Ramadan is a special time of the year and many use this time to give back and connect with the community be it with family, friends, or colleagues. Company iftars are a popular way to bring everyone together in celebration of Ramadan and we put together 5 ways you can animate your iftar (or Suhoor) to build meaningful connections, make memories, or align with your company purpose and impact initiatives.
1. Play trivia
This idea makes for a healthy and fun competition to test your team’s knowledge about the company history and values. You can run this challenge on Kahoot and share prizes with winners. Not only does this create a lively atmosphere, but it also helps employees learn more about the company in a fun, light-hearted way. It’s easy to run whether you are in person, or hosting a virtual team Iftar.
2. Play Cosmic Conversations
On each table, or among every 6-8 employees, place a pack of Cosmic Conversations, our prompt card game for teams. Ask individuals to pick up a card and respond to the ‘ice breaker’ and then once everyone has shared their response, give the ‘dig deeper’ questions a go.
Teams can choose from any of the four categories depending on whether they want to learn more about each other personally, share more about their work styles and preferences, offer feedback or just see how their peers would react in hypothetical situations. It’s a great way to initiate meaningful, insightful and fun conversations to help employees get to know each other better.
3. Give back together
Ramadan is the month of giving. Co-creating impact with your team is one way to bring everyone together around your organization’s CSR initiatives or to give back to your community. There are several ways to do this:
Host a drive: You can get creative with this one, either hosting a drive for canned food, old electronics to recycle or donate, or even collecting clothes for those in need. This engages employees, encouraging them to donate their own belongings and even invite family members and friends to join as well.
Share your expertise: Another option for distributed teams is to host a free online workshop or webinar with underprivileged communities. Whether it's a crash course on marketing, or a data management workshop, this activity can bring your team together to design a learning experience for a group of people who may not otherwise have access to this knowledge.
Donate to causes you care about: Before your event inform your team that they will each receive a specific amount of money for each member to donate to a philanthropy they wish to support. At the Iftar or Suhoor, ask each member to share which organization they contributed to and why they support that cause. It’s a great way to speak openly about your values and personal experiences, getting to know each other, and taking part in the spirit of giving.
4. Host a Potluck
Gathering around a shared meal is a great way to build rapport among colleagues and it is also a central part of observing Ramadan. Invite everyone attending the iftar to contribute their favorite dish from their home country to the table. This way, colleagues will learn more about each other’s favorite heritage, meals, and Ramadan customs. This activity is also great for distributed teams that can host a virtual iftar and share recipes with one another.
5. Card making
Ramadan is a great time of the year to express gratitude and what better way to do that than with handmade cards? Each member draws a name out of a hat (you can also use a random name picker) and they will have to create and design a card for that colleague, either in-person or if the team is distributed, on a Zoom call using Canva. Play some music, animate a fun conversation and share your cards with each other while expressing what you are grateful for.
We hope these ideas help you animate a memorable Ramadan Iftar or Suhoor. For those of you who don’t celebrate Ramadan, it’s still a great time to learn about the various traditions, help others, and get to know your colleagues more!
If you and your team adopt any of the above activities, tag us on social media @CosmicCentaurs. We’d love to check them out!
If you need help designing and implementing new ways of working to increase your team's collaboration, agility, performance, and happiness, get in touch and email us at greetings@cosmiccentaurs.com.
