Cafe

Two methods of breaking into groups

One is called a Cafe. It's born out of the idea that most of the real creative thinking at conferences doesn't happen in sessions but in the halls, over meals, in the pub, etc. You have many small 'tables" (or circles of seating) each of which has a host/ess. Small groups gather, discuss a topic for 45 minutes or so, then everybody scrambles around to new tables while the host/ess remains. You can repeat the scrambling and regrouping several times if time allows. The point is that people get to meet in small groups, where more voices can be heard, but also get to hear what's been discussed in other small groups. I think it might work well for one of the broader topics, like What's our Vision?

Charette

The other process is called a Charette. (Don't ask me why--this stuff comes from the permaculture community and I think second or third hand from architects and designers.) In a charette, you break down into small groups that all work on the same issue. If there are deep divisions in the overall group, you try to represent the factions in the small groups. Then each small group comes back with a report or proposal, and the whole group can go through and say, Oh, we like this part of Group A's proposal, and this part of Group B's, etc. I've seen this used very successfully in writing up a statement of principles of unity, for example. It's helpful when you actually need to get something done.

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