In March 2023, the #WPDiversity group held a Diverse Speaker workshop and an Inclusion workshop for individuals in the AMER/EMEA time zone. Also, the first WordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Asia was held in February 2023, which included a WPDiversity discussion on creating more inclusive spaces and attracting more diverse speakers.
Diverse Speaker Workshops
How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events AMER/EMEA, March 1, 2023
We held a 2-hour interactive watch party to help boost speaking confidence, which included exercises for speaking topics and real-time feedback. The attendees were supported by speaker mentors Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. who shared their expertise through the experience.
Facilitator: @jillbinder
- Number who attended online: 19
- From number of cities: 18
- From number of countries: 7 (Bangladesh, Cameroon, India, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, United States)
- Self-reported increase in public speaking self-confidence scores: 32%
Testimonials
“I liked learning about the different talk formats, tips for practising, and brainstorming speaking topics.” – Ryan Smith
“I’m really glad I attended – thank you for hosting! It was great doing the different exercises to help us brainstorm a list of speaking topics and get feedback on our ideas from the group.” – Nicole Evans, Web Developer
“This workshop raises confidence by breaking down myths about speaking, explains different talk formats so you have a framework for your topic, and gives time for discussion and practice. I enjoyed it and found it helpful!” – Jeremy Saxey, RadiateWP, Gilbert, AZ
“That was a really great workshop, and I think it was super helpful for participants. Great job @jillbinder and #WPDiversity!!” – @sereedmedia (Sé reed)
Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events
Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events AMER/EMEA, March 16, 2023
We held a watch party workshop to help Meetup 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. and WordCamp organizers, as well as anyone in WordPress who would like to champion this work, create diverse and inclusive events.
Facilitator: @jillbinder
- Number who attended online: 11
- From number of cities: 10
- From number of countries: 5 (Costa Rica, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, United States)
- Self-reported increase in preparedness to run an inclusive event: 59%
Testimonials
“This was awesome! I learned so much from the presenters and those attending! New terms and mnemonics, personal stories of others’ experiences, and info to follow up and follow through. I believe that the more information we gain, the more we’re able to make informed decisions. I sincerely feel the information and resources I received from this workshop will help me. Thank you for this!” – Mark-Andrew
WPDiversity Discussion in Asia
WPDiversity discussion at WordCamp Asia Contributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/., February 17, 2023
In February 2023, the first WordCamp Asia was held, which included a WPDiversity discussion on creating more inclusive spaces and attracting more diverse speakers in WordPress.
Moderators: @onealtr, @alliennimmons, @bobdunn-trainer
- Number who attended online: Approximately 20
- From number of countries: 5 (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines)
Impact
WordCamp Entebbe March 2023 organizer Arthur Kasirye (@thehopemonger) shared with us that thanks to the #WPDiversity speaker workshop that he attended, the camp organizers were able to:
- Create their first all-women tech panel
- Hold a gender diversity program of female speakers and student attendees
- Have more women attend the WordCamp than ever before
Read more about the highlights here.
Diverse Speaker Support Channel
We have a Slack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel (#diverse-speaker-support) in the Make WordPress Slack for:
- getting to know other speakers and event organizers
- workshopping talks with each other and with mentors
- finding out about WordPress speaking opportunities from WordPress Meetups 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. and WordCamps
- getting connected with support for speaker travel expenses
Wins these months:
A win counts as:
- Applying to speak at an event
- Speaking at an event
- Getting speaker mentorship in the channel
There have been so many of these (but most of them not reported in the channel itself) that it’s been hard to keep on tracking. We are creating a new system with a form to make it easier going forward!
Thank you
A lot of people contribute to making these workshops successful. Thank you to each and every one!
Upcoming Workshops
May 13, 2023 @ 10am-12:30pm IST: Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events APAC
The list of upcoming #WPDiversity events is posted on the Diverse Speaker Group (#WPDiversity) page in the Community handbook. Please check there for upcoming events.
#diversespeakerworkshopsreports
#diversespeakerworkshopsreports