been adopted in our community? In our country
  • In your highest vision what reweaving the social fabric public policy practices have been adopted in our community? In our country.
  • In your highest vision what did you do personally to further these reweaving the social fabric practices?
  • In your highest vision what enabled you to be successful as a reweaver of the social fabric?
• Divide group into pairs and have partners share their insights from doing the exercise—20 minutes.
  • Tell them: You will have 10 minutes each to share.
  • Let them know you will keep time and alert the group at ten minutes to reverse roles.
• Invite them to share their reflections in the large group—15 minutes.
• Game and Team Leadership —15 minutes.
• Review How the Game Works:

1. 1. The game is based upon the 1986 First Earth Run in which wherever the Torch of Peace went wars stopped and the world was united as one. Its success strategies have been translated into 7 actions that make up the Peace on Earth by 2030 game.
   2. A team of 5-8 people meet in person or virtually eight times using an online platform and support one another to take the 7 actions.
   3. A goal of the game is creating DreamKeepers– those who believe peace on earth is possible and are applying the 7 peace practices in their lives and communities.
   4. The wisdom keepers tell us when ½ of 1% of humanity holds this intention—40 million DreamKeepers—we will shift the consciousness of the planet to enable peace on earth. This combined with mastery the 7 actions provide the mechanism to create peace on earth by 2030.
   5. Another goal of the game is establishing POE Zones – communities playing the game and applying the seven actions to reweave the social fabric and create cooperative solutions to its challenges. A POE Zone’s long-term goal is to create Peace on Earth in that community. We call this a golden age community.

• • Review the Actions:
  • Action 1 – The Way of Oneness: Creating Harmony in the World
  • Action 2 – A Critical Mass of DreamKeepers: Inviting Your Network to Play
  • Action 3 – And a Child Shall Lead the Way: Empowering the Next Generation to Befriend the Other
  • Action 4 – The Unitive Impulse: Celebrating Our Shared Humanity
  • Action 5 – Better Together: Cooperation for the Common Good
  • Action 6 – Blessed Are the Peace makers: Supporting Those Creating Peace on Earth
  • Action 7 – The World Heart: Praying for and Visualizing Peace on Earth
  • Review Team Leader Role:
  • Start a team of 5 to 8 people and keep them on track to achieve their individual and collective goals.
  • Once the initial recruitment phase is over the meeting responsibilities are shared among team members.
  • You are supported by an online Team Leader Roadmap and support system.
• Questions and Answers – 15 Minutes
  • Invite questions about the game and their willingness to become a team leader. Draw out any concerns that individuals might have about participation.
• Invite Individuals to Become POET Leaders – 15 Minutes
  • Ask for a show of hands of who would like to participate in the game and serve as a team leader. Acknowledge those who raise their hands and draw out any concerns from those who didn’t.
  • Write down on the butcher-block paper or via screen sharing those who have committed to be team leaders.
  • Invite those who wishing to join a team to raise their hands. After the Café we will link you up with one of the team leaders.
  • Tell those ready to form a team that you will meet afterwards to organize the logistics.
  • For those not wishing to participate as a team leader or a team member at this time, let them know that they are welcome to do so in the future and they should feel free to reach out to you.
  • Close the Cafe by thanking everyone for their attendance and acknowledge the deep community building that has taken place.
  • Invite people to mingle and partake of the refreshments
• Post Meeting Logistics for Starting POETs – 15 Minutes
  • Inquire among team leaders if they are open to having any participants from the Café join their team.
  • Build teams based on existing relationships, geography, organization affiliation, or whatever other criteria seems appropriate.
  • Link up team leaders with those who would like members of this Café to join their team.
  • Get team leaders and team members to fill out sign-up sheet with name, email, phone and address.
  • When teams are connected, have them exchange contact information with team leader and schedule the Information Meeting for a deeper dive into the game. This also provides an opportunity for the team leader or team members to invite others.
  • Schedule a follow up coaching call with all the team leaders to walk them through the team leadership process. Encourage them to watch in advance the Team Leader Onboarding Video

Created by Juanita Brown and David Issacs, the World Café is a process that fosters conversations that matter in a creative and empowering way. The fundamental premise of the World Café is that this conscious conversation accesses a rich and deep wisdom found only in the collective. The World Café is not only a dynamic technique, but also an invitation into a way of being with each other that is profoundly respectful and collaborative.

Café Logistics

This is a further edification of the logistics shared above.

1. Groups of four to six people sit together. If there are more than six, the process doesn’t work well. The Café is most interesting and effective when people sit with those they do not know. (If conducted virtually through video conferencing the “table” is the breakout room.) 

2. Once the World Café begins the facilitator presents the questions to be explored.
3. For centuries indigenous peoples have used a talking stick to encourage mutual support and deep listening. Use a pen from the table or a symbolic object to pass around the table to each person. When you hold this object, it’s your turn to speak and answer the question. No one should interrupt the person. Those listening are encouraged to write, draw, or doodle on the paper tables clothes as others talk. Once everyone has spoken then general discussion is encouraged. (If done virtually, the Café Facilitator can call on people to share. People can draw on their own and then share with others via Screen Sharing.)

4. You will move in rounds of conversation at different tables/breakout rooms and cross-pollinate idea – carrying key insights, themes, and questions to each new conversation. Patterns emerge, additional perspectives surface, and surprising combinations of insight and creativity reveal themselves. The Café facilitator will let people know when to move to the next table/room.
5. Choose one person who would like to act as host and who will stay at the same table/breakout room to welcome each round of guests. When the new guests are seated/arrive the host briefly shares the high points of last conversation and then encourages the guests, using the talking object or selects in virtual, to link and connect ideas coming from their own table/breakout room. As each person shares, the others continue to record and or draw key ideas and new connections on paper tablecloths or if done virtually on their own drawing paper.
6. As part of the final round the host will ask: “what’s at the center of our conversation?” Invite people to “listen into the middle” for the deeper themes and larger patterns. Access the collective wisdom.
7. These insights will be shared in the larger group and if possible, visually recorded for the larger community to observe

Note: Here’s information for those who wish guidance on facilitating a virtual World Café.

Virtual World Café