This module is a part of a larger collection of bite-sized learning
on facilitating social learning spaces.
This collection of learning bites was created by Danida Fellowship Centre together with Beverly and Etienne Wenger-Trayner and produced by Grape and Brand By Hand. Photos used in the collection were taken by @Crawfurd Media, @E Pictures Media Ltd, @Daniel Samwel and Danida Fellowship Centre, supplemented with Stock Photos.
More information
The World Café format was originally developed by Juanita Brown and colleagues.
For more on the method and its principles, read the book: The World Café: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter (2005).
Explore different perspectives on a shared question
Build connections across a larger group
Develop collective insights or a shared direction
Surface patterns or themes from lived experience
Try it with groups of 12 to 200+ people – in-person or online.
Pause and reflect: Have you experienced a moment where your group could have gained something from open, collective dialogue – where everyone talks to everyone?
How a world café works – step by step
Do you want to see what “everyone talking to everyone” can look like?
Here’s a simple way to spark shared reflection and learning in groups. Let’s take a look.
Step 1
Define a powerful, open-ended question – or 2–3 related ones.
Step 2
Form groups of 4–6 (at tables or in breakout rooms) – and assign a host for each.
Step 3
Talk for 15–20 minutes – draw, doodle, and jot down ideas on paper or online.
Step 4
Rotate – everyone moves (except the hosts), mixing groups each time.
Step 5
Wrap up with a harvest – invite people to share themes and patterns they’ve noticed.
““The quality of the question determines the quality of the conversation.””
Juanita Brown, The World Café (2005)
Making sense of what emerged
To make sense of what emerged across the conversations, world café practitioners often use one or more of these methods:
Word cloud
Everyone submits 3–5 words that capture their experience of the café. The most repeated words appear largest.
Popcorn harvest
Open the floor: Anyone can share a reflection or pattern they noticed.
Table-by-table harvest
Let the final table groups discuss their takeaways before presenting them one by one. This keeps the feedback grounded in dialogue.
Dot voting
Participants place dots on themes or ideas they find most meaningful. This gives a quick visual sense of group priorities.
Reflection: What question matters to your group?
Imagine you’re using a world café to open up a social learning space in your team or community.
The key is not to invent a clever question – but to sense what’s already in the room.
Think about:
What are people already talking about or worried about?
What are the questions that matter to them right now?
How might one clear question invite people to share, connect and reflect together?
Example
In a Danida Fellowship Centre-supported network, a world café was used as an introduction format for people to connect with each other. Here, they explored the question:
“What’s keeping you up at night in your current work?”
It helped people discover shared challenges, even across very different contexts.
Your turn: Which question could work for your context?
Work document
Note it down in your work document – or just pause and reflect for a moment.
