About the World Café

The World Café brings people together in an informal setting and uses the power of conversation to harness the collective wisdom of those present. The name reflects the informal café-style ambience in which participants feel comfortable to share ideas. It was devised by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs and evolved into a method that has been used around the world in a whole range of settings and situations. You can find out more about their work and the way the World Café can be used on the World Café website.


The dual premise of the World Café is that people want to talk about the things that matter to them and that there is greater wisdom to be found in collective thinking and shared ideas. But it is more than just group discussions with interested and informed participants. Movement is a key feature of the World Café as each participant moves to different tables several times to share their thoughts, ideas and suggestions with others so that the contributions of every participant are cross-pollinated around the room to all the tables.

In keeping with the informal setting, the ideas generated by the group discussions are noted on the paper tablecloths. The aim of the Justice Café events is to recreate the sort of environment in which a group of friends sit around in excited conversation about a shared passion and scribble down their ideas as they talk.