Creating Diverse and Inclusive Meetups

We are currently updating the names of our contributor roles throughout our resources. The new role names are Community Team Event SupporterEvent Supporter 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. (formerly MentorEvent Supporter 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.), Community Team Program SupporterProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook. (formerly DeputyProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook.), and Program ManagerProgram Manager Program Managers (formerly Super Deputies) are Program Supporters who can perform extra tasks on WordCamp.org like creating new sites and publishing WordCamps to the schedule. (formerly Super DeputyProgram Manager Program Managers (formerly Super Deputies) are Program Supporters who can perform extra tasks on WordCamp.org like creating new sites and publishing WordCamps to the schedule.).

Tips for encouraging diverse meetup speakers

  • Ask! It’s so simple, but can be quite impactful. If there’s a member of the WordPress community you admire and have enjoyed a talk they’ve given in the past, you should send them a pingPing The act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.”. Be specific about what you are looking for, when you hold your event, and find out if they’re willing to speak to your group.
  • Collaborate with other nearby groups to find speakers. This works especially well for online events, where both presenters and attendees are not constrained by location.
  • Look within your meetup group. Your meetup group is made up of all sorts of tremendously talented and experienced individuals. Frequently people don’t think of themselves as presenters because no one has given them the opportunity or training to be a presenter. Open up speaker requests internally to your group, and encourage first-time speakers.

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