Welcome! This is the home of the Make Community Team for the WordPress open sourceOpen SourceOpen Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. project!
This team helps the community with official events like:
Discuss: Here we have policy debates, project announcements and status reports. Everyone is welcome to comment on posts and join the discussion.
Plan: Want to organize a meetupMeetupMeetup 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. in your community? Excited to host a WordCampWordCampWordCamps 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.? Check out one of our handbooks to get started.
Assist: Participate in the Meetup Reactivation project, apply to be a Community DeputyDeputyCommunity Deputies are a team of people all over the world who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and generally keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about deputies in our Community Deputy Handbook., or help out as a WordCamp MentorMentorSomeone 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..
Discover: Any skill level can find a way to be involved in our Team Projects.
Let’s Talk
Office HoursOffice HoursDefined times when the Global Community Team are in the #community-events Slack channel. If there is anything you would like to discuss – you do not need to inform them in advance.You are very welcome to drop into any of the Community Team Slack channels at any time. are held on Slack in #community-events
We are a working group in the WordPress Community team
Our mission is to create diverse speaker lineups and inclusive & diverse WP events for official WordPress MeetupsMeetupMeetup 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.
Diverse Speaker Workshops: Helping people from underrepresented groups feel motivated to start speaking at WordPress events, including overcoming impostor syndrome by owning our expertise and finding a topic
Organizing Inclusive and Welcoming Events Workshops: Helping WordPress MeetupMeetupMeetup 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 WordCampWordCampWordCamps 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. organizers create inclusive and welcoming Meetups and WordCamps
Diverse Speaker Workshops: Underrepresented speakers in WordPress, WordPress event organizers
Diverse Speaker Support Channel: Underrepresented speakers, WordPress event organizers, speaker mentorsMentorSomeone 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., and anyone who is interested
Organizing Inclusive and Welcoming Events Workshops: WordPress event organizers and anyone who is interested in championing this work
Learn how to hold the speaker workshop for your local Meetup or WordCamp. You can ask @jillbinder questions in the #diverse-speaker-support Slack channel about how to run the workshop.
Help us translate our workshop materials into other languages
Have you ever had trouble getting people from marginalized and underrepresented groups (in terms of gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, age, etc.) to speak at your meetups and WordCamps?
Our group holds interactive, hands-on, transformational Diverse Speaker workshops for people from underrepresented groups in WordPress. The workshops bust through people’s obstacles to public speaking. Our workshop participants report a 20% increase in public speaking confidence. Our material covers:
The Myths of Being a speaker (aka Impostor Syndrome)
Finding a Topic for a WordPress Talk
Writing the Pitch for your WordPress Talk
Creating Your WordPress Talk
Becoming a Better Speaker
Creating Great Slides
We hold both live workshops and watch parties in real-time for people from underrepresented groups and pre-recorded workshops are available to everyone on learn.wordpress.orgWordPress.orgThe 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/ (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4; English Lesson Plan; Japanese lesson plan, Spanish (Latin American lesson plan), Portuguese BR (Brazil) lesson plan), Italian lesson plan. Closed groups help workshop participants open up about vulnerable challenges and it gives people immediate feedback on their topics, pitches, and outlines. Both of these are key to helping people overcome Impostor Syndrome.
Some of the benefits we’ve seen from communities attending or hosting these workshops include:
Tripling the number of speaker applications from underrepresented groups.
Groups who’ve started at 10% or fewer speakers from marginalized or underrepresented groups have grown to have 50% or more speaker representation.
More dynamic and interesting events and communities – when people see themselves represented on the speaker lineup, more people want to come to your events.
“Before taking the workshops, I didn’t have the confidence for public speaking. Thanks to these sessions, I can relax, gather my thoughts, and proceed with my presentation. I would recommend this workshop to people of color in the WordPress ecosystem. You belong here; it’s a no-judgment zone where you can find your authentic voice.”
– TC, Learner Advocate, @codebrother1, USA
“The Diversity Speaker training workshops we ran at local meetups using this material were highly successful and helped us achieve an unprecedented 60% of women speakers that year. I highly recommend it to anyone who is conscientious of encouraging more women and other diverse groups to speak at WordPress events.”
– Nichole Betterley, 2017 WordCamp Seattle Speaker WranglerWranglerSomeone, usually a person part of event organizing team, who looks after certain things like budget or sponsors.
Question: “I have a meetup or WordCamp coming up and would love to have this workshop for my community. Can we do this?”
Answer: Yes! We would be happy to hold a workshop to help you get more diverse speakers for YOUR upcoming WordCamp. Or you can hold one yourself — we show you how. Please fill out the form below to set either of these up.
Question: “But there are no people from underrepresented groups in my community!”
Answer: Time and again, when the event is posted properly (which you’ll learn how), we see folks who have never come out to an event before attend this workshop and then start participating in the community.
Question: “I’m an organizer and I want to take this workshop myself. Can I?”
Answer: Most of our workshops are open to organizers as well. We would love it if you yourself attended a workshop or watched our videos online. It would be great for you to get to know our work better, plus also help improve your own public speaking confidence. It is also one of the ways to learn how to hold the workshop yourself.
With the loss of in-person events, the road between workshop and speaking has become harder. We want to help community members get on stage more quickly — and to help WordPress event organizers develop more great speakers as soon as possible.
The #diverse-speaker-support Slack Channel offers a forum where speakers from marginalized and underrepresented groups, WordPress event organizers, and speaker mentors can build community. This Slack channel is for:
Anyone from your community who takes the Diverse Speaker Training workshop.
Event organizers seeking speakers for diverse and inclusive events.
Experienced speakers and community members who want to mentorMentorSomeone 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. new speakers.
We ask that speaker mentors take our Inclusion workshop first.
It’s a great, supportive, safer space in which community members can workshop their talk ideas, pitches, and outlines with the group.
Do you want to organize diverse, inclusive and welcoming WordPress events, but don’t know where to start or worry that you’ll ‘get it wrong’? This workshop is for you!
We train WordPress event organizers and WordPress contributors with the “Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events” workshop. Past participants reported a 52% increase in preparedness to hold an inclusive event.
This is not only for WordPress event organizers, but for anyone who wants to champion a diverse, inclusive and welcoming WordPress community.
We cover 5 topics:
Mindset shift: Shifting the way you think about diversity
Community: How to attract and foster a diverse community
Environment: Creating a welcoming environment, both in-person and online
Speakers and Leaders: How to encourage more people from diverse backgrounds to be speakers and leaders
Allyship: How to better support community members from diverse backgrounds
This program is offered in quarterly cohorts:
Month 1: A private, supportive, hands-on, interactive workshop over Zoom. You will walk away with an action list to start making changes right away.
Month 2: Public Slack coaching on #community-events on the WordPress Slack
Month 3: Public Slack accountability on #community-events on the WordPress Slack
Once you complete one quarterly cohort, you are invited to continue on in future quarters with Slack coaching and accountability. You are always welcome to take the workshop again as well.
“I loved taking the “Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events” workshop along with other organizers and hearing what they’ve done. The checklists in the workbook are helpful in terms of tracking what I have done and what I can still improve. I’d love to see ALL THE ORGANIZERS go through this. This felt like a great complement to other material that WordPress has about not disparaging people; the focus of the Inclusion workshop was on how to be actively welcoming.”
– Sallie Goetsch, organizer, East Bay WordPress Meetup
To be notified of upcoming workshops, please join the #community-events channel on the WordPress Slack:
There are many opportunities to help out. From big roles to occasional help. Watch our 30-min video.
You’re a good fit if: You have a strong desire to bring more diversity to WordPress events around the world, and you want to help shape how that happens. You do not need to have any prior experience, but a willingness to share ideas, collaborate, and help define and tackle tasks would be amazing.
We need volunteers to help move this important initiative forward. If you have signed up for something, we are relying on you! We understand that things do come up, so if you commit to a task and are unable to complete it or fulfill your role, please tell us as early as possible. The sooner you tell us, the easier it is to make sure your task is covered!
Our meetings are optional but recommended. They are text-based chats held on the #community-team Slack channel on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at:
17:00 UTC (from March 12, 2023 to November 4, 2023) 18:00 UTC (from November 5th 2023 to March 10, 2024)
You are welcome to drop in to any meeting at any time just to check it out!