Theme 1: Values

Establishing a shared set of values is essential for supporting the development efforts within your sports club. By uniting around principles like respect, inclusion, and fairness, you can build the foundation for a sustainable and positive sports culture. When the club has a clearly stated and well-known value foundation, it’s important to revisit it regularly. This also provides opportunities for dialogue and reflection on your shared values.

The Learning Café method

To gather your members and encourage meaningful dialogue about the club’s values, you can organize a meeting using the Learning Café method. This approach creates a relaxed atmosphere where participants discuss various themes in small groups, fostering a safe and welcoming environment.

The purpose of the Learning Café is to promote shared learning, exchange experiences, and strengthen cohesion within the club. This method is particularly suitable when multiple topics need discussion or when you want to create an informal space where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and perspectives.

Using the Learning Café method allows you to deepen conversations about your club’s values in an inclusive and engaging way, strengthen member participation, and develop a shared vision for the future—one that reflects diversity, respect, and a sense of belonging.

Learning Café

Preparation and materials

Materials needed:

  • Three large sheets of paper (e.g., paper tablecloths or flipchart sheets).
  • At least three markers (one for each station).
  • Two markers in different colors per participant (or participants can use two types of stickers to mark their priorities in the final phase).
  • Coffee, tea, and optional refreshments to create a pleasant atmosphere.

Before the exercise:

  • Set up the stations
  • Arrange three tables or stations in the space, one for each theme.
  • Place a large sheet of paper and a marker at each station.
  • Write one theme on each sheet of paper. Suggested themes:
    • Current state: What is working well in our sports club?
    • Call to action: What immediate changes can we implement to promote equality? Which actions should be prioritized for the next season?
    • Parking lot: What long-term issues need further discussion? How do we envision our activities in 5 years?
Learning Café step by step

Introduction:

  • Introduce the method and the goals of the discussion. Emphasize that all contributions are valuable and that participants can write their thoughts, ideas, and opinions directly on the paper.

Group division and stations:

  • Divide participants into three smaller groups (5–10 people per group, depending on the group size).


Discussion and note-taking:

  • Each group starts at a station with a specific theme (e.g., current state, call to action, or parking lot).
  • Participants discuss the assigned theme and write down their thoughts and ideas directly on the paper.
  • Discussions at each station should last 15–20 minutes.


Rotation:

  • When time is up, groups rotate to the next station.
  • One person from the previous group remains at the station to briefly summarize the earlier discussion for the incoming group.
  • The new group continues the discussion, building on the previous group’s notes.


Reading and prioritization:

  • After all groups have visited all stations, participants take one final round to read the collected notes.
  • Ask them to prioritize the most important ideas or actions for the organization by voting (using stickers, post-it notes, or colored markers).
  • Voting is done individually using agreed-upon symbols, color codes, or post-it notes.

Summary and presentation:

  • Once voting is complete, gather all participants to review the results together.
  • Identify the notes that received the most votes and create a summary action plan based on these.
  • Present the results and discuss the next steps to turn ideas into actions.
  • The method encourages broad idea exchange while fostering a shared understanding and clear priorities for the future.


Adapting to group size
The exercise works best for 10–30 participants.

For smaller groups, reduce the number of stations or extend the discussion time.

For larger groups, add more stations or divide participants into several parallel groups.

Insights from the WELLcome Project

Within the WELLcome project, this method was used in collaboration with Åbo IFK and Blue Fox. The process provided time for conversations that hadn’t been prioritized before. This opportunity to exchange ideas between both leaders and members received high praise from participants, as a similar setting would not have otherwise been available.