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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/Connection-Building Activity for Shared Discovery - UBUNTU Cards
Relationship Mapping

Connection-Building Activity for Shared Discovery - UBUNTU Cards

Connection-Building Activity for Shared Discovery - UBUNTU Cards is a relationship mapping exercise that helps participants build useful connections and understand how people, roles, or ideas relate.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25), Pairs, Small group (4-8), TriadsGROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Network Design This relationship mapping exercise strengthens Network Design, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Distribute one Ubuntu Card to every person.
  2. When ready, each person shows the multi-image face of their card to their partner.
  3. The first person to identify the one object that appears on both cards wins.
  4. Next, invite each pair to have a conversation in which they explore something they each have in common.
  5. After a minute of conversation, each person swaps cards and seeks out a new partner.
  6. Ubuntu Cards Connection-building activity for discovering shared experiences.
  7. Ubuntu Cards work brilliantly because the quick game element relaxes everyone before they discover genuine shared experiences and interests.
  8. As a connection-building activity, people naturally search for connections, creating authentic relationships rather than just small talk.
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

The first person to identify the one object that appears on both cards wins.

Next, invite each pair to have a conversation in which they explore something they each have in common.

After a minute of conversation, each person swaps cards and seeks out a new partner.

Run this with your AI assistant +

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Connection-Building Activity for Shared Discovery - UBUNTU Cards. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: The first person to identify the one object that appears on both cards wins.; Next, invite each pair to have a conversation in which they explore something they each have in common.; After a minute of conversation, each person swaps cards and seeks out a new partner.; . Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Playmeo; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Playmeo.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with