Verona Workshop Deploys World Café Method for Public Speaking and Leadership Training

Advanced pedagogical strategies are increasingly prioritizing experiential learning models over conventional lecture formats, focusing intently on cultivating essential transversal competencies vital for future professional navigation. This commitment to practical skill development was exemplified in Verona on January 17, 2026, when over 100 secondary school students convened for an intensive public speaking and leadership workshop conducted entirely in English at the Istituto IISS Copernico Pasoli.

The IISS Copernico Pasoli, established as a comprehensive educational hub for Eastern Verona since the 2014-2015 academic year, offers diverse pathways including scientific, linguistic, and technical tracks, with some students pursuing specialized biomedical orientation programs. This specific educational undertaking was formally promoted through a collaborative effort between the Inner Wheel Club di Verona Bee Lab and the Verona Toastmasters Club. The initiative aligns with the mandatory PCTO (Pathways for Transversal Skills and Orientation) requirements now incumbent upon Italian students, which mandate a minimum of 90 hours for high school students to bridge academic study with workplace competencies.

The central pedagogical tool employed during the workshop was the World Café method, a structured conversational process designed to foster open, intimate dialogue and aggregate the collective wisdom within a large assembly. This technique involves participants engaging in focused thematic discussions seated at small tables, each guided by an expert volunteer. The students addressed the specific 2026 theme, "Words of Respect," examining it through personal, societal, and global lenses to cultivate authentic and productive discourse.

Following the dynamic small-group exchanges, participants transitioned to applying structured public speaking techniques to articulate their synthesized findings before the larger audience, directly addressing the challenge of overcoming performance anxiety associated with public address. Massimo Dal Corso, President of the Verona Toastmasters Club, affirmed the efficacy of this approach, noting its power to activate genuine dialogue and facilitate the application of professional communication strategies. The Verona Toastmasters Club has been conducting meetings in English since 2014, focusing on building confidence in public speaking and leadership through a learn-by-doing format.

This event marked the fifth consecutive iteration of this collaboration, underscoring a sustained partnership between the two Verona organizations and the host school, which actively targets B2 and B1 foreign language mastery for its students. Cristina Marchi, President of the Inner Wheel Club Verona Bee Lab, emphasized that the project furnishes students with tangible instruments for their future endeavors. The World Café's structure ensures a cross-pollination of ideas, a key element in leveraging collective intelligence for problem-solving, which is particularly valuable in an era where genuine collaborative dialogue is often scarce.

The World Café methodology, first trialled in 1995 by Juanita Brown and Chris Isaacs, relies on integrated design principles, including setting a hospitable space and exploring questions that truly matter. This emphasis on transversal skills development, which the PCTO framework seeks to enhance, positions these students with a demonstrable advantage in soft skill acquisition beyond core curriculum knowledge.