Comments of a group of 'Knowledge Managers' who participated in a 'Knowledge Café' in the boardroom of Ernst and Young in Sydney in Dec 2000

" I am your typical techno cynic. I am so hungry for this kind of communication."

"At these forums we usually sit in rows looking at a speaker. This is the first time that we turned around to look at each other."

"This was a tremendous experience."

Knowledge management people, meeting in the board room of Ernst and Young in Sydney 2000

Registrant at national aged care conference

"At the Collective Wisdom Café at the conference, there were people from five different states sitting at our table. We quickly established that we were all facing very similar challenges and that our approaches to tackling them were quite different. What a lovely revelation and what learning!”                                                                               Registrant at national aged care conference

 "Thank you very much for introducing me and the staff who attended to the concept of the knowledge cafe. We are to use this concept to involve our customers and staff in identifying the possible futures for public libraries. More than this though I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be involved and share with other staff in a non confronting, non status, friendly and open environment."
                                                                Librarian, Local Government

"Initially I found sitting at the small tables quite confronting. But then I greatly enjoyed talking in depth with nine people whom I had never met before. Ours is a people profession and this way of engaging with each other is brilliant."
                                          Delegate at conference of financial planners

Comments from participants in gatherings which we have facilitated

"Thank you so much for sharing the World Cafe process with us. Although we have conversation with people everyday and have coffee with someone in cafe all the time, but the wisdom that you had shown us was never occurred to me before. I think people slowly losing the ability of connecting with others these days, either they have no time for others or they prefer to connect through computer or phone. With your World Cafe process, it help us to break a lot of ice and trigger some chemical reaction in our mind. Really a mind opening experience. Thanks !!!"
                                                                                             Cheers, Wai Wai

"Initially I found sitting at the small tables quite confronting. But then I greatly enjoyed talking in depth with nine people whom I had never met before. Ours is a people profession and this way of engaging with each other is brilliant."
                                       Delegate at conference of financial planners