Tag Archives: community-team

harmonyromo 9:12 pm on January 23, 2024
Tags: community-team, ,   

Events of the Month – November & December

In a continuing effort to provide some real-time information for event organizers and the community alike, below is a month-in-review post with recaps of the prior month’s events and how they fared financially, in terms of ticket sales and budget.

Of note, the end of 2023 was particularly active with a total of 12 events in November and December.

Updates on WordCamps Held Before November
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. Nairobi, Kenya (Aug 16-17)
Final Tickets Sold: 160
Approved Attendee Total: 200
Budget Notes*: Transparency Report reviewed and budget closed

Final cost $8,265 USD and cost per person/day of $26 USD.

Event closed on budget.
Open Items – Finances: No Open Items
WordCamp Finland (Sept 14-15)
Final Tickets Sold: 407
Approved Attendee Total: 500
Budget Notes*: Budget closed.

Final cost $36,805 USD/ 34,397 EUR and cost per person/day of $45 USD/ 42 EUR.

Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $11,249 USD/ 10,513 EUR
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Pontevedra, Spain (Sept 16-17)
Final Tickets Sold: 254
Approved Attendee Total: 300
Budget Notes*: Budget closed

Final cost $24,125 USD/ 22,546 EUR and cost per person/day of $47 USD/ 44 EUR.

Event closed on budget
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Biarritz, France (Oct 6)
Final Tickets Sold: 304
Approved Attendee Total: 300 
Budget Notes*: Budget closed

Final cost $50,874 USD/ 47,546 EUR and cost per person/day of $167 USD/ 156 EUR.

Event closed with additional Global Sponsorship funds used of approximately $715 USD / 668 EUR
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Bhopal, India (Oct 7-8)
Final Tickets Sold: 353
Approved Attendee Total: 350 
Budget Notes*: Transparency Report reviewed and budget closed. 

Final cost $10,399 USD/ 866,544 INR and cost per person/day of $15 USD/ 1,227 INR.

Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $297 USD/ 24,778 INR
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Taiwan (Oct 14)
Final Tickets Sold: 321
Approved Attendee Total: 500
Budget Notes*: Budget closed.

Final cost $25,892 USD/ 835,240 TWD and cost per person/day of $81 USD/ 2,602 TWD.

Event closed with additional Global Sponsorship funds used of approximately $5,506 USD / 177,600 TWD. The main reason for this need is related to invoicing errors by the venue. The invoices issued were lower than the quoted prices, but this was not noticed until after the event. The venue issued an invoice for the unbilled portion post event. 
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Tokyo, Japan (Oct 21)
Final Tickets Sold: 424
Approved Attendee Total: 400 
Budget Notes*: Still awaiting Transparency Report submission and final numbers. 
Open Items – Finances: Still Awaiting final Transparency Report**, and the team has been in communication to say the information will be submitted as soon as possible.
WordCamp Tegal, Indonesia (Oct 22)
Final Tickets Sold: 83
Approved Attendee Total: 75
Budget Notes*: Transparency Report reviewed and budget closed. 

Final cost $2,164 USD/ 33,298,615 IDR and cost per person/day of $26 USD/ 401,188 IDR.

Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $86 USD/ 1,324,385 IDR. 
Open Items – Finances: No open items.
WordCamp Mumbai, India (Oct 28-29)
Final Tickets Sold: 495
Approved Attendee Total: 500
Budget Notes*: Transparency Report reviewed and budget closed. 

Final cost $23,351 USD/ 1,945,944 INR and cost per person/day of $24 USD/ 1,966 INR.

Event closed on budget
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp and Events Held in November
WordCamp San Jose (November 4 – 5)
Final Tickets Sold: 411
Approved Attendee Total: 450 
Budget Notes*: Budget closed.

Final cost $41,481 USD and cost per person/day of $50 USD

Event closed with additional Global Sponsorship funds used of approximately $4,770 USD. 
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Madrid (November 4 – 5)
Final Tickets Sold: 619
Approved Attendee Total: 600
Budget Notes*:  Budget closed.

Final cost $85,951 USD/ 80,300 EUR and cost per person/day of $69 USD/ 65 EUR

Event closed on budget. With some special negotiations, the organizing team was able to apply a payment of approximately 7,000 EUR from a 2020 venue deposit towards the 2023 chosen venue.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Montreal – ONLINE (November 8 – 9)
Final Tickets Sold: 79
Approved Attendee Total: 200
Budget Notes*: Budget closed.

Final cost $326 USD/ 446 CAD and cost per person/day of $4 USD/ 6 CAD

Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $755 USD/ 1,034 CAD. 
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Valencia (November 10 – 11)
Final Tickets Sold: 394
Approved Attendee Total: 390
Budget Notes*: Budget closed.

Final cost $34,206 USD/ 31,968 EUR and cost per person/day of $43 USD/ 41 EUR

Event closed with additional Global Sponsorship funds used of approximately $1,160 USD / 1,084 EUR
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Manila (November 11)
Final Tickets Sold: 289
Approved Attendee Total: 230 
Budget Notes*: Transparency Report reviewed but awaiting a few answers to open questions
Open Items – Finances: Open questions sent 1/10/2024
WordCamp Verona (November 17 – 18)
Final Tickets Sold: 295
Approved Attendee Total: 300
Budget Notes*: Budget closed.

Final cost $25,974 USD/ 24,275 EUR and cost per person/day of $44 USD/ 41 EUR

Event closed with additional Global Sponsorship funds used of approximately $4,481 USD / 4,188 EUR
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Hong Kong (November 18)
Final Tickets Sold: 77
Approved Attendee Total: 70
Budget Notes*: Transparency Report reviewed and budget closed. 

Final cost $7,927 USD/ 60,975 HKD and cost per person/day of $103 USD/ 792 HKD

Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $2,264 USD / 17,417 HKD. 
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Islamabad (November 25 – 26)
Final Tickets Sold: 176
Approved Attendee Total: 200
Budget Notes*: Transparency Report reviewed and budget closed. 

Final cost $5,404 USD/ 1,512,951 PKR and cost per person/day of $15 USD/ 4,298 PKR

Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship funds of approximately $489 USD / 135,764 PKR
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Udaipur (November 25)
Final Tickets Sold: 300
Approved Attendee Total: 350
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Still Awaiting final Transparency Report**, and team has responded to say they are working on the final numbers
WordCamp and Events Held in December
WordCamp Ahmedabad (December 9)
Final Tickets Sold: 1051
Approved Attendee Total: 800 
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Still Awaiting final Transparency Report**, a post event email has been sent to the team requesting their submission
WordCamp Lahore (December 9-10)
Final Tickets Sold: 363
Approved Attendee Total: 350
Budget Notes*: Transparency Report reviewed and budget closed. 

Final cost $6,200 USD/ 1,722,361 PKR and cost per person/day of $9 USD/ 2,372 PKR

Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship funds of approximately $3,600 USD / 1,000,000 PKR
Open Items – Finances: No open items

Budget Notes*: An event closed on budget if the approved Global Sponsorship amount is what was utilized. If an event is able to raise more sponsorship income or ticket income, or the expenses are less than amounts listed in the approved budget, the additional funds are contributed back to the Global Sponsorship fund. If, on the other hand, an organizing team raises less sponsorship income or ticket income than planned, or expenses are higher than originally budgeted, the additional amount needed to cover all expenses is covered by the Global Sponsorship fund and will be stated as additional Global Sponsorship funds used. This amount represents funds in addition to the approved Global Sponsorship amount.

The goal of WordPress events is to provide a space where community members can come together and share knowledge, build relationships with other members and sponsors, and spread love for WordPress. The goal is never to make money. Because WordPress Community SupportWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program. pays taxes on any income at year end, we strive to hold events where income is equal to expenses.

Transparency Report**: WordCamps that run funds through WordPress Community Support (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.) – meaning WPCS collects ticket income and sponsorship income, and pays vendors directly – are not required to submit a Transparency Report. 

Alternatively, organizing teams that run money locally collect all or some of the ticket income and sponsorship income directly. The team then uses the collected funds to pay expenses of the event. The organizing team is responsible for completing a transparency report after the event where they submit receipts/documentation for all expenses, support for ticket income collected, and support for sponsorship income collected. More info can be found here. 

#community-team, #wordcamps, #events-of-the-month
Shusei Toda 3:00 pm on January 23, 2024
Tags: community-team, , ,   

WordCamp Asia 2024 Contributor Day: Help Needed!

As we kickoff 2024, one of the three flagship WordCamps, 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. Asia, is around the corner.

WordCamp Asia 2024 organizers have been in contact with the team reps asking for the potential table leads for the event. As two of the current team reps, Junko and Shusei, being organizers and Leo and Isotta not being able to attend the event, we are asking for help with anyone who would like to lead the Community Team Table.

Who would like to lead the table?

The organizers are looking for someone who could lead the table. Those who will be leading the table will be in contact with the organizers to prepare for the event.


If you are interested in leading the table, please comment in this post so that the current team reps can get in touch with you.

What will the table lead do?

Table leads will be the facilitator of the Community Table. The Community Table often has various topics to discuss and work on. Table lead(s) will be in charge of making sure that people who attend the event have a smooth experience. The tasks may involve the following:

Topics for discussion

Lastly, one may have a topic they would like to discuss during the day. If you have any topics you would like to discuss or work on, please comment here so that the table leads and team reps can work together to decide on the focus points for WordCamp Asia 2024 Contributor Day.

Thank you all for showing interest in joining the Community Table at WordCamp Asia 2024. Beside the table leads nominations and topic proposals, if you have any comments regarding the preparation of WCAsia 2024 Contributor Day, please leave a comment.

Additional Resources

Here is some additional information from WCAsia, WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event. and WCUSWCUS WordCamp US. The US flagship WordCamp event. 2023 Contributor Day.

#community-team, #contributor-day, #wcasia, #wordcamp

Patricia BT 2:48 pm on January 22, 2024
Tags: , , , community-team, , ,   

Proposal: Pilot program to test GatherPress on the WordPress.org network as a Meetup alternative

Introduction

We propose a pilot program to test GatherPress, a community-developed pluginPlugin A 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, within interested and active WordPress 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. groups. This initiative stems from our community’s need for an innovative event management tool tailored to the unique demands of WordPress event organizers and participants.

The pilot program would be held in real-world conditions with WordPress Meetup groups.

We have expressed commitments to a trial run from New Jersey and Nashville groups in the USA, French-speaking groups in Switzerland, and potential interest from groups in Spain, Japan as well as from learn.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/.

Overview of GatherPress

GatherPress, led by @mauteri and @hrmervin, is a plugin designed with functionalities akin to Meetup.com, but specifically crafted for the WordPress community by members of the WordPress community. It is the result of the WordPress community’s desire for new event management tools that meet the diverse needs of event organizers and members. 

You can find more information on the website and on GitHub.

Documentation pages, including a demo video, are available on the website.

We welcome everyone to comment here, to test GatherPress (also for accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (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)) or join the GatherPress weekly huddles, SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel or even the team.

Summary of Value Proposition

GatherPress

✅ Members and Attendance data lives on your website and database. Community Organizers define privacy policies, selectively publish attendees lists, gather additional data from attendees, etc.

✅ Democratized access to data and functionality, as WordPress is customizable

✅ Open SourceOpen Source Open 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.: free, and scaled with WordPress

Meetup and Commercial Apps

❌ Data Ownership, Data Integrity, Data Privacy

❌ Control of Roadmap, Enhancements, and Integrations

❌ Cost and Scale

❌ Control UXUX UX is an acronym for User Experience - the way the user uses the UI. Think ‘what they are doing’ and less about how they do it. and accessibility

Pilot Program Objectives

Real-World Testing

The pilot aims to test GatherPress in a live environment, providing practical insights into its functionality and user experience feedback.

Community engagement

Engage with the participating meetup groups from the international community. 

Feedback & Analysis

Collect feedback from both organizers and participants throughout the course of their use of GatherPress during the trial.

Analyse suggestions, feedback, and bug reports to refine the application into its next version(s).

Reports

Periodic summary posts on how the program is working for the whole community to know about it.

Future Planning

Following the completion of the trial, set the public roadmap of functionality and integrations to be released. Ultimately, the objective of GatherPress is to potentially replace Meetup.com as the centerpoint of the WordPress Community Events and Dashboard WidgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. source data. 

Benefits of the Proposal

1. Community-centric development

This pilot and this project, empowers the WordPress community by directly leading the development process of a tool designed by and for the community at large.

A major challenge of the community is influence over the roadmap of commercially available tools, to build features and functionality needed by organizers, participants, and users with accessibility needs. 

2. Enhanced Event Management

GatherPress promises to offer a more integrated and seamless event management experience within the WordPress ecosystem. Among our goals are to allow community organizers to gather data from attendees unique to each hosted event as needed. Additional capabilities are present for triggering additional reminders, customized waitlist workflows, and selectively publishing attendees lists. The GatherPress plugin is built to be extendable and configurable. Companion plugins will be able to seamlessly integrate with the coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. plugin. GatherPress will also be built to leverage features of other community-based plugins (like BuddyPress).

3. Cost-Effectiveness

This project has the potential to reduce the community’s reliance on external platforms like Meetup.com. The estimated cost savings of leveraging our own application is approx $ 215,000 USD per year, coupled with the full control over event management tools and ownership of our community’s data. 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. pays Meetup.com $24.50 per group per month (inclusive of a 30% discount). There were 734 groups as of October of 2023.

4. Use-Case Specific Testing

An example of how this testing can grant case-by-case capabilities includes Localization (translated language). By opening the pilot program to groups from various countries, we ensure that the tool is adaptable and functional in a multilingual context, essential for the diverse WordPress community. Furthermore, communities will benefit from the open source nature of the application, enabling customization of RSVP and onboarding workflows.

5. Data Liberation

The WordPress Open Source community is indeed large, and our data is valuable, as is the privacy. GatherPress hosted by WordPress community proper, will enable organizers and leadership to 1) own the community’s data, and 2) make it selectively available for analysis. Insights learned from our community at large, will inform growth opportunities and strategic initiatives into the future. Today, WordPress operates the Data Liberation project, enabling users of commercial tools to migrate into a WordPress experience. You can learn more about the Data Liberation project at: https://wordpress.org/data-liberation/.

6. Meetup.com Importer

One of the first companion plugins the GatherPress team is currently working on is the ability to import meetup.com data to a GatherPress-powered WordPress site. This will make the transition from meetup.com to GatherPress as seamless as possible and simplify managing both as a group transitions from one platform to another.

Next steps

The ideal setup for the pilot is to run GatherPress on a multisiteMultisite Multisite is a WordPress feature which allows users to create a network of sites on a single WordPress installation. Available since WordPress version 3.0, Multisite is a continuation of WPMU or WordPress Multiuser project. WordPress MultiUser project was discontinued and its features were included into WordPress core.https://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network. within the wordpress.org network, in collaboration with # metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.-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., # community-events, # meta, and # learn. This approach ensures seamless integration and alignment with the existing WordPress infrastructure, potentially allowing other meetup groups to join and already be in the definitive environment if the pilot program is successful. 

Alongside this trial, meetup groups should continue to leverage Meetup.com in parallel to GatherPress.

Timeframe

We are prepared to commence immediately and suggest a minimum of a 6 month duration to meet our pilot’s objectives.

Conclusion

This pilot program presents a unique opportunity to shape the future of event management in the WordPress community. By leveraging the collective knowledge and experience of our meetup groups, we can ensure that GatherPress evolves into a tool that truly resonates with the needs and expectations of our global community.

This proposal has been written by @patricia70 and @hrmervin and reviewed by @mauteri.

Suggestions, edition and additional information (thank you): @annebovelett, @devinmaeztri, @harishanker, @harmonyromo, @iandunn, @isvictorious, @javiercasares, @kcristiano, @nao, @peiraisotta, @unintended8, @_dorsvenabili

The draft was submitted for feedback to other community members as well, the above list only includes the persons who commented.

#meetups, #community-management, #community-events, #community-team, #learn, #meta, #meta-wordcamp

Shusei Toda 12:00 am on January 18, 2024
Tags: community-team,   

Community Team January Meeting Recap

Attendance: @bobdunn-trainer, @golosins, @jonoaldersonwp, @joostdevalk, @michelleames, @nukaga, @patricia70, @peiraisotta, @samsuresh, @st810amaze, @tacoverdo, @webtechpooja

Notes: @peiraisotta, @st810amaze

This recap is a summary of the Community Team monthly meeting. It will cover the discussion points, ideas, and decisions that came up during the meeting. The aim of this recap is to provide a quick overview for those who were unable to attend as well as an overview for everyone. These meetings were based on the Agenda for January and are held in our #community-team SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel on Make WordPress.

You can find the meeting chat log here:


Please leave your comments if you have any feedback. 

Additionally, each agenda item discussed may have its own Make post related to its topic with more information and you can add to the discussion directly to that post.

Chat Summary

Here are some discussion points from the meeting.

New WordPress Events Page

Contributor Working Group

Action Items

Next Meeting

Community Team Meetings are held the first Thursday of every month. There are two meetings to support different time zones. The meetings will take place on #community-team on Slack.

Call for Meeting Facilitators

The Community Team Monthly Meetings happen on the first thursdays of every month. These meetings can be facilitated and run by any member of the community team, and is a great opportunity to engage with the rest of the community and team.

If you are interested in facilitating any of these meetings in the future, please feel free to comment or get in touch with any of the Community Team Reps.


If you wish to add points to discuss, comment on this post or reach out to one of the team reps: @peiraisotta, @Shusei, @leo, or @nukaga. 

#community-team, #meeting

Isotta 2:00 pm on January 8, 2024
Tags: , community-team,   

Reminder: 2023 Annual Meetup Survey

Hello WordPress 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. members and organizers,

This is a reminder about the annual meetup survey. This year, we propose a unified survey for all Meetup members and organizers.

Please take a moment to respond to the Annual Meetup Survey . This survey is an important opportunity to share your feedback on WordPress 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. in 2023 and how we can improve the program in the future. Even if you did not attend meetup events in 2023, your input is valuable! The survey takes less than 5 minutes to fill out, and the results will help strengthen WordPress meetups in the years to come.

The survey will close on January 14, 2024.

To open the survey in a new tab, please use the following link: https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey

Then comment here to let us know. Thank you for your precious feedback!

#meetups, #community-team, #meetup

Cate DeRosia 6:58 pm on December 21, 2023
Tags: , community-team, ,   

Meetup Organizer Newsletter: December 2023

Whew! What a year it has been, as was highlighted in the kick-off to the 2023 State of the WordState of the Word This is the annual report given by Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress at WordCamp US. It looks at what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and the future of WordPress. https://wordpress.tv/tag/state-of-the-word/.. 77 WordCamps were held in 33 countries, a small part of the 3,300 WordPress gatherings worldwide. Our events have more than doubled since the pandemic, and as we all know, our 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. are at the heart of that.

It wouldn’t happen without organizers like you; thank you!

Speaking of incredible organizer accomplishments, read on to see how the community embraced this year’s State of the Word watch parties and get an update on a new communication tool the Make Teams are experimenting with.

State of the Word Watch Parties: A Look at the Numbers and Beyond

This year, over 475 community members RSVPed to attend one of the 47 State of the Word Watch Parties (27 online, 20 in person) held in 18 different countries. Imagine the fun they had celebrating together.

While both WordPress’s anniversary and the State of the Word celebration are ideal times to gather as a community, watch parties can be organized anytime! 

Many of the resources available for hosting those events can be applied to others as well. Plan now to watch the live streams for WC Asia, WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event., and WCUSWCUS WordCamp US. The US flagship WordCamp event. together. Additionally, WordPress.tv has a library of presentations you could watch together and discuss.

Whatever it is, consider making watch parties a part of your meetups regular routine!

More From the WP Community

  • WCEU needs you: Help to spread the word that both the Call for Speakers and Call for Sponsors are now open.
  • Contribute to WordPress in 2024: No matter your skill set, there is a place for you on one of the more than 20 Make WordPress teams. To make things even easier, you can now use the new contributor tool at make.wordpress.org/contribute to find the perfect WordPress Contributor Team to join. Whether you contribute as a 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. or individually, there’s never been a better time to start than now!

Meetup Survey – In 15 minutes or less, you can contribute to a more complete view of the WordPress community as well as add your own unique perspective to the global program. Simply fill out the annual survey today! 

The Move to Matrix is On Hold

It was recently announced that starting in 2024 Community Team meetings would be held in Matrix. Due to usability concerns and a change in Matrix’s licensing, this move has been paused.

SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. will remain the primary chat platform for the WordPress community, but this does not mean that Matrix is going away. 

As Alex Kirk states in his post, “The Slack-Matrix bridge and integrations, such as Chatrix, are still valuable for contributors and will keep working. This allows for flexibility and the continued use of the achievements made so far, especially to help onboard new contributors. We encourage Make teams to further explore and take advantage of all the opportunities that Make team chat pages have to offer.”

So, if you’re interested in trying something new for 2024, check out Matrix and be a part of its feedback and testing.

A special thank you to our Global Sponsors: GoDaddy, Bluehost, Automattic, SiteGround, Weglot, and WooCommerce!

If you have any questions, Community Team Program Supporters are here to help. Please email us at support@wordcamp.org or join the #community-events Slack channel. Thanks for everything you do to grow and support the WordPress community — let’s keep sharing knowledge and inspiring each other with our contributions!

See you online soon!The following people contributed to this edition of the Meetup newsletter: @mysweetcate, @peiraaisotta, @juliarosia, @bjmcsherry, @devinmaeztri @eidolonnight

#community-team, #meetup-organizer-newsletter, #newsletter

Devin Maeztri 10:00 am on December 13, 2023
Tags: annoucement, community-team,   

Announcing the New WordPress Events Page 

Howdy, WordPress community! We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the brand new WordPress Events page, which was previewed during State of the Word. This dynamic platform is designed to be the central hub for WordPress events. Check it out at events.wordpress.org!

What’s in Store for You?

Discover and Organize Local Events 

Whether you’re a seasoned developer, a content creator, or a WordPress beginner, there are WordPress events for everyone! Through the new Events page, you can find upcoming events in your community, or apply to organize one.

Insightful Statistics

Stay in the loopLoop The Loop is PHP code used by WordPress to display posts. Using The Loop, WordPress processes each post to be displayed on the current page, and formats it according to how it matches specified criteria within The Loop tags. Any HTML or PHP code in the Loop will be processed on each post. https://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop. with insightful statistics showcasing the global impact of WordPress events. Discover the number of events hosted, the total number of participants, and the diversity of countries involved. It’s a testament to the incredible worldwide reach of the WordPress community.

Smart Search Functionality

Find events tailored to your preferences with the page’s advanced search functionality. FilterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. events by format, type, month, and country to ensure you discover the most relevant and exciting WordPress gatherings.

Organize an Event FAQs

Thinking about organizing your own WordPress event? The Organize an Event page is filled with frequently asked questions to guide you through the process. Whether you’re a seasoned organizer or a first-timer, you’ll find valuable insights to make your event a success.

We Want Your Feedback!

We value your opinions and experiences with the new WordPress Event page. Comment below to share your thoughts, suggestions, and feedback. Let us know how the page enhances your WordPress community experience!

If you’re feeling tech-savvy, contribute directly to the development process on GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/. Visit WordPress/wordcamp.org to add your insights, report issues, and contribute to the ongoing improvement of this fantastic resource.

Let’s make the WordPress community stronger, more vibrant, and more connected than ever before! 

Happy Exploring!

Thank you, @juliarosia and @peiraisotta, for contributing to this announcement! 


#annoucement #events #community-team

Junko Nukaga 5:11 am on November 28, 2023
Tags: , community-team,   

Vote for Community Team Rep 2024

The nomination for WordPress Community Team RepTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. has been closed on 13th November 2023. 

We got some great names nominated to be the next Community Team Reps. Once nominations closed, we contacted all nominees and listed those who responded positively.

Nominees

A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, makes sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. 

The following new community team Reps are nominated for 2024.

Voting

Community team members are requested to vote to select 2 new community team reps by online poll using the following link: https://forms.gle/h43XbR4JtqEuHfbb6

The voting is open until 15th December 2023.

Results

Once voting is concluded, we will announce the results before the end of 2023.

How Team Reps will be Structured in 2024

To recap: in the post receiving this candidate, we had made a suggestion as to the duration and number of community Reps. Based on the input there, we are planning to operate with 4 people next year with 2 remaining from the 2023 Reps and 2 new Reps.

This is with the understanding that it will be okay if someone gets stuck for a period of time.

And the two new reps in 2024 will overlap into 2025 if possible. 

This can be reconsidered after a year of activity.


The two Team Reps who will remain from 2023 and be active in 2024 will be decided by discussion among the current three Reps ( @mysweetcate , @nukaga , @leogopal ) . The reason it is not a vote is that who remains will be determined based on an internal discussion of activity, history, and personal circumstances.

Request to Candidates

If you are a new Team Reps nominee, please share some information about yourself including why you would like to represent the Community Team in the comments. It will be helpful for the 2024 community team members to make their selection!

#community-management, #community-team, #team-reps

Cate DeRosia 6:57 pm on November 21, 2023
Tags: , community-team, ,   

Meetup Organizer Newsletter: November 2023

November is an exciting month! New event formats continue to spring to life, WordCamps are in process, and new 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. applications are coming in from across the globe. 

As if that weren’t enough, three great opportunities are available this month:

  • Apply to speak at WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event..
  • Schedule your local State of the WordState of the Word This is the annual report given by Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress at WordCamp US. It looks at what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and the future of WordPress. https://wordpress.tv/tag/state-of-the-word/. watch party.
  • Complete the 2023 Meetup Survey.

Read on to learn more and please encourage your community members to take part.

WCEU Call for Speakers is Open

Connect, be inspired, and share our knowledge and stories with the global WordPress community by applying to speak at WCEU 2024. Be a part of the friendly, welcoming, and diverse flagship event that highlights what brings us together around the world’s most used CMS.

Schedule your State of the Word Watch Party Today

The State of the Word is an annual event during which WordPress Co-Founder Matt Mullenweg shares the latest updates and vision for our beloved platform. 

This year’s State of the Word 2023 will be held in Madrid, Spain on December 11, 2023 at 15:00 UTC and will be live-streamed via 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/ social media platforms for those who choose to watch from elsewhere.

Whether you watch the live stream or the recording at a time that is convenient for your community, State of the Word watch parties are a fantastic opportunity to come together with your local WordPress enthusiasts to connect, learn, and celebrate the future of our favorite content management system.

Want help getting started?

Check out the information in the Meetup Organizer handbook. It has all you need to organize a State of the Word watch party in person or online. All the tips, tricks, and resources you need in one place.

If you have questions or need additional help, you’re always welcome to ask questions in the Community Team channels on Making WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. or email the team at support@wordcamp.org.

The 2023 Meetup Survey is Out

It’s annual survey time, an opportunity to work together to get a pulse on the local WordPress 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..

By taking 15 minutes to fill out the annual survey, you contribute to a more complete view of your community as well as adding your own unique perspective to the global program, both of which are invaluable. 

The more responses we have, the more data we have to work with and the greater the impact is for WordPress meetups around the world.

This year’s survey has been simplified into one survey for both organizers and attendees, with a focus on your experience and how to best support growing communities. About two thirds of the questions are true/false or multiple choice, with the remaining questions providing opportunities for you to share your thoughts and ideas.

Submissions will be accepted through 14 January, 2024.

A special thank you to our Global Sponsors: GoDaddy, Bluehost, Automattic, SiteGround, Weglot, and WooCommerce!

If you have any questions, Community Team deputiesProgram 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. are here to help. Please email us at support@wordcamp.org or join the #community-events Slack channel. Thanks for everything you do to grow and support the WordPress community—let’s keep sharing knowledge and inspiring each other with our contributions!

See you online soon!

The following people contributed to this edition of the Meetup newsletter: @mysweetcate, @peiraisotta, @bjmcsherry, @devinmaeztri

#community-team, #meetup-organizer-newsletter, #newsletter

harmonyromo 7:42 pm on November 14, 2023
Tags: community-team, ,   

Events of the Month – October

In a continuing effort to provide some real-time information for event organizers and the community alike, below is a month-in-review post with recaps of the prior month’s events and how they fared financially, in terms of ticket sales and budget.

As we roll into the final quarter of 2023, the month of October was quite active. The month closed out with a total of 13 events.

Updates on WordCamps Held pre-October with Open Budgets
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. Kerala, India (March 25)
Final Tickets Sold: 499
Approved Attendee Total: 500
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $19,664 USD/1,638,635 INR and cost per person/day of $39 USD/ 3,284 INR.
Event closed on budget.   
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Nairobi, Kenya (Aug 16-17)
Final Tickets Sold: 160
Approved Attendee Total: 200
Budget Notes*: Initial review of Transparency Report complete. Awaiting response in regards to small surplus.
Open Items – Finances: Awaiting response in regards to small surplus.
WordCamp Denmark (Aug 26-27)
Final Tickets Sold: 48
Approved Attendee Total: 95
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $11,002 USD/ 73,347 DKK and cost per person/day of $115 USD/ 764 DKK.
Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $4,190 USD/ 27,937 DKK
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Jinja, Uganda (Sept 4 – 5)
Final Tickets Sold: 186
Approved Attendee Total: 250
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $6,290 USD and cost per person/day of $17 USD.
Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $60 USD to be used towards future 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. expenses
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Kathmandu, Nepal (Sept 8-9)
Final Tickets Sold: 473
Approved Attendee Total: 450
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $18,288 USD/ 2,438,435 NPR and cost per person/day of $19 USD/ 2,577 NPR.
Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $1,828 USD/ 243,694 NPR to be used towards future WordPress expenses. Surplus held in WP Nepal account.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Finland (Sept 14-15)
Final Tickets Sold: 407
Approved Attendee Total: 500
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Several payments still pending (Signage, Audio/Visual, Speaker Event)
WordCamp Pontevedra, Spain (Sept 16-17)
Final Tickets Sold: 245
Approved Attendee Total: 300
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Several payments still pending (Audio/Visual & Swag)
WordCamp Vancouver, Canada (Sept 23)
Final Tickets Sold: 241
Approved Attendee Total: 375
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $16,470 USD/ 21,671 CAD and cost per person/day of $68 USD/ 90 CAD.
Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $550 USD/ 724 CAD.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp and Events Held in October
WordCamp Biarritz, France (Oct 6)
Final Tickets Sold: 304
Approved Attendee Total: 300 
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Food & Beverage payments still pending 
WordCamp Masaka, Uganda (Oct 6 – 7)
Final Tickets Sold: 217
Approved Attendee Total: 200
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $8,136 USD and cost per person/day of $19 USD.
Event closed with additional Global Sponsorship funds used totaling $1,336 USD. The majority of this relates to customs fees for swag. A potential way to avoid this in the future will be to source the swag locally using templates provided by Central. This is in the works.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Bhopal, India (Oct 7-8)
Final Tickets Sold: 353
Approved Attendee Total: 350 
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Still Awaiting final Transparency Report**, and team has responded to say they are working on the final numbers
WordCamp Atlanta, USA (Oct 14-15)
Final Tickets Sold: 181
Approved Attendee Total: 500
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $39,439 USD and cost per person/day of $109 USD.
Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $5,781 USD after making major budgeting changes due to lower than expected sponsorship and ticket sales.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Skopje, North Macedonia (Oct 14)
Final Tickets Sold: 254
Approved Attendee Total: 250
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $6,548 USD/ 385,188 MKD and cost per person/day of $26 USD/ 1,516 MKD.
Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of approximately $1,140 USD/ 67,046 MKD.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Taiwan (Oct 14)
Final Tickets Sold: 321
Approved Attendee Total: 500
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Several payments still pending (Food, Speaker Event, Swag, After Party, Signage)
WordCamp Germany (Oct 19-21)
Final Tickets Sold: 276
Approved Attendee Total: 250
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $45,743 USD/ 42,220 EUR and cost per person/day of $28 USD/ 25 EUR.
Event closed with additional Global Sponsorship funds used of approximately $2,091 USD/ 1,955 EUR.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Sevilla, Spain (Oct 20-22)
Final Tickets Sold: 243
Approved Attendee Total: 200
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $28,304 USD/ 26,452 EUR and cost per person/day of $39 USD/ 36 EUR.
Event closed with additional Global Sponsorship funds used of approximately $5,785 USD/ 5,407 EUR.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Wroclaw, Poland (Oct 21)
Final Tickets Sold: 106
Approved Attendee Total: 100Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $5,337 USD/ 23,205 PLN and cost per person/day of $50 USD/ 219 PLN.
Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of $2,064 USD/ 8,973 PLN.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Tokyo, Japan (Oct 21)
Final Tickets Sold: 424
Approved Attendee Total: 400 
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Still Awaiting final Transparency Report**, and the team has been emailed to request the report.
WordCamp Tegal, Indonesia (Oct 22)
Final Tickets Sold: 83
Approved Attendee Total: 75
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Still Awaiting final Transparency Report**, and the team has been emailed to request the report.
WordCamp Managua, Nicaragua (Oct 28)
Final Tickets Sold: 173
Approved Attendee Total: 200
Budget Notes*: Budget closed. 
Final cost $3,914 USD and cost per person/day of $23 USD.
Event closed with a contribution to the Global Sponsorship fund of $821 USD.
Open Items – Finances: No open items
WordCamp Mumbai, India (Oct 28-29)
Final Tickets Sold: 495
Approved Attendee Total: 500
Budget Notes*: Awaiting Final Numbers
Open Items – Finances: Still Awaiting final Transparency Report**, and the team has been emailed to request the report.

Budget Notes*: If an event was able to raise more sponsorship income or ticket income, or the expenses were less than amounts listed in the approved budget, the additional funds are contributed back to the Global Sponsorship fund. If, on the other hand, an organizing team raises less sponsorship income or ticket income than planned, or expenses are higher than originally budgeted, the additional amount needed to cover all expenses is covered by the Global Sponsorship fund and will be stated as additional Global Sponsorship funds used.

The goal of WordPress events is to provide a space where community members can come together and share knowledge, build relationships with other members and sponsors, and spread love for WordPress. The goal is never to make money. Because WordPress Community SupportWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program. pays taxes on any income at year end, we strive to hold events where income is equal to expenses.

Transparency Report**: WordCamps that run funds through WordPress Community Support (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.) – meaning WPCS collects ticket income and sponsorship income, and pays vendors directly – are not required to submit a Transparency Report. 
Alternatively, organizing teams that run money locally collect all or some of the ticket income and sponsorship income directly. The team then uses the collected funds to pay expenses of the event. The organizing team is responsible for completing a transparency report after the event where they submit receipts/documentation for all expenses, support for ticket income collected, and support for sponsorship income collected. More info can be found here. 

#community-team, #wordcamps, #events-of-the-month