In a couple programs I've participated a World Cafe style discussion was implemented. The Cafe is described on Wikipedia as "a structured conversational process in which groups of people discuss a topic at several tables, with individuals switching tables periodically."
The general principle is to be able to discuss a variety of topics without having all involved talking about one topic at a time which can be cumbersome as not everyone in a very large group would be able to fully participate. By breaking down into smaller groups and breaking down the main topic into smaller portions, everyone gets an opportunity to have a voice all the topics and gain a cross sectional view of the topics being discussed.
The World Cafe was originated by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs, a practitioner's manual exists to help explain the process further.
In the cafe's I've participated, the process was a bit rushed as time was a factor but I can see the value of being able to work in small groups but also being able to move from topic to topic. But these were just demonstrations on how to apply the cafe concept rather than full implementation of the cafe to generate dialogue on a larger issue.
I'd be interested in hearing from anyone that has had more experience with this form of discussion in order to understand its full capability.
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