In the seaside villages of the Fiji Islands, the elder men gather in a circle in a special hut every day at about 4 in the afternoon. With the sound of a younger man pounding kava root in the background, they speak slowly, in turn, of village affairs. No votes are cast in these sessions. They just keep talking, softly reforming their words until there is nothing more to add, until they all indicate agreement by saying no more. They have reached consensus. Its time for a sip of kava. [...]

Every Round Table process is unique. But it is important to remember that there are some common elements that are necessary to all Round Tables. Some of these are:

• A willingness on the part of the various interests in the community to voluntarily come to the table.
  
• Support from the elected Government for the process, in terms of authorizing the Round Table and appointing members to it.
  
• Professional facilitation by a neutral facilitator with experience in consensus process.
  
• Good will on the part of the participants. Consensus process will not work if there are hidden agendas, unholy alliances or ill will.
  
• A willingness on the part of Government to follow through and to act on the recommendations of the Round Table.