HOSTING CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER:
A Café Community Gathering
Sunday, February 16th
Foundation for Global Community
Palo Alto, California

Hello all,

We're pleased to invite you to join a special one day "Café Retreat" for World Cafe and Conversation Café hosts, and anyone interested in learning about and hosting exciting Café conversations in community, organizational and conference settings. You can feel free to forward this personal invitation to others whom you want to be sure are part of this gathering as well.

Our overall hosts for this special event will be Vicki Robin, author and co-creator of Conversation Cafes and Juanita Brown, co-founder of the World Café. Nancy Margulies, author and creator of Mind Mapping, will also be joining us to share her magic.

At this first Bay Area Café Retreat you'll have the opportunity to:

" Experience both Conversation Cafes and the World Cafe in order to expand our repertoire of fun and creative ways to nurture a culture of dialogue.

" Learn when/how to use which Cafe approach depending on the unique needs of the situations we work/play in-- from dinner tables to workplaces to neighborhood restaurants and even to conferences of thousands!

" Share our discoveries about what enables us to create and sustain "inspired spaces" for authentic dialogue.

" Explore the practical challenges and opportunities of hosting both World Cafés and Conversation Cafes, including creating the invitation, framing powerful questions, deepening individual and collective listening, and sharing/harvesting insights.

" Meet and connect with other great people with whom we share values, passion, and a larger sense of the "common work."

This is an occasion we've dreamed for some time…a coming together of World Café and Conversation Café hosts and others interested in creating a culture of dialogue to hear about the founding Café principles, share best practices, and have fun. We envision an interactive get-together of Cafés, creativity, laughter, story sharing and practical learning while we contribute together to the magic of the growing Café Society around the world.

The event will be held on Sunday, February 16, from 10 am to 5 pm, at the Foundation for Global Community in Palo Alto-directions to follow. Please RSVP right away - [email protected] -- to ensure a reservation, since space is limited.

There is no "fee" to attend this event. We're asking for a donation of not more than $25.00, to help offset the costs of materials, refreshments and lunch, based on a sliding scale and whether or not you bring your own lunch. We don't want finances to be a reason for anyone not to join in this gathering. Everyone is welcome!

We're hoping you'll be able to come and share this special day with us. Since lead time is short, please let us know right away if you plan to come or not and we'll be back to you with driving directions and other logistics.

Warmly,

Juanita Brown
Vicki Robin
Nancy Margulies
Genevieve Taylor
Ruth Shields
Hans Kuendig
Debbie Mytels