Art of Hosting is a global community of practitioners using integrated participative change processes, methods, maps, and planning tools to engage groups and teams in meaningful conversation, deliberate collaboration, and group-supported action for the common good. Examples of these tools include Open Space Technology, World Cafe, Circle and Appreciative Inquiry.

The Art of Hosting is built on the assumption and experience that we need to find new solutions for the common good, whether in corporations, government, education, non-profits, social movements, communities or families. The time is now.

The Principles
High quality conversations arise when:

• People in a group are present and grounded, working with a common purpose.
• Conversation is hosted in a way that invites participation and self-organization.
• People engage in participatory leadership, not top-down leadership, making the group’s wisdom more available to itself.
• Groups working together over time take action and use feedback to continuously evolve and learn from their action.
  

Rather than working with a pre-determined set of tools, the “art” is approaching each conversation with a unique design perspective, crafting the best design for the context and the community.   

The Process
The Art of Hosting is the “jazz” of emergent change processes. A team of hosts works with the conveners of the conversation to surface questions and activities that support their intentions. Hosting teams design the flow of an engagement by discerning what is most useful in the moment. Specific processes are often selected the evening before or morning of an interaction. As hosting teams design the experience, they invite participants in as hosts. As a result, in addition to addressing the intended issue, participants are introduced to the skills of hosting, learning to ride the waves of the present moment while tending to an abiding intention.