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Café Session

Number of facilitators: 1 to 4 facilitators, including one chair
Duration: 60 minutes, including 10 minutes for group reporting

A café is a large group discussion technique designed to encourage the kind of intimate/informal small group discussions one might have at a café on a particular topic.

Participants sit at small tables of 5 to 8 people. These smaller groups may rotate between a series of tables, discussing a specific talking point at each table with the help of a fixed table host (facilitator or scribe) at each table. In some cases, the participants stay at the same table and the scribe or facilitator moves to a different table.

Usually there is some sort of reporting back at the end of the session from the table hosts.

For café sessions, the agenda is less formal than for roundtables. Focus is placed on the discussion itself (sharing experiences, anecdotes, and knowledge), rather than on coming up with a particular outcome or finding a specific solution.

Also, during café sessions, more time is spent on small discussions at the table level, rather than on a whole group reporting, making this a highly interactive format. It is also a format that allows expert and novices to interact with one another more easily, as newcomers feel less intimidated in asking questions or sharing knowledge in a small group setting.

Session outline

At AIEC, café sessions are 60 minutes in duration. The time allocated for small group discussions and reporting back at the end varies depending on the group size.

The typical 60-minute café will run as follows:

  • 8 min – Intro by facilitators (including instructions for the attendees on how the session will run)
  • 20 min – Discussion Round #1
  • 5 min – Change over and instructions by facilitator
  • 15 min – Discussion Round #2
  • 10 min – Reporting (at the end of round 2)
  • 2 min - Final remarks/closing

Room set-up and audiovisual

The room is usually set up in cabaret (5 to 8 per table) or banquet (10 per table), and there is usually a lectern and screen available at the front of the room for the facilitators to do their introduction or guide delegates throughout the session. However, facilitators will also have handheld microphones or lapels and will be able to roam throughout the session and drop into the small table discussions.

There is no formal presentation or expert presentations at café sessions.

There is no rapporteur in a café session, but there is usually a designated scribe or group leader or discussant to report back to group.

Key dates

21 March - Call for proposals opens

12 April - Call for proposals closes

30 May - Registration open

August - Program released

31 July - Super early bird registration closes

13 September - Early bird registration closes

22–25 October – AIEC 2024