December Update: Global Meetup Reactivation Project

The WordPress MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. Reactivation Project is well underway. Read on for an update!

Since the last update:
+7 new Meetup groups have joined the WordPress meetup chapter program
+12 dormant MeetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. have been reactivated

Is your meetup currently active? Tell the world by posting a photo on social media with the hashtag #WordPressMeetup

Background

Why meetup reactivation?

Many WordPress Meetups around the world have been dormant due to the COVID-19 pandemic and organizer burnout. Yet thriving Meetups are crucial for the health of the global WordPress community!

How does meetup reactivation work?

In July, the Global Community TeamGlobal Community Team A group of community organizers and contributors who collaborate on local events about WordPress — monthly WordPress meetups and/or annual conferences called WordCamps. published a Call for Supporters and launched the Meetup Reactivation Project. Since then, Meetup Reactivation Supporters started directly reaching out to the organizers of every dormant WordPress meetup to:

  • Check on the status of the meetup
  • Encourage reactivation
  • Ask how we can best support the organizers
  • Identify whether new organizers are needed

We define a dormant meetup as one that has not held an event in the past six months (virtual or in-person). There were more than 400 dormant WordPress meetups at the launch of this project — which means there is significant opportunity to reactivate our global community!

The numbers (so far)!

There are currently 778 WordPress chapter Meetups in 113 countries, with 509,647 members. Yet at the start of the reactivation project, we identified that 416 of these groups were dormant.

The project currently has 41 meetup reactivation supporters globally. These amazing volunteers are reaching out directly to the organizers of each dormant meetup group. 

As a result of their efforts:

  • 126 meetup groups reactivated in 2022 (🎉)!
  • 15 additional meetup groups indicated that they plan to reactivate, but haven’t yet held an event
    • Note: The data now distinguishes between groups that Reactivated (held an event or have one scheduled) and groups that Plan to Reactivate (indicated that they plan to reactivate, but haven’t yet scheduled an event). We combined these two numbers in previous updates.
  • 16 dormant Meetups were removed from the WordPress meetup chapter program, because the previous organizers were not available to reactivate the group and no member came forward to serve as organizer.

Next Steps

As we enter the next phase of meetup reactivation, Supporters will seek new organizers for dormant meetup groups and follow up with organizers who indicated that they plan to reactivate a group, but haven’t yet scheduled an event. We will continue to share updates here on the Community Team blog.

Thank you to our wonderful meetup reactivation supporters, the hundreds of meetup organizers who are reactivating their groups, and the energetic new organizers who have come forward to lead meetups!

Want to reactivate your local meetup group or form a new meetup?

Contact the Community Team at support@wordcamp.org. We’re here to help!

Need help to reengage your community, or assistance in finding new ideas for your Meetup events?

Reach out to the Meetup Support team at meetup-support@wordcamp.org!

Relevant posts:

#meetups, #outreach, #reactivation, #community-team