COVID-19 Guidelines for In-person 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.).

As mandates related to COVID-19 vary around the world, the Community Team’s COVID-19 recommendations are intended to provide guidance with flexibility while keeping the well being of the overall community in mind.

This handbook page — last update: December 5, 2022 — explains the steps we recommend to organizing an in-person WordCampWordCamp 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. as per the latest guidelines.

The WordPress community team is not expecting nor requiring local organizers to organize in-person events, even for fully vaccinated people — we’re simply removing the barrier to doing so. Organizers can continue planning online events for their community – even if it is safe in their regions to organize in-person events or if local laws allow 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.

Guidelines for Organizers

Here are the guidelines for organizing in-person Meetups:

  • Follow all local regulations. These continue to change, so please ensure you have the latest information, especially as you get closer to the event. Further, if your local hospitals are overwhelmed, please cancel, postpone, or move the event online.
  • Provide masks and hand sanitizer around the venue space (WPCSWPCS The collection of PHP_CodeSniffer rules (sniffs) used to format and validate PHP code developed for WordPress according to the WordPress Coding Standards. May also be an acronym referring to the Accessibility, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, etc. coding standards as published in the WordPress Coding Standards Handbook. will cover this cost if it is not provided by your venue).
  • As part of swag packs, WPCS will provide a sticker to indicate to others to please wear a mask when talking with you.

If legally permissible in the area, organizers can certainly opt to have more security measures for their event, like mandatory masks and checks for proof of vaccine or negative tests at the door. Of course, organizing events online will continue to be an option.

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Recommendations for Attendees

These are strong recommendations for attendees. Organizers can help by confirming that these recommendations comply with local rules and regulations.

  • We still recommend that you wear a mask while at in-person WordPress events.
  • If you see that someone is wearing a sticker requesting people wear a mask near them, please wear a mask while within 6 feet (2 meters) of them or keep your distance.
  • It’s requested that you only attend in-person if you are vaccinated or have recently tested negative.
  • Please stay at home if you are sick or have recently come in contact with someone who is ill.

These reminders will be added to WordCamp ticket purchase page

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