Café culture

Vicki Robin

When you put strangers, caffeine and ideas in the same room, brilliant things can happen. For that very reason, the British Parliament banned coffee-houses in the 1700s as hotbeds of sedition. Might we brew up a similar social liveliness now? With democracy, critical thinking and "the ties that bind" all under siege, this may be the most radical cup of coffee you ever drink.

How it all began

Conversation Cafe's arose from the questions, "How can we create a culture ofconversation? What is the minimum set of conditions that will allow strangers inpublic places shift from `small talk to BIG TALK'?"
We believed that conversation is an antidote to loneliness and social isolation,that it's democracy in action and that it could counteract the dumbing down ofthe US.
In July 2001, Susan Partnow, HabibRose and I each began hosting weekly conversations in Cafe's to experiment withvariations of this theme. Over the summer we developed the basic process and agree-ments and some of the outreach strategies that form the backbone of the Conversa-tion Cafe's. Flushed with our small success, Susan and I and two other inveterate con-versationalists met on 10 September to wonder together how we might expandour experiment city-wide — nay! nationwide. We even came up with an imagina-tive plan of what we thought we'd do... someday. Then 11 September hit, andwithin a week I was grabbed with the passion to spread the Cafe's throughout Seat-tle as a way to process this event and respond thoughtfully as citizens. Susan, Iand several others became the core team.

Trick or treat

The "look and feel" — tone, visuals, language — invoked a "trick or treat" feel, acombination of risky yet safe. Talking to strangers is certainly risky — ConversationCafe's make that safe. The taboos against talking with folks you don't know aremajor — they might hurt you, reject you, ridicule you or follow you home. At Con-versation Cafe's you are safe because there's a host who will be friendly, man-age the weirdos, keep things going. You don't have to speak, but you'll get a turnto speak. And our promise to everyone: "No committees will be formed". Youwill not end up with a "to-do" list or further commitments. Many interesting peo-ple can't afford one more thing to do — but they would love a weekly conversa-tional oasis.

See http://www.conversationcafe.org/

Baboo Mondonedo

Vicki Robin introduced the ideaof conversation cafes. Basically, it is a democratic way for hear-ing everyone out. A group of eight or fewer get together to talk about a sub-ject. The rules are: no judgements, don't hog the conversation. People talkone at a time and this is guaranteed by using a "talking object" (can be any-thing, a rock, a fruit - whatever). Someone introduces the topic andstarts the conversation rolling. The talking object is passed around and only theperson holding it can talk. After one round, the object is put in the centre.Those who want to talk have to pick up the object and put it down when they aredone. When it's time to close the conversation, the object goes around and eachone says their closing thoughts. I've done it several times on the topic "simplicityin this complex world" — recreating one's life amidst consumerism and materialism.It can be fun. I am hoping to bring this to national television in the Philippines — wish me luck!

Baboo Mondonedo is a writer based in Baguio City, Philippines. She is an ecology advocate and is interested in culture, women and peace concerns.

Susanna Mitchell

The Caf Diplos is organised bythe Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique (FLMD) at the FrenchInstitute in London on selected Saturday mornings from Septemberthrough to June. It provides a welcome space for spirited debate aboutcontemporary issues and international developments often ignored by themainstream media.
    Open to the public for a small entrancefee, and free to members, these events begin with a talk by an invited expertand end with a facilitated discussion.
    The informal setting for these debates,where the audience can enjoy a cup of coffee and a croissant as they settle in, givesthe Cafs a flavour all their own, and the high quality of the speakers, and thestimulating range of the subjects they cover are making them increasingly pop-ular with people concerned to question and analyse the assumptions of the cur-rent economic and political system.
    Last year, the Cafs addressed issues thatranged from the enlargement of the European Union, the problems of the oil econ-omy in the Caucasus, and the current fate of Chechnya to a discussion of the impli-cations of Guantanamo for the future of international law. Next seasons pro-gramme will open with a talk about the Palestine/Israel problem, and includesdiscussions on Climate Change, the adverse effects of WTO legislation ondeveloping countries, and the future role of the UN.
    As usual, the topics encourage a critiques of militarism, neoliberal econom-ics, the asymmetry of north-south relations and the power of finance capital,and provide an intellectual reference point for those interested in social justiceand world affairs. A good way to keep in touch with the world, and enjoy a livelyand friendly Saturday morning! Susanna Mitchell is an FLMD committee member See http://monde-diplo-friends.org.uk/