Imagine starting a global movement from your living room based on a profound understanding of how conversations can change the world. That is the possibility being embodied by the global practictioners of The World Cafe, an innovative and exciting approach to hosting and convening "conversations that matter" on critical issues that can make a difference to our common future. 

During the last ten years, a dynamic global network of leaders have been developing and using an innovative social technology called the World Café (www.theworldcafe.com) to foster positive systemic change at many levels of organizational life and society.

 Since the publication of The World Café:Shaping our Futures Through Conversations that Matter (2005) , the World Café approach to multi-stakeholder engagement, constructive dialogue, collective intelligence and cooperative action is being used to address critical issues in thousands of groups in government, community, business, health, and educational institutions on six continents. The World Café is being used around critical questions like global warming, Israeli Palestinian relations, interfaith dialogues for peace, indigenous rights, intergenerational collaboration and youth leadership.

 The World Café is now poised to join the Web 2.0 era in a powerful way, with a new website, on-line community tools, and blog  “Conversation as a Co-Evolutionary Force” to engage this important insight much more broadly. It is the first step towards network activation on a broad scale to enable more people to use The World Cafe to amplify social impact.

 An incredible intergenerational team of women technologists and community developers (the GiGis—Girl Geeks) has come together to nurture the World Café as a leading edge learning laboratory for the creation of hospitable space, beauty, on-line dialogue and network evolution, not only on behalf of the World Café but of other major initiatives, including key causes and projects of NetSquared members.

 The  GiGi’s project is using our best understanding of social networks and community development, supported by virtual technologies, to enable the World Café global network to become increasingly self-organizing, self-sustaining, and self-renewing on behalf of life affirming futures.

WHAT WE NEED:

* Funds to support the development of regional hub leaders and technology stewards. This may include basic technology infrastructure (access costs, computer), to supporting their regional travel needs as they activate the network with both F2F and online activities

* Funds for documentation, translation and interpretation

* Continued infrastructure technology and process development.

* Small grant fund for local network activities, such as development of regional web hubs for the Latin America Pallomilla, Cafe Asia, World Cafe Europe etc. These are self determined regional hubs.

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