CDKN’s interactions with diverse stakeholders have been showing a real thirst for more engaging, interactive and dynamic ways of running meetings and workshops that have the potential to create safe, non-hierarchical learning spaces. In this spirit, and as part of an ongoing journey with various partners, we developed the ‘All hands on deck’ cards to give us an additional way of enabling our stakeholders to discuss some of the critical elements needed for facilitating evidence-based decision-making and action, while having fun in the process.

The number of potential uses of the cards is ultimately up to each person’s creativity and imagination – going from a tool to surface challenges, solutions or priorities, including at an individual or organisational level, to a game that can be played to share deeper reflections or conversations about what matters in our work.

We are sharing the printable files of the cards, with the printing specifications below, to encourage their use in a range of settings. We have recently tested and finalised a Latin American version of the cards (in Spanish), which include a number of additional words which resonate with the strong indigenous traditions of the continent. We will be looking into a French version in future too, for use in francophone Africa. We also keep thinking about new ways of using these, in collaboration with our colleagues at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre who co-developed the cards with us and have since used them in a variety of settings.

We hope to hear back from anyone who has used the 'All hands on deck' game, so that we can have a learning community about this and other games you may be using to create more dynamic, playful meetings that still focus on serious issues. For more engagement on this, please get in touch with lucia@southsouthnorth.org.

Printable files and author information

• English set 1 and set 2
• English Card Box 
• Español set 1 and set 2

Our recommended printing specifications are 250GSM matt laminated.

English concept by Lucia Scodanibbio with Lisa McNamara, Nadia Sitas, Michelle du Toit, Warren Turner and Bettina Koelle. 

Spanish version by Lucia Scodanibbio with Margarita Cabascango, Karen Hildahl, Gabriela Villamarín, Warren Turner and Franco Moreno.