{"id":540,"date":"2008-12-05T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-05T15:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theworldcafe.com\/meetings-among-the-many"},"modified":"2015-08-16T02:03:07","modified_gmt":"2015-08-16T02:03:07","slug":"meetings-among-the-many","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/meetings-among-the-many\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Jones, World Caf\u00e9 and the Significance of Place"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Canada\"<\/a>A few weeks ago my\/our friend Michael Jones<\/a> (yes, the brilliant pianist) shared a remarkable story of his innovative work integrating the arts and a sense of place into the unique World Caf\u00e9s he hosts. I asked him to please write up his experiences so that others can learn from what he’s doing, and this is what he sent:<\/p>\n

Meetings Among the Many <\/strong>
\nA Dialogue on Community Wellbeing and The Significance of Place <\/em><\/p>\n

“When every place looks the same- there is no such thing as place any longer.”<\/em>
\nJames Howard Kunstler – Geography to Nowhere<\/em><\/p>\n

Beginning the New Conversation\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Around the world a consensus is growing about the need for a more holistic and transparent way to measure societal progress, one that accounts for more than just the economic indicators such as GNP and takes into account the full range of concerns of the community.<\/p>\n

In the context of this global movement, in November 2008, leaders in health, culture, public administration, the aboriginal community, students and many others in the Simcoe Muskoka region north of Toronto, Canada met together at The Fern Resort for an historic occasion. Through the day they engaged in conversations as part of the pre-launch of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing<\/a>, a new and transformational initiative founded by the Hon. Roy Romanow that will report on the wellbeing of all Canadians.<\/p>\n

The introduction of music, art, time in nature, story-telling, seeded dialogue, small table conversations and personal reflection shifted the focus from strategic planning and priority setting to a more generative process that allowed time and space to come into the moment, to listen and to speak from the heart and to engage the questions that mattered most to their communities. In this respect the day offered a new and emergent model for what could be possible in future CIW – community partnerships and collaborations.<\/p>\n

At the heart of these collaborations is the commitment to bring together diverse members of the community in cross sector and multi-generational dialogues to inquire into the significance of place, arts and culture, identity and the other domains of the CIW. Through creating a\u00a0 \u2018conversation commons,\u2019 communities will have the opportunity to imagine and reflect on questions that will influence the quality of their well being now and into the far future. For example;<\/p>\n