{"id":544,"date":"2008-11-12T05:47:51","date_gmt":"2008-11-12T10:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theworldcafe.com\/interview-with"},"modified":"2015-07-20T22:27:15","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T22:27:15","slug":"interview-with","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/interview-with\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Carlos Mota"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first of a monthly series highlighting stewardship of the World Caf\u00e9 network, steward Nicole Anne Boyer from the resourcing team interviewed Latin American regional and global steward of the World Caf\u00e9, Carlos Mota, who lives in Mexico City. Here is an excerpt from their conversation:<\/p>\n

\"Carlosmota2\" NAB: What does being a steward mean to you personally?<\/strong>
CM:
\nFirst of all, being a Steward is a tremendous privilege and
\nresponsibility, because it\u2019s of course a voluntary position where you
\nare trying to look for the best of all worlds for this practice of
\ndialogue. It\u2019s like being an ambassador, to create the conditions for
\nit to grow and expand and be embraced by many people in different parts
\nof the world. It\u2019s a thrill, actually. But this brings with it a strong
\nsense of commitment to make sure the spirit of TWC<\/span> is intact, that we are loyal and faithful to the intention of creating a web of conversations, that we prevent TWC<\/span> from becoming a fad\u2014a tool to be used for any purpose, and to avoid the temptation of using TWC<\/span>
\njust for sparking the same kind the results that created the problems
\nwe see in the world today. So being a Steward is a two-way function:
\nfirst, to expand its potential; second, to be cautious and careful and
\nto have very clear what TWC<\/span> is not for. It\u2019s
\nimportant to be clear on its purpose, and what we don\u2019t want to create
\nbecause it\u2019s so easy at this time to find another \u201cflavor of the
\nmonth\u201d. TWC<\/span> is a very popular tool partly
\nbecause there is a tremendous sense of anxiety and dependence on tools,
\ntechniques and formulae to solve problems, and that is not necessarily
\nwhat we want for the future.<\/p>\n

Read on for Nicole’s whole interview with this wonderful friend and exlemplary steward of the World Caf\u00e9 …<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

NAB: When and how did you first become involved in TWC<\/span>?<\/strong>
CM:
\nI have been involved since it\u2019s beginning, since it was born with
\nJuanita and David. But before I talk about this, I should go a bit
\nbefore this. I was a general manager for a Mexican company, and decided
\nto create a consulting firm with two friends. We went to the States and
\ninterviewed several interesting people. People like Willis Harman, Meg
\nWheatley, and Dee Hock. And several of them told me you should meet
\nJuanita Brown. It was all \u201cJuanita Brown\u201d, \u201cJuanita Brown\u201d, and
\n\u201cJuanita Brown!\u201d So that was a message to me. We finally coincided at a
\nSystems Thinking in Action seminar in Boston. There I had the good
\nfortune of meeting Juanita and David. A few months later they came to
\nMexico, to Puerto Vallarta. That was my first experience with TWC<\/span>.  And we have been learning and experimenting together ever since!<\/p>\n

NAB: What is your area of stewardship and what does it entail?<\/strong>
CM:  I am a Global Steward of TWC<\/span>
\nand I\u2019m a Regional Contact in Latin America. There is a lot of activity
\ngoing on in Latin America because currently we are coordinating a
\ngathering for the region in Brazil. Just last week, a group of
\nBrazilian organizers started to coordinate this event that will happen
\nmid 2009. It\u2019s exciting that this will be the first reunion of World
\nCaf\u00e9 practitioners for the entire region. We will also invite members
\nof the Art of Hosting and the Appreciative Inquiry community to think
\ntogether on how we can promote a culture of dialogue in our region. We
\nare in the early stages of this, so we don\u2019t know how many people will
\nbe involved, but we\u2019ll know by end of year.<\/p>\n

NAB: Why do you think there is so much activity happening in Latin America right now?<\/strong> 
CM:  I would say TWC<\/span>
\nstarted late in several countries in Latin America, but ever since it
\nstarted it has received lots of attention and with lots of
\nexpectations. I would say we were ripe for a new era, with several
\ncountries trying to improve their relationships amongst themselves. TWC<\/span>
\napproach allows them to explore possibilities together. Latin America
\nis also in a very strategic position right now because we have been
\nfragmented for many years. There is a desire and possibility to look at
\nourselves as a region, rather than as a collection of countries. NAB<\/span>:
\nWhat countries in particular are working in this way? Brazil, Colombia,
\nMexico of course, Ecuador and Argentina. Chile is emerging as well as
\nVenezuela.<\/p>\n

NAB: What does being a steward mean to you personally?<\/strong>
CM:
\nFirst of all, being a Steward is a tremendous privilege and
\nresponsibility, because it\u2019s of course a voluntary position where you
\nare trying to look for the best of all worlds for this practice of
\ndialogue. It\u2019s like being an ambassador, to create the conditions for
\nit to grow and expand and be embraced by many people in different parts
\nof the world. It\u2019s a thrill, actually. But this brings with it a strong
\nsense of commitment to make sure the spirit of TWC<\/span> is intact, that we are loyal and faithful to the intention of creating a web of conversations, that we prevent TWC<\/span> from becoming a fad\u2014a tool to be used for any purpose, and to avoid the temptation of using TWC<\/span>
\njust for sparking the same kind the results that created the problems
\nwe see in the world today. So being a Steward is a two-way function:
\nfirst, to expand it\u2019s potential; second, to be cautious and careful and
\nto have very clear what TWC<\/span> is not for. It\u2019s
\nimportant to be clear on its purpose, and what we don\u2019t want to create
\nbecause it\u2019s so easy at this time to find another \u201cflavor of the
\nmonth\u201d. TWC<\/span> is a very popular tool partly
\nbecause there is a tremendous sense of anxiety and dependence on tools,
\ntechniques and formulae to solve problems, and that is not necessarily
\nwhat we want for the future.<\/p>\n

NAB: Say more about what TWC<\/span> should not be used for?<\/strong> 
CM:
\nFor instance, in business, when it is being used to create more profits
\nat any rate. Yes, it\u2019s okay to promote profits but in a much more
\nbalanced way considering the human, economic and environmental aspects
\nworking in harmony. In some cases, clients may ask for a TWC<\/span> process with a preconceived idea of the outcome to be generated.  TWC<\/span>
\nsimply can\u2019t be used to produce predetermined results. This would be a
\nmanipulation of our approach to conversation that we want to avoid.<\/p>\n

NAB: So then, what is the true intention for TWC<\/span> for you? <\/strong>
CM:
\nTo explore possibilities of a better way of living together, and to
\nidentity possibilities of solutions and ideas of benefit to all of us
\ninvolved including the environment. I like to say it this way: to
\nco-create possibilities for life to be sustainable on the planet. This
\ncould be an overall goal. A closer short-term goal: to be able to
\nrealize that we need each other, and that conversation is the space
\nwhere we can create the futures we want, for us and for our children.<\/p>\n

NAB: So why do you do this? Why is being a Steward important to you? <\/strong>
CM:
\nI think we are living at a time of tremendous transition in many ways.
\nI see clearly that today\u2019s world is not sustainable. I think we are
\nmoving in a direction that has no future. And we need to make the big,
\ntough decisions now that we have time. I think TWC<\/span>
\nis the perfect human practice to realize this situation we are in, to
\nbe conscious and act responsibly in everything we do, whether it\u2019s
\nsmall or large. We all need to be working together in making the planet
\nable to sustain life so that we can fulfill our dreams. I do it because
\nI think this is the time to access our collective wisdom through
\nconversation, and to make necessary changes in our practices that
\ncreate better conditions. I hear a calling of acting now, with a strong
\nsense of urgency, but also with a strong sense of passion and joy
\nbecause this is the time when we need to be the best of ourselves. TWC<\/span> is a fantastic possibility to do this with other people.<\/p>\n

I
\nwould also like to say the current financial crisis is just another
\ncrisis on top of other crises that we are experiencing. In Mexico, at
\nthis time, while we are talking, we are living through several crises:
\nan environmental crisis in southeast Mexico, a global financial crisis,
\nand an organized crime crisis, which has increased tremendously in
\nrecent months. So TWC<\/span> creates possibilities for us to understand that this trajectory cannot be sustained\u2014 and to ask the tough questions. Perhaps TWC<\/span> brings us to a possibility of realizing what is essential in our lives?  From that understanding, TWC<\/span>
\nplays a key role to me, as a space where we can wonder and explore,
\nwhere we can be vulnerable and at the same time find answers and create
\nnew realities.<\/p>\n

[An aside: NAB<\/span> tells CM about TWC<\/span>
\nshe facilitated on the Texas-Mexican border in July 2008 and how
\namazing it was to bring these polarized perspectives together at this
\nincredibly vulnerable time for Mexico.]<\/em><\/p>\n

NAB: Switching topics a little, what would make your experience as a Steward with TWC<\/span> network better? <\/strong>
CM:
\nI think exchanging ideas and experiences with other Stewards to keep
\nour interaction and exchange of learnings alive. And perhaps this is a
\ngood time for a Global Stewards gathering where we can reflect, be
\nface-to-face, think together, and exchange the wealth we have been
\nwitnesses to in different parts of the world. We all need to think
\nabout the next stage of TWC<\/span> in the world.  Perhaps in 2009 we need to sit down and reflect on this?  This would be very helpful to me.<\/p>\n

NAB: What else do you need to support your work as a steward?<\/strong>
CM:
\nI would say our community of stewards is so open and flexible that
\nwhatever we are in need of we have the confidence and openness to raise
\nit. One area we need to think about is how to better resource this
\nmovement. How can we resource the different activities we engage on
\nthis? We need different ideas on resourcing, so this is one need we
\nhave at this point. Because it seems to me we only have sessions with
\nclients who are wiling and able to pay for this type of work, and these
\nare not necessarily the institutions where the highest needs are. We
\nneed to bring the wealth of TWC<\/span> to those who don\u2019t have the money to pay for such designs and facilitation as well.<\/p>\n

NAB:
\nPart of the purpose of this interview is to brainstorm with you about
\nthe resourcing question. A small group of Stewards are focusing our
\nefforts on specifically this. So in the spirit of brainstorming, any
\nideas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: First, we need to start with the assumption that there is Money out there.<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s just a matter of have access to it, and to be attractive to the
\nmoney that is already there and willing to support meaningful projects.
\nBusinesses could be strong supporters, either as one company or a group
\nof companies, sponsoring a cultural dialogue. I think they could create
\nit like a small consortium supporting these activities around the
\nworld. We normally think of foundations and NGOs as funders, but
\nbusinesses could be interested in supporting an initiative like this.<\/p>\n

NAB: From your perspective, why would businesses be interested in this?<\/strong>
CM: Internally, TWC<\/span>
\ncould support their own community development, and externally in the
\ncommunities they serve. Communities are a key source of economic
\nsupport for companies. Any business, with the exception of businesses
\nthat manufacture weapons\u2014 with that exception\u2014 every business wants to
\nhave healthy communities around them. In a healthy community businesses
\ncan flourish. One strong need is the health of communities with better
\nrelationships between their members. So TWC<\/span>
\nis a great way to strengthen ties and the social fabric of any society.
\nIt\u2019s in the best interest of businesses to have sustainable
\ncommunities. In Mexico, 30% of the population lives in rural areas, and
\nthey are mostly under-developed communities. TWC<\/span>
\nwould be a good way for rural communities to create possibilities of
\ncreating jobs, wealth, and create the conditions for people not to
\nmigrate. So having a stronger Mexico is of great interest to companies.
\nCompanies sponsoring TWC<\/span> will be investing in having healthier markets in the future.<\/p>\n

NAB: If we got a pot of money, on what things should we spend it on? What should be our priorities for resourcing?<\/strong>
CM:
\nOur priorities should be to create multi-stakeholder gatherings to talk
\nabout the present and the future of a community. Let me just say an
\nexample. If we go to any rural area in Mexico, and we host a series of
\nWorld Caf\u00e9s with local government, with businesses, with schools, with
\nindependent people\u2026 and in those sessions, with all these different
\nactors present, we explored the dream of that place in the future \u2014what
\nthey really want to become\u2014 and create the connections and dialogue
\namongst the different stakeholders to support this dream to act in
\nco-ordination and harmony through TWC<\/span>, then
\nthis is tremendously viable, enhancing the possibility of a community
\nto dream and fulfill this dream. This could be one project. If
\nsuccessful, it could very well be replicated and used elsewhere.
\nBecause nowadays the great difficultly is in sitting down and
\nexchanging ideas between groups, with business just talking to
\nbusiness, with the social sector focused on just social issues\u2014 and no
\ncross pollination among them. We are losing a great wealth of
\npossibilities this way. There is great potential bringing together
\npeople who normally don\u2019t talk to each other.<\/p>\n

NAB: What does success look like for TWC<\/span>, for you, in the future\u2014 say 5-10 years from now, what\u2019s your dream for TWC<\/span>? How can we bring TWC<\/span> to its greatest potential?<\/strong>
CM: Instead of thinking about TWC<\/span> as a process, I would like to see the results of TWC<\/span> in society.  What is the impact in the world if TWC<\/span>
\nis successful in the future? I would say people better relating to
\nother people, understanding the differences, acknowledging the
\ndifferences, the idea that other individuals are as valuable as me, and
\nbeing able and open to create ideas together. So in practical terms,
\nless dogmatism in the world, more tolerance and acceptance among groups
\nthat think differently would be a sign of success. In Spanish we have a
\nword for this, \u201cconvivir.\u201d This is hard to translate into English
\nexactly. But if we have a society that learns to \u201cconvivir\u201d better and
\nmore happily, then the TWC<\/span> will have proven to be successful.<\/p>\n

NAB: How do we realize this? How do we realize the highest potential?<\/strong>
CM:
\nI have this feeling that we are really dependent on the practical side
\nof things. My experience and worry is that almost all of us want to be
\npractical as possible. This is okay, but only at some point in time.
\nFor TWC<\/span> to achieve its highest potential we
\nneed to dream together. When forced into the world of what\u2019s practical
\n\u2014 to be held to what\u2019s a measurable, tangible and specific result \u2014
\nthen we limit the huge potential of TWC<\/span>.
\nMagic happens when we let ourselves free and have a deep conversation
\nwithout really knowing in advance what the results will be. In Spanish
\nwe have a phrase: \u201cnecesitamos aterrizar las cosas.\u201d To translate, we
\nmust \u201cbring things to the ground.\u201d But we cannot do this with something
\nthat has never been flying before. So to focus on visible and
\nshort-term results would take TWC<\/span> to the same level many other tools. By contrast, TWC<\/span>
\nhas a great possibility for transformation. I would say the
\ntransformative power in many cases is subordinated to practical and
\nconcrete results. When I say this, I realize the popularity of TWC<\/span> has been in some ways because it is an easy way to get results.  NAB: So it\u2019s a paradox?<\/em>
\nYes, exactly. It\u2019s a paradox. I would raise this question to all of us.
\nHow can we be true to the transformative power of TWC<\/span>
\neven if we lose a little bit of popularity? Because it\u2019s nice to be
\npopular, it\u2019s always a temptation. But when your intention is large we
\nneed to be faithful to this.<\/p>\n

I would say the best possibility
\nwould be to help individuals see that a better world is possible and
\nthat we can create it together.<\/p>\n

NAB: Lastly, what should I have asked you but didn\u2019t think to ask?<\/strong>
\nWhat did we miss that\u2019s important to talk about?<\/strong>
CM: To realize that what is important is not TWC<\/span>, but what TWC<\/span> is for.   So always having a consciousness that TWC<\/span> is about something larger.  I would say we need to stress that.  The tendency of using of TWC<\/span> as a tool, as an instrument, prevents us in looking for something larger that TWC<\/span>
\ncan help us achieve. I would say it\u2019s moving in the right direction by
\nembracing other valuable approaches and not working in isolation. And
\nalso that it\u2019s important not as a trademark\u2014that it has no ownership,
\nor we all own TWC<\/span> as human beings because it\u2019s part of us. I love the idea that TWC<\/span>
\nwas not designed but discovered, and that really makes it very
\ndifferent from other approaches\u2026 it makes it so valuable, because its
\nessence is a capacity that we all have as humans, a capacity that needs
\nto be nurtured, elicited, invited to be practiced and explored.<\/p>\n

Another thing about TWC<\/span>
\nis that it\u2019s fun! This is important. In that regard, we as Latin
\nAmericans can help. Fun is part of who we are\u2014our dancing and singing\u2014
\nthis is part of our nature and I love that. Let me just mention that
\nwhen we had the first gathering in California two years ago, we said it
\nwas important for everyone to let their \u201cinner Latino\u201d out. It was
\ngreat!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the first of a monthly series highlighting stewardship of the World Caf\u00e9 network, steward Nicole Anne Boyer from the resourcing team interviewed Latin American regional and global steward of the World Caf\u00e9, Carlos Mota, who lives in Mexico City. Here is an excerpt from their conversation:<\/p>\n

\"Carlosmota2\" NAB: What does being a steward mean to you personally?<\/strong>
CM:
\nFirst of all, being a Steward is a tremendous privilege and
\nresponsibility, because it\u2019s of course a voluntary position where you
\nare trying to look for the best of all worlds for this practice of
\ndialogue. It\u2019s like being an ambassador, to create the conditions for
\nit to grow and expand and be embraced by many people in different parts
\nof the world. It\u2019s a thrill, actually. But this brings with it a strong
\nsense of commitment to make sure the spirit of TWC<\/span> is intact, that we are loyal and faithful to the intention of creating a web of conversations, that we prevent TWC<\/span> from becoming a fad\u2014a tool to be used for any purpose, and to avoid the temptation of using TWC<\/span>
\njust for sparking the same kind the results that created the problems
\nwe see in the world today. So being a Steward is a two-way function:
\nfirst, to expand its potential; second, to be cautious and careful and
\nto have very clear what TWC<\/span> is not for. It\u2019s
\nimportant to be clear on its purpose, and what we don\u2019t want to create
\nbecause it\u2019s so easy at this time to find another \u201cflavor of the
\nmonth\u201d. TWC<\/span> is a very popular tool partly
\nbecause there is a tremendous sense of anxiety and dependence on tools,
\ntechniques and formulae to solve problems, and that is not necessarily
\nwhat we want for the future.<\/p>\n

Read on for Nicole’s whole interview with this wonderful friend and exlemplary steward of the World Caf\u00e9 …<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,19,26,32,36],"tags":[42,100,327,265,326,290,41],"class_list":["post-544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-latin-america","category-relationship","category-stewardship","category-world-as-cafe","tag-community","tag-conversation","tag-culture-of-dialogue","tag-latin-america","tag-relationship","tag-stewardship","tag-the-world-cafe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6sDis-8M","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":807,"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions\/807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theworldcafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}