Conversation Week 2008

Voting for this year’s Top Ten Questions is now closed. Please come back on Monday, March 3, when we unveil this exciting list.

If you’ve hosted a Conversation Cafe in the past, or a salon or a dialogue or a Socrates Cafe, help us tell others what the hosting experience is like. Here’s some ways I’ve described it:

A host is curious about what others think, has the courage to ask and the humility to listen.

A host makes community through making safe spaces for conversation.

Over at http://victoriaroserobin.blogspot.com I wrote a longer essay about hosting where I said:

I host conversations - at cafes, in my home, with strangers - because it’s who I am, not what I do. I can’t help it. I am always hosting. I am always inviting others to make meaning with me. I am always asking questions and listening to the answers, always wondering what others think and feel.

Now you. What is hosting to you? What does a host do? Not do? Say? Not say? Feel? Help others imagine what it would be like to host.

If you want to know more about hosting a Conversation Cafe, go Host Central.

If you know you want to sign up to host during Conversation Week, either face-to-face or online, click here.

Your questions are in and the voting has begun!

Please take 5 minutes now to rate this year’s top 50 questions, and help us pick out the top 10 most important questions in the world today. People around the planet will consider the ones you and others pick during Conversation Week 2008, March 24-30. Please take the survey now.

Once you’ve voted, please send this survey link to others. The more people vote, the more we’ll know truly what the most important questions are.

Two hundred fifty people from every continent save Antarctica submitted 600 questions for review. Brilliant, heartfelt, searching questions. Almost every one of them merited consideration, but we winnowed and combined and came up with the top 50 for you to vote on.

Please vote now at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=vZIiOzEV1pL0LV_2f17vLcLQ_3d_3d

Winning questions will be announced March 1, 2008, three weeks before Conversation Week begins.

If you could ask the world to discuss one question, what would it be? Now’s your chance. During Conversation Week 2008 (March 24-30) people around the world will gather to discuss 10 BIG QUESTIONS, in both face-to-face conversation cafes and hosted online discussion groups. But we need your help to come up with those questions. What do you think is the most important question in the world today?

SUBMIT A QUESTION (or three) for this year’s list of the Ten Most Important Questions in the World. Questions are due by February 12. Then come back on February 15 to vote on this year’s top ten.

Talk about herding cats. It’s hard to know if we humans will ever agree on who we are, what we believe, where we are headed and how to get there. But with over 30 significant wars raging globally, a human population topping 6.6 billion and oil, water and other reserves dwindling there are some very important conversations we just need to have. Conversation Week is that one time a year when the table is set for people to talk with strangers and friends about the most important questions in the world today. Of course, who can agree what those questions should be? That’s why we are asking thoughtful people — like you — to suggest potential questions, and asking people who care — like you — to vote on them and then inviting people who can listen and be curious — like you — to host conversations.

Conversation Week began in 2002 to launch the Conversation Cafes in Seattle, Washington. Then, 9-11 was on everyone’s mind. Since then we hosted CWs in 2003, 2007 and now 2008. The questions from last year (with some answers from around the world) are later on this blog. Reports from prior CWs are at www.conversationcafe.org.

Don’t pass up the chance to submit a question before Feburary 12, vote on your top pick questions from February 14-27 and host a conversation during Conversation Week March 24-30.