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!
Here is where we have policy debates, project announcements, and assist community members in organizing events.
Everyone is welcome to comment on posts and participate in the discussions regardless of skill level or experience.
Get Involved
If you love WordPress and want to help us do these things, join in!
Join us at WCUSWCUSWordCamp US. The US flagship WordCamp event. 2023 for an inspiring morning session followed by engaging breakout workshops, where we will collaborate on three different initiatives to strengthen our community. Let’s come together to make a positive impact and ensure WordPress remains a powerful and inclusive platform.
Morning Session: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
During the morning session, we will focus on fostering meaningful discussions and setting the tone for the rest of the day. The agenda for the morning includes:
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM:Welcome and Introductions
We’ll kick off the day with warm welcomes and introductions to create a friendly and inclusive atmosphere. Get to know Community Team fellows and local organizers and make meaningful connections.
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM: NextGen WordPress Events
We’ll think outside the box and explore innovative approaches to 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. events. Share your creative ideas and contribute to shaping the future of WordCamps.
BREAKOUT WORKSHOPS: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM (before and after lunch)
In the afternoon, we will split into three breakout groups, each dedicated to working on different initiatives. Choose a breakout workshop that aligns with your interests and expertise:
Breakout Workshop 1: Improving Community Documentation and Tools
Join this group dedicated to updating the community handbook pages and reviewing WordCamp tools documentation. Help us organize and enhance our resources for smoother event planning.
Breakout Workshop 2: How to improve the Global Sponsorship program for organizers, community, and sponsors
In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to improve the global sponsorship program for WordPress events.
Breakout Workshop 3: 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. & WordCamp Organizers – Ask Me Anything session
This workshop is open for Meetup and WordCamp questions. Questions on how to organize local meetup chapters, organize WordCamp or other WordPress events
Please note that each breakout workshop will have designated moderators and scribes to document the discussions and outcomes.
We look forward to having you join us for this enriching day of collaboration and growth!
Reached out to diverse groups of speakers for the upcoming 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. Germany
Working on organizing a global DEIB working group team on the WordPress SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.
Will facilitate a session on DEIB in WordPress at the WordPress Community Summit
interviewed on a podcast and we talked about the DEIB diversity initiative and this group
4 – Setting you up for my time away: (@jillbinder)
@jillbinder is taking an extended break for 4 months, starting September 1, 2023
Jill invited the group to keep the work going:
these 2nd and 4th Wednesday #WPDiversity Slack meetings
our 2 workshops -> especially for local WordCamps / 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.. There is a growing need for more localized help.
How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events
Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events
5 – Shorter version of our Inclusion workshop with the Training team – who can take this on? (@jillbinder)
We are looking for someone to:
Work with @webtechpooja in the Training Team to put it into the format that the Training Team needs it in – to make it into shorter, more digestible content.
Create quiz questions
Work with the Training Team on creating polished videos –> you don’t need to be in the videos yourself, but you would be the contact leading finding the person/people to be in them
Marta will be working on materials next week with @franrosa
Next year Marta will organise an event specialising in accessibilityAccessibilityAccessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)
I have opened a GitHub issue to have the access to our two trackers separated. This will allow us to give Event Supporters access to the 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. Tracker, and remove barriers to monitoring the activity of 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.. It will also allow Event Supporters to begin reviewing Meetup applications, with some support.
Please share any concerns or support in the comments. Thanks!
The Community Team chat takes place the first Thursday of every month.
This meeting is meant for all contributors on the team and everyone who is interested in taking part in some of the things our team does. Feel free to join us, even if you are not currently active in the team!
You will find a preliminary agenda for the meeting below.
If you wish to add points to discuss, comment on this post or reach out to one of the team reps: @leo, @nukaga, or @mysweetcate. It does not need to be a blog post yet, the topic can be discussed during the meeting nevertheless. We use the same agenda for both meetings.
Check-ins: Supporters, Managers, and Contributors
What have you been doing and how is it going?
What did you accomplish after the last meeting?
Are there any blockers?
Can other team members help you in some way?
Highlights to Note
Here are a few things everyone should be aware of.
Proposal: Next Generation Event URL – The Next Generation Events team has asked the development team to create a new URLURLA specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org structure that will accommodate a diversity of event types. The new structure will be: events.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//city(or country)/year/event-type
Can You Help the Week of WCUS 2023? – Speaking of helping…. The work of the Community Team still goes on even when flagship events are happening. @sippis has already stepped up to commit to helping with HelpScout and monitoring Slack. We still need at least four other team members to help with various roles: mainly HelpScout, 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. application review, and monitoring Slack.
This is an excellent opportunity to contribute and we’re happy to provide additional training if someone feels like they need it. Contact @peiraisotta or @mysweetcate with questions or to express interest.
Finally, if you are a Program SupporterProgram SupporterCommunity 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., please take this short survey. Your feedback is vital and provides a more complete view of who is currently contributing in this role and insight into what to focus on for the future. Have your answers in by 4 August. Thank you!
This is your chance to discuss things that weren’t on the meeting agenda.
We invite you to use this opportunity to share anything that you want with the team. If you currently have a topic you’d like to discuss, add it to the comments of this post and we will try to update the agenda accordingly.
Hope to see you on Thursday, either in the Asia-Pacific / EMEA (12:00 UTC) or Americas-friendly version (21:00 UTC) of the meeting!
In early July 2023, the first two NextGen WordPress pilot events were held in Leipzig, Germany, and Sevilla, Spain. Both events experimented with a one-day, small-scale format that can be easily organized, replicated, and enjoyed by the community.
The event in Leipzig was a local 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. (WordCamp Leipzig 2023) through which the organizer, Robert Windisch, aimed to demonstrate that a small and simple local WordCamp is achievable and can ignite the community. This WordCamp did not have a welcome dinner or after party, nor did they not provide swag or badges.
Nilo Velez, the organizer of WordCamp Sevilla 2023, also delved into experimentation and organized WordPress Day in only 20 days. Since WordCamp Sevilla was already in planning, the WordPress Day event was announced on the WordCamp Sevilla site.
Event Format
The organizers of both events were experienced and had a clear vision for their respective gatherings. Robert aimed to organize a small and intimate, low-budget yet high-quality conference that introduced a diverse range of speakers.
Nilo organized a contributor dayContributor DayContributor 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/. with selected 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/ projects (Support, TV, and Polyglots) that required specific tools, addressed clear tasks, and needed a large number of volunteers. Nilo hopes to continue holding similar events at universities, schools, or town halls.
Photo courtesy of Bernard Kau
Attendees
Each event hosted approximately 30-40 attendees. Unfortunately, we received only a small number of responses to the Attendee Satisfaction Survey: 9 responses from Leipzig and 12 from Sevilla.
Out of the 9 respondents from Leipzig, only 2 reported being first-timers to a WordPress event, while all 12 respondents from Sevilla were returnees. All but one respondent have used WordPress for more than a year.
All 12 respondents from Sevilla stated that they were ‘very likely’ to recommend the event to others. In Leipzig, 6 respondents were ‘very likely’ to recommend the event, while the rest were ‘likely’ to recommend it.
Takeaways
From these pilot events in Leipzig and Sevilla, we learned that organizing a small WordPress community event, larger than 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., is both achievable and desirable.
Although the events were smaller than regular WordCamps, local sponsors can still contribute alongside global community sponsors. Both events received support from a couple of local sponsors.
The events confirmed that Community team contributors know how to effectively organize conferences and contributor days. Therefore, our challenge is to see if we can experiment with a format that we haven’t yet seen within our WordPress ecosystem.
We also noticed that more attendees were returnees rather than first-time attendees. What can we do to attract new audiences to our events?
Photo courtesy of Nino Velez
Share Your Ideas
If you are keen to see innovative event formats and topics happening in your area, you can start now! Share your ideas with us, and we will support you in making them happen. You can submit your ideas via the Ideas Form and then chat with us on how we can provide assistance.
Thursday, August 17th: Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events — Follow Up SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. Chat on #community-events
@Julia’s set of questions for organizers to think about diversity and inclusion at their events
Organizing Inclusive & Welcoming Events – new format
9 – Comments, questions, ideas (anyone)
@jillbinder shared about being called in on a tweet she wrote
@martatorre asked for ideas on how to get more women and other underrepresented groups onto the pluginPluginA plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party review team
Hello MentorsEvent SupporterEvent 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.! If you are currently mentoring 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., please share how the organizing team is doing and any other insights, interesting ideas, or innovations that they’re planning.
Comment on this post to share your update. You are welcome to share updates here throughout the month. Thanks! 😁
