Help test mini contributor sessions at WordPress Meetups

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I’ve been chatting with @karenalma and @supernovia about how we could make it easier for 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. organizers to introduce people to contributing to WordPress.

The idea is: create a practical guide that organizers can use to run a 30 or 60 minute mini contributor session at their Meetup. We want the guide to cover the setup, requirements, and instructions so organizers don’t have to figure everything out from scratch.

We’ve put together an early draft here:

View the Host a Mini Contributor Session draft

The draft currently includes:

Steps to take before the event
Suggested formats for 30 and 60 minute sessions
Information about the accounts and tools attendees will need
Instructions and expected outcomes for each activity
Tips for supporting attendees during the session
Suggestions for following up and sharing a recap
Information about how contributions and badges may appear on WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ profiles

We’ve started with four activities:

Suggest a translation
Submit a photo to the WordPress Photo Directory
Test WordPress with Playground
Report a documentation issue

These are just a few ideas to get us started. Organizers are welcome to run a session focused on another contribution activity or Make WordPress team.

We’d love your feedback

Does this feel like something you could use at your Meetup? Is anything unclear or missing? Are these activities realistic within 30 to 60 minutes? Are there other beginner-friendly contributions we should include?

We’d also love to hear from Meetup organizers who would be willing to try the guide at an upcoming event. If you test it, please let us know what activity you chose, how many people took part, what they completed, and what we could improve.

Please share your thoughts in the comments, or let us know if you’d like to try running a mini contributor session.

The goal is to give organizers an easy way to help people make their first WordPress contribution without needing to run a full Contributor DayContributor 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://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/.

Alex Cuadra 2:43 am on September 17, 2026

Nice proposal. I have held this kind of mini-events before, and they are really helpful for new contributors.
Isotta Peira 8:53 am on September 17, 2026

I like the idea! And a useful resource could be the Contributor onboarding activity kit that @piyopiyofox created a few weeks ago: https://learn.wordpress.org/activity-library/contributor-onboarding/
Ishita Agrawal 9:09 am on September 17, 2026

Really like this idea! A 30–60 minute mini contributor session feels like a great way to make contributing more approachable, especially for people who are completely new to the WordPress community. The activities look practical and beginner-friendly too. Looking forward to seeing how this evolves with feedback from 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. organizers!
Mary Hubbard 3:07 pm on September 17, 2026

Fantastic to see momentum here.
Chetan Prajapati 6:01 am on September 20, 2026

This is very interesting and I like the idea. I will try one of these activities at our next WordPress Ahmedabad Community 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.. 🙂
clk87 1:37 am on September 22, 2026

Thank you all for your enthusiasm and willingness to try this at your 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.!

I’ve now published the Host a Mini Contributor Session page.

I’m still very open to feedback. If anything comes up while running your sessions that could make the page clearer or more useful, please let me know, and we’ll continue improving it based on your experiences.