How can we help?

Curious Souls Cafe is a third place (a social environment, separate from home and the workplace) where people gather to engage in thoughtful conversations centered around meaningful questions. It's designed to foster a sense of community, encourage self-reflection, and explore different perspectives on life.

• Safe and Non-Judgmental Environment: It is designed as a safe space where participants feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and vulnerabilities without fear of judgment.
• Beyond Small Talk: The cafe focuses on meaningful, deep, and introspective conversations that go beyond everyday topics.
• Casual Philosophy and Psychology: We explore meaningful concepts through the lens of lived experience, keeping discussions non-academic so they are accessible to everyone.
• Fostering Connection: The event serves as a platform for strangers to connect on a deeper level and form bonds.

Curious Souls Cafe was founded to bridge the gap often created by online communication and personalized feeds, which can lead to social bubbles and isolation. We aim to restore genuine human connection by facilitating face-to-face conversations. We believe in the power of in-person interaction to foster deeper bonds and understanding that online exchanges cannot provide. Our core mission is centered on the invaluable experience of human connection in real life.

Curious Souls Cafe differentiates itself by its focus on fostering meaningful bonds (curious ‘souls’). While other groups might center on competitive debate, casual talk, or specific activities, we use structured, deep conversations on personal and universal themes as a bridge to mutual understanding.

In our context, the word "souls" reflects our primary focus on people—human beings with depth—rather than just concepts, absolute truths, or academics. Specifically, it represents:

• A People-Centric Approach: While attendees can still discuss philosophical or scientific ideas, the overarching priority is the people themselves.
• Connection and Bonding: It signifies the importance of building genuine, mutually supportive relationships among participants.
• A Collaborative Environment: This focus on "souls" shifts the energy from debate to discovery. The environment is designed to encourage listening, sharing perspectives, and connecting kindly with one another, building genuine empathy rather than trying to prove who is right.

A .cafe domain evokes a classic "Third Place"—a safe, analog environment that is neither home nor work.

Sociologists define the "Third Place" as the anchor of community life (like local cafes, pubs, or community centers). By using .cafe in our web address, we set a specific psychological baseline before you even arrive: this is a space to sit, breathe, and converse.

It signals that our platform is an extension of a warm, inviting neighborhood coffee shop where genuine human connection is the priority.

Our sessions focus on the shared human experiences beneath our diverse identities—themes like connection, resilience, purpose, and personal growth. We believe that while everyone brings their own unique cultural and personal truths to the table, focusing on our shared humanity allows us to connect deeply. While we welcome diverse viewpoints, we steer clear of partisan or sectarian debates, choosing instead to share personal experiences and listen to understand.

Yes. There is no cost—our public events are free and run as a community-driven initiative. We don’t charge admission or membership fees. You’re responsible only for your own food and drinks at the venue.

Note: Official Curious Souls Cafe events are always free of admission charges. If you encounter a group asking for entry fees, please contact us at hello@curioussouls.cafe to verify.

Since events are often held in cafes or restaurants that graciously host us, participants are generally expected to order a drink or food. This ensures we support the venue's business and allows us to return for future events.

Our events are primarily conducted in English across all our global hubs to promote inclusivity for an international audience. Facilitators ensure that everyone—including non-native speakers—can participate fully in the conversation.

Yes. Curious Souls Cafe events and digital tools are designed for a general adult audience. All participants must be at least 18 years old, or the legal age of majority in their local jurisdiction, whichever is older.

While many find our gatherings supportive and cathartic, no, this is not a group therapy session. Curious Souls Cafe is a social community designed for meaningful conversation and peer connection, not a mental health support group.

Our volunteer hosts are community peers, not licensed counselors or medical professionals. We are here to listen and share as friends. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact local emergency services or a dedicated mental health hotline.

Generally, a session is structured into two rounds to balance structure and spontaneity.

• First Round: Participants use question cards curated by our facilitator to explore a topic. This structured tool acts as a great equalizer—bypassing small talk, ensuring everyone gets equal speaking time, and providing a pressure-free opportunity for all voices to be heard.
• Second Round: This optional round invites participants to write and discuss their own questions, focusing on the most engaging topics decided by the group.
• Moment of Truth: The final 5-10 minutes are for sharing key takeaways, feedback, or optionally declaring an intention for the week.

While it is helpful to come with a question for "Round Two," it is not strictly required. Facilitators often provide blank paper and pens for you to write down a question on the spot, inspired by the earlier discussion. If you're stuck, you are welcome to use questions from our web app or card decks as a backup. (Note: For events where we only focus on preset questions or other areas, there is no need to submit a question.)

When the group size exceeds our intimate setting (typically 7+ people), we utilize specific formats to manage the crowd while ensuring deep conversation is maintained.

Large Groups (7+ People): We shift to a scalable continuous sharing format.

• Quick Warm-Up: We start with everyone answering a rapid 60-second prompt to keep the energy high.
• Deep Dive: The crowd is split into quartets (max 5-6 people). Groups collectively discuss the first person's chosen question. When finished, they move to the next person's question, and so on.
• Rapid-Fire Reunion: We bring everyone back together for a quick closing where a volunteer from each group shares personal learnings or insightful takeaways.

Gamified Format: For special events or highly energetic crowds, we introduce playful collaboration.

• Breakout Teams: Participants are split into color-coded sub-groups (e.g., Red, Blue, Yellow) to sit together and build camaraderie.
• Team Selection & Dice: Teams work collaboratively to choose one question to discuss deeply, using a colored dice to gamify the speaking order and trigger meaningful challenges.
• The Townhall Reunion: All tables merge back into one large group to present their chosen questions and discuss collectively.

While we use a base structure with rounds of questions, we intentionally avoid rigid adherence. There's a strong emphasis on adapting to the group's vibe, with flexibility to skip rounds or introduce fun elements like the dice with meaningful challenges. This creates a comfortable atmosphere where participants feel free to engage authentically.

In some sessions, a special dice with striped sides is used. If rolled, the participant (or team) must complete a meaningful challenge (e.g., "Write a thank you note to someone") instead of just answering a question. This adds a gamified, bonding element to the discussion.

Anyone with an open mind! Because our events connect a global community, attendees are incredibly diverse. On any given night, you might sit next to a mix of locals, expatriates, and travelers from various professional and cultural backgrounds.

The only prerequisite is a shared common interest in meaningful conversations.

The format is designed to accommodate both introverts and extroverts. For introverts, the turn-taking format offers a clear framework, easing the pressure of spontaneous conversation. Extroverts benefit from the opportunity to openly share and engage. The focus on genuine sharing ensures a meaningful experience for everyone.

The facilitator guides the discussion, sets the tone, introduce questions, manages time, and encourages participation from all members. They ensure everyone gets a chance to speak and are mindful of sensitive topics, steering the conversation if necessary to maintain a safe and harmonious group dynamic.

After the formal discussion concludes, there is sometimes an optional dinner or gathering (e.g., going to a nearby restaurant). This "Round Four" allows for more casual, unstructured socializing and bonding, distinct from the structured deep talk of the main event.

Personalized touches are highly valued. The practice of incorporating questions written by previous attendees makes events feel more unique and reflects the collective insights of the community.

This commitment to personalization and evolution aims to keep the experience fresh, relevant, and deeply resonant for participants.

Absolutely not. We operate with a strict "Right to Pass" policy. Just like in a real neighborhood cafe, you are welcome to simply sit back, enjoy your coffee, and listen. If a question makes you feel uncomfortable, or if you simply prefer to observe during a specific round, you can always choose to skip your turn without any pressure or judgment. If you are using our digital decks, simply tap "Generate" to instantly skip to a new prompt.

Facilitators may take a group photo to commemorate the session, but participation is entirely optional. We respect your visual privacy: we default to anonymity (applying blurs, stickers, filters, or other methods) for any public posts on social media or our website. However, please note that unaltered, unblurred photos may be shared within our private, attendee-only community chat groups (e.g., WhatsApp, Line) for members to keep. We will only share unaltered photos publicly if we have your explicit consent. You can always let the host know if you prefer to step out of the frame.

We use a variety of platforms to organize events and engage our community:

• Meetup: Our primary platform for organizing events. A list of our groups is here.
• Zoom/Google Meet: Online events, hosted to help global community members reconnect.
• Digital Tools: Our web app offers virtual question cards to facilitate discussions, virtual dice roller to decide who starts, break ties, or engage in meaningful challenges, action prompts to spark gratitude, kindness, and inspiration with randomly presented creative tasks. Additionally, it includes a deck builder, and a live session board.

The initiative began in July 2024. Our events are currently held regularly in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Macau, Groningen, and Portland. Other locations include Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, Kyoto, Bangkok, and more. As of September 2025, there have been more than 100 sessions globally.

No. Curious Souls Cafe officially operates only in cities where we maintain a dedicated Meetup Group base (e.g., Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Groningen and Portland, Oregon). We do not maintain local chapters, or a permanent presence in any other region.

While our facilitators from these hubs may occasionally host casual pop-up gatherings in other cities while traveling, these are informal activities.

While our digital conversation tools are available globally for anyone to use for personal or private gatherings, any event occurring in a location not listed on our website is an independent initiative and is not officially conducted or supervised by Curious Souls Cafe.

We have official local community chats (WhatsApp or Line) for regular members. To keep these spaces safe and focused, invite links are typically shared in person at the end of our events only. We do not share invite links via email or other public channels.

Please note: Any "side groups," "spin-off" chats, or parallel social networks created by participants or volunteer hosts for outside activities are entirely private. They are not affiliated with, supported by, or supervised by Curious Souls Cafe. Please beware of unofficial links or groups claiming to represent the initiative.

Note: To verify the legitimacy of a group, please contact us at hello@curioussouls.cafe.

For our community, this simply means appreciating cross-cultural storytelling. We live in incredibly diverse cities, yet rarely get to hear the personal stories of the people sitting next to us on the subway. By using English to connect locals, expats, and travelers, we focus on the everyday human experiences that unite us—childhood memories, navigating careers, and personal growth. It is about building a friendly, welcoming neighborhood culture where everyone has a seat at the table.

Yes. We provide official, cryptographically verifiable certificates to our global hosts and community members to recognize their leadership, empathy, and dedicated participation. These credentials are added to professional profiles like LinkedIn with a unique certificate verification link (which begins with “https://curioussouls.cafe/verify/…”).

Please note: We do not sell courses, training programs, or exams. Our credentials are strictly merit-based and issued entirely free of charge to celebrate the genuine contributions of our community.

To ensure trust and authenticity, please verify any Official Credential by scanning its QR code or entering its URL directly into our secure Verification Portal.

If in doubt, always contact us at hello@curioussouls.cafe.

Because our events are hosted in various third-party public venues (like local cafes, restaurants, or parks), we cannot guarantee that every location will be fully wheelchair accessible or sensory-friendly. We highly encourage attendees with specific accessibility needs to reach out to the Volunteer Host via the event page prior to attending so we can answer any questions about the specific venue.

Our custom-designed web app is a companion tool used to spark meaningful conversations. Provided solely for entertainment and connection, these tools allow participants to safely explore a mix of lighthearted and deep topics.

Anyone can explore our Interactive Demo Boards directly from the lobby to feel how the app works. When you are ready to play, it is important to know which space you are in:

• Public CSC Boards: Used during our official centralized events. Questions submitted here are public and visible to us for community archiving.
• Personal Local Boards: Play offline. Data is saved only to your device and we cannot see it. Perfect for small groups passing a tablet around the table.
• Personal Cloud Boards (Bring Your Own Backend): A powerful facilitation feature for independent hosts. Deploy a secure multiplayer room with 100% user-owned data hosted entirely in your own Google account. We have zero access to or visibility into this data.

No installation is required. The Curious Souls Cafe Web App is a browser-based tool. You simply scan a QR code provided by the facilitator to access the conversation decks directly on your smartphone's browser.

In sessions where the digital approach is unused, physical question cards are normally provided to facilitate discussion.

Because it is a browser-based tool, there are no heavy system requirements. You simply need:

• A Modern Browser: Up-to-date versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge on your smartphone.
• JavaScript Enabled: This is turned on by default on almost all devices, but it is required for interactive tools like the virtual dice to function.
• Basic Connection: An internet connection is required to initially load the page and to use real-time features like the Live Board. However, core features like the question decks can function offline once the page is loaded.

Because our app runs directly in your browser without requiring a login, your saved questions and notes are stored locally on your specific device.

Important Note for iPhone/iPad Users: Safari has a strict privacy feature that automatically deletes website data if you don't visit the site for 7 days. To prevent losing your saved items, we highly recommend:

• Add to Home Screen: Tap the share icon in Safari and select "Add to Home Screen." This protects your data from being auto-deleted.
• Export Regularly: Use the "Export" button in the app to back up your notes locally.

All core digital tools and features are provided free of charge. To maintain community safety and ensure proper context, certain advanced tools are grouped into Pro (Power User) and Host (Facilitator) tiers, which are unlocked via a community passcode rather than a paywall.

If you have joined an offline meetup anywhere in the world, feel free to reach out to your local facilitator for the current Pro passcode to unlock these additional tools. (Note: The Host passcode is reserved strictly for official event facilitators).

We’ve designed our tools to serve everyone in the community, with three distinct access levels (all of which are provided free of charge):

• Guest ('The Explorer'): Unlocked by default with no login required. You get access to all curated conversation decks, the dice roller, interactive demo boards, and the ability to join live rooms and save favorite questions.
• Pro ('The Power User'): Unlocked for anyone who has attended at least one official offline meetup. This tier grants advanced personal tools, including a journaling feature, and local backups.
• Host ('The Facilitator'): Unlocked strictly for official event facilitators. This tier grants Admin Tools, allowing hosts to inject "Preset Topics" to guide the room's agenda, use "Presenter Mode" to broadcast a specific question to all devices, moderate the board in real-time, and instantly upgrade a Local Board into a multiplayer Hosted Cloud Board.

For a complete breakdown, check out our full feature comparison table.

Yes! We love community creativity. Our "Global Curiosities" deck is a growing collection of conversation starters submitted by our attendees. If you have a great question about daily life, use our Submission Form!

Furthermore, to help spread meaningful conversations globally, this deck is 100% Open-Source (Creative Commons). The full list of questions is publicly available on our GitHub page so you can freely download, remix, and use them to host your own non-commercial gatherings!

• Submission Form
• GitHub Repository (Global Curiosities)

No. To protect the psychological safety and authenticity of our community, Curious Souls Cafe is a strict pitch-free zone.

Attendees are strictly prohibited from using our events, digital platforms, or private community chats to solicit clients, pitch businesses, sell products, or actively recruit participants into outside paid courses, MLM schemes, or third-party organizations. Anyone found violating this policy will be asked not to return.

No, we do not currently seek or rely on donations. Curious Souls Cafe is strictly a volunteer-run initiative. By keeping commercial money out of the equation, we ensure our gatherings remain focused purely on genuine human connection, shared curiosity, and equality among peers.

Because we are entirely community-driven and do not solicit funds, please beware if anyone asks for donations on our behalf.

If you are ever in doubt or approached for money, please verify with us immediately by emailing hello@curioussouls.cafe.

While Curious Souls Cafe prioritizes offline, face-to-face bonding, we have secured official social media handles simply to maintain the authenticity of our name—ensuring that if someone looks for us online, they find our official presence.

Please note that we do not normally post on or monitor these accounts. Our low or zero follower count is by design! For all official news, community insights, and major updates, we communicate exclusively through our Substack newsletter via email.

Our official (inactive) handles are:

• Instagram
• Threads
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

Please be cautious of any active social media accounts claiming to represent us. If in doubt, always verify through the official links on this website or contact us at hello@curioussouls.cafe.

To share your feedback with us, please fill in our anonymous feedback form.

You are also welcome to email us directly at hello@curioussouls.cafe if you have any additional questions.