The Specialist Day 2026

Have you heard of the World Café method? It’s a great way to explore new ideas, gather opinions, and better understand people’s needs. We put it into practice during Specialist Day, an event held alongside Korbmarkt Lichtenfels in Germany.

What is World Cafe?

World Café is a facilitated discussion format that brings people together to exchange ideas and explore important questions. It starts with identifying the key topics we want to discuss and the perspectives we want to hear.

Participants move between different discussion tables, each focusing on a specific topic and guided by a facilitator. At each table, they share their thoughts, record ideas and identify key takeaways, all within a set time frame.

After each round, participants move to another table, bringing their ideas and reflections with them. They can build on what previous groups have shared, allowing ideas to grow and develop throughout the session.

The process ends with a summary of the main insights and conclusions. This format encourages everyone to contribute, helps people gain a deeper understanding of the issues at hand and creates a stronger sense of ownership over the solutions. At its heart, World Café is all about participation and collaboration.

The future of basketry

Our session focused on the future of basketry craft. We organised it together with experts from the GPS project – Germany Poland, Slovakia: New Ways to Basketry Craft in the cooperation of ZEF Lichtenfels, Serfenta and Združenie košikárov Slovenska.

We brought together basket makers and other craft professionals, as well as people working in different roles within institutions and organisations connected to the craft sector. This mix of experience and expertise allowed us to explore the topics from many different perspectives.

To look at the future of basketry craft from a broad range of angles, we explored four key themes:

• The power of community: how to build strong communities and make the most of their potential
• Craft as a business: exploring business-minded approaches to craft
• Basketry in today’s world: what can basketry offer us today?
• Learning and passing on skills: different approaches to craft education

Together, we mapped out needs, challenges and opportunities. Our findings will be brought together in a document, preserving the insights and making them available to others who want to develop the field further.

And the conversation doesn’t end here! Within the GPS project team, we’re already thinking about how we can put what we’ve learned into practice in the future.

We highly recommend the World Café format for exploring complex topics, mapping needs and identifying challenges and opportunities!

Would you like to organise a similar event for your team or organisation? We’d be happy to help. Get in touch!

fot. Jennifer Rubach