Tag Archives: WPDiversity

Hari Shanker R 6:49 pm on March 12, 2021
Tags: , , , WPDiversity   

Meetup Organizer Newsletter: March 2021

Hello friends,

Wow, can’t believe it’s March already! We have some exciting updates and resources for your 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 month. Read on to find out more!

Newsletter contents:

  • WordPress 5.7 and your meetup group
  • Online event updates
  • Tuesday Trainings
  • News from the WordPress world

WordPress 5.7 and your meetup group

The latest major WordPress release  – version 5.7, “Esperanza,” came out on 9 March 2021. The release comes with some neat blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. editor improvements such as inserter drag and drop for blocks & block patterns and improved reusable blocks. Additionally, it features a simpler default color palette, single-click HTTPHTTP HTTP is an acronym for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web and this protocol defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands. to HTTPSHTTPS HTTPS is an acronym for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure. HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to. The 'S' at the end of HTTPS stands for 'Secure'. It means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted. This is especially helpful for protecting sensitive data like banking information. migrationMigration Moving the code, database and media files for a website site from one server to another. Most typically done when changing hosting companies., a new Robots APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways., lazy loading for iFrames, and password reset links from WP-Admin. You can find more information in the field guide and the release post.

Promote WordPress 5.7 in your Meetup group
You can now promote WordPress 5.7 by organizing an online meetup discussion or sending an email message to your group. Want to learn more? Check out this P2 post from the Community team with WordPress 5.7 resources for Meetup organizers. The Marketing Team is also working on WordPress 5.7 marketing resources that will shortly be published in their GitHub repository.

Upcoming 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. highlighting WordPress 5.7
Want inspiration for your Meetup event on WordPress 5.7? The following meetup groups have already announced sessions to promote WordPress 5.7. Check out these upcoming events!

Online event updates

Don’t forget to catch up with online meetups across the world! If you’re organizing an online WordPress event, use the hashtag #OnlineWPMeetup for social media promotions. The WordPress Marketing team can help promote your online meetup – if you wish to avail their assistance, reach out to them in the #marketing 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 for more information. 

Upcoming WordPress events 
Check out these upcoming WordCamps that are coming up later this year. 

Past WordPress events 
Check out these WordCamps that concluded in February! Their videos will be available on WordPress.tv shortly.

Decision-making checklist for in-person meetups
The Community Team has published handbook pages and a decision-making checklist for organizers to restart in-person meetups in areas where it is safe to do so (e.g., countries such as New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan, where there are lower COVID-19 risks). However, WordPress meetups and WordCamps in most parts of the world will remain online due to  COVID-19.

Sign up for the upcoming Diverse Speaker Workshop on March 18!
How are you doing with getting speakers for your events these days? What about diverse speakers? The Diversity Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) is organizing a workshop for encouraging underrepresented community members to speak at WordPress events. The event –  “How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events #WPDiversity” is being held on March 18, 2021 @ 5:30  PM – 7 PM UTC (convert to your local time). Sign up now!

Tuesday Trainings

Through Tuesday Trainings (#TuesdayTrainings), the Community team publishes a different topic on the WordPress Community Blog to help organizers and interested community members learn various skills. Don’t forget to check out our latest Tuesday Training posts: 

Upcoming Tuesday Training: How can meetup groups benefit from Learn WordPress?
Next Tuesday (March 16, 2021) at 09:00 UTC, we are organizing the first live and interactive Tuesday training on the topic: “How can meetup groups benefit from Learn WordPress?” The session will be held live on YouTube, in the WordCamp Central channel – where you can ask questions on live chat. Don’t miss this event! Sign up for notifications directly on YouTube or add the event to your calendar.

News from the WordPress world

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

We will see you online soon!

#meetup-organizer-newsletter #newsletter

The following people contributed to this edition of the Meetup newsletter: @andreamiddleton @annezazu @daisyolsen @jillbinder

jillbinder 11:49 pm on March 11, 2021
Tags: WPDiversity   

Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on March 10, 2021

Start: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1615395625308300

Summary:

Our March 4, 2021 workshop for the Great Lakes, held by @tantienhime, @volkswagenchick, and @sparklingrobots went well. We talked about how it went and lessons learned.

For our upcoming March 18, 2021 workshop, @volkswagenchick and @oneal are going to be volunteers. We are also looking for help with reaching out to meetup organizers.

@katiejrichards is going to coordinate with the #training team to find out next steps for getting our Spanish translations of the Diverse Speaker Training workshops on Learn to them.

A reminder that we go by UTC time for our bi-weekly group meeting, so the time is going to change for some of us soon. 🙂

End: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1615399353363900

#wpdiversity

jillbinder 8:57 pm on March 3, 2021
Tags: WPDiversity,   

Meetup Organizers: Got diverse speakers? Got any speakers?

Hello 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. organizers!

How are you doing with getting speakers for your events these days? Has it been tough?

If you _are_ getting speakers, have you had trouble getting women and people from other marginalized and underrepresented groups (in terms of gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, or age, etc.) to speak at your 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.?

We are holding two proven, effective workshops for you and your underrepresented communities in March 2021.

They are the same content. One is for the global community and the other is for the Great Lakes area (Hamilton, Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara, Toronto, Mississauga, London, Kingston, Durham, etc.).

How would it feel to have a diverse speaker roster excited to speak at *your* meetup? Or if you’re not holding a meetup right now, giving your meetup community talk to attend at nearby meetups online?

We would like to invite you (yes you, the organizer, if you can) to attend the workshop along with underrepresented members of your community.

You’ll be able to support the participants to create great content that your meetup members would want to hear! (You’ll also be invited to do the exercises yourself, which will help everyone feel more comfortable participating, and also help you in your own speaker journey.)

All you need to do is send the message below to your meetup announcements. And also, if you can, to attend yourself.

(Even if you don’t think that there are underrepresented members in your community, a message like this will appeal to the people who have not been attending and you are likely to see new faces.)

Event for the Great Lakes area (Hamilton, Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara, Toronto, Mississauga, London Kingston, Durham, etc.):
March 4, 2021 @ 7:00pm – 8:30pm ET: How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WP Events #Diversity&Inclusion

Event for the global community:
Thursday, March 18, 2021 @ 5:30pm – 7:30pm UTC: How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events #WPDiversity

If you can attend, sign up now. Either way, please send the following message to your meetup announcements:

Continue reading →

#wpdiversity, #wpdiversityworkshops

jillbinder 7:32 pm on February 24, 2021
Tags: WPDiversity   

Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on February 24, 2021

Attending: @jillbinder @tantienhime @oneal @katiejrichards

Summary:

  • The Interactive, Transformational Watch party last week seemed to be was a great format for our Learn WordPress workshops.
  • What was missing was having more time for participants to discuss pitches. We came up with a few solutions and would love your feedback on which one
  • We need to make the messaging to 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./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. organizers about our workshops much simpler. Even create a very simple “package” that is easy to copy/paste to their communities. We will try this out for the Great Lakes workshop next week and our next global workshop on March 18 (or March 17 and 18).
Continue reading →

#wpdiversity

jillbinder 7:54 pm on February 10, 2021
Tags: , , WPDiversity   

Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on February 10, 2021

Summary:

  • Looking for more volunteer and participant signups for the “How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events #WPDiversity: An Interactive, Transformational Watch Party” on February 18th.
  • Shanta is looking for help from our team with promoting the “Great Lakes area: How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events” live workshop on March 4.
  • Our “Creating a Welcoming and Diverse Space” workshop videos are up on Learn. Oneal and Katie are working on items for it.
  • Our team will be holding a work party for people working on items for our group Thurs, Feb 11, 2021 @ 4-5pm Pacific (Friday 12-1am UTC)!
Continue reading →

#diversity, #marketing, #wpdiversity

jillbinder 10:52 pm on February 3, 2021
Tags: WPDiversity,   

Call to Meetup and WordCamp Organizers and their Underrepresented Community Members: Interactive, Transformational Watch Party!

The Diverse Speaker Training Group (#WPDiversity) invites WordPress event organizers and their marginalized or underrepresented community members to join us for a fun experiment: a 1.5 hour “Interactive, Transformational Watch Party”on February 18th, 2021 at 5:30-7:00 PM UTC!

Topic: How to Own Your Expertise & Start Speaking at WordPress Events.

This unique, interactive Watch Party format will be facilitated by  Jill Binder (the lead of the Diverse Speaker Training Group #WPDiversity) and mentorsMentor 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..  Together, attendees will watch the Diverse Speaker Training Workshop Part 1 on the Learn WordPress site, and be invited to participate in the engaging and impactful exercises.

Does the thought of speaking at one of 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. or WordCamps intrigue you? Do you identify as a person from a marginalized and underrepresented group who is thinking about speaking at 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 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.?

Or are you a meetup or WordCamp event organizer and want to improve the diversity of your speaker lineups?

This workshop is for you if:

  • You identify as being from a marginalized or underrepresented group in terms of gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, age, etc.
  • You’ve thought about speaking at meetups or WordCamps but haven’t been able to think of a topic
  • You think you don’t know anything worth speaking about
  • You are a meetup or WordCamp event organizer and want to improve the diversity of your speaker lineups. It’s best if you can bring marginalized or underrepresented members of your community with you. You can ask us for help with this!

All Meetup and WordCamp organizers are invited to both participate in the exercises and to support the attendees. This Watch Party Workshop is an excellent way to get to know the people who want to speak at your events and help them create talk topics that will interest your community.

*** Please Note: You do NOT have to have any experience in public speaking. This workshop is for all levels of experience.

*** This workshop is for all levels of organizing experience. New and future organizers welcome!

Read more and sign up here

#wpdiversityworkshops

jillbinder 4:28 am on January 28, 2021
Tags: WPDiversity   

Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on January 27, 2021

Summary: I presented our new plan for the next few months. We decided that in February we are going to hold an experimental “Interactive, Transformational Watch Party.” We are also putting up our “Creating a Diverse and Welcoming Space” workshop from WCUSWCUS WordCamp US. The US flagship WordCamp event. up on Learn WordPress, and group member @oneal is going to help with creating items needed for it.

Continue reading →

#wpdiversity

jillbinder 10:02 pm on January 13, 2021
Tags: WPDiversity   

Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) on January 13, 2021 & Input Requested

Attending: @jillbinder @angelasjin @cguntur @rahuldsarker @wpfangirl @tantienhime @oneal

Start: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1610557183412500

We talked about the [Input Requested] Re-imagining the work of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) post.

Pain points that I heard behind the suggestions on the post:

  1. We need to be training the event organizers on why this matters and how to be welcoming to diversity and diverse speakers
  2. Organizers don’t have the time to put into it or don’t feel confident to be running the workshop

Things we talked about today on these pain points:

  • People have even less time and energy in 2020 / start of 2021 to focus on learning how to run this workshop and find the time to actually run it. Most of us are volunteers, so our time and energy is very limited, so most of that goes into just running the 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. itself. 
  • Also, it takes some extra effort to run the workshop because there are some extra questions we might have to answer compared to normal meetup presentations.
  • It takes more conscious effort to ensure that the presenters are a better representation of the diversity within and outside it, and the time/energy is a factor here too
  • In the US, it’s the members of the underrepresented groups that are most exhausted and most overwhelmed.
  • We need to reach the local organizers and get them on-boarded. The right communication and marketing can help.
  • The situation in the Indian subcontinent is tricky. They need to develop and train more speakers there. Both in English & in the regional language. They have lots of talented people but they are shy or not confident enough to apply or speak.
  • People are still feeling hopeful & positive about this work.

Strategies we talked about:

  • Now that the workshop is up on Learn WordPress, organizers could gather the group together and press Play.
    • The value of watching in a group rather than just watching on our own time is a) actually doing it!, and b) doing the exercises together. There is a huge value to doing them in a group rather than solo.
    • Maybe explain to people what is contained in the 4 parts, so they can choose which part to Play, individually or, if there’s time, doing multiple or all.
    • If people have more questions that the organizer can’t answer, they can come to a Discussion group, that is being run pretty regularly through the Community Team’s initiative
  • Making it easier to help organizers run the workshop live themselves:
    • Get our Train the Trainers going again. (With the better training materials that are now online, thank you Training team!, and with the new Training videos that just need a bit more work and then they’re ready)
    • An FAQ on commonly asked questions
    • An FAQ “Be a good ally” or “Handling Tricky Situations in the workshop”
    • Having ways for organizers to take the workshop themselves so that they understand better what they are teaching… Either through watching the video on Learn WordPress or live workshops.
    • Now that people can travel anywhere, maybe having meetup organizers from different places co-facilitate. Like, for example, Toronto and Vancouver co-facilitate each others’ workshops.
  • Try to gather every group that we know of who are running events this year, and have us run a workshop for everyone…. removing all work for organizers (other than inviting their local communities).
  • Put the “Creating a Welcoming and Diverse Space” on Learn WordPress, and start up Discussion groups about it
  • Encourage people to read our diversity material in the handbook

Another issue outside of the scope of this group that was raised:

  • Have better structures for meetup organizers to talk to each other, in general (not specifically about this work). More structure than just the community office hoursOffice Hours Defined 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. and the meetup organizer newsletter. Maybe something like a quarterly or even annual meeting for organizers to talk about stuff and check in. Could be a brainstorming + social event for WP meetup organizers

End: https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C037W5S7X/p1610560900480400

We are interested in hearing more feedback and ideas on any of this. Please comment on this post or PM @jillbinder on 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/..

#wpdiversity
Mary Job 9:45 am on January 7, 2021
Tags: , , , WPDiversity   

Community Team Chat Agenda | January 7, 2021

Hello Team!

Our bi-monthly Community Team chat is happening this Thursday, 07 January 2021. Meeting times are detailed below. We use the same agenda for both meetings in order to include all time zones.

Asia-Pacific / EMEA friendly: Thursday, January 7, 2021, 11:00 UTC

Americas friendly: Thursday, January 7, 2021, 20:00 UTC

DeputyDeputy Community 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./MentorMentor 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. check-in

What have you been doing and how is it going?

P2P2 P2 or O2 is the term people use to refer to the Make WordPress blog. It can be found at https://make.wordpress.org/. posts needing review/feedback

  • Global Sponsorship Update – Courtney P.K. – https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/12/18/global-sponsorship-update/
  • Recap of Contributor Working Group on Dec. 16, 2020 – Christina Workman – https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/12/20/recap-of-contributor-working-group-on-dec-16-2020/
  • Diverse Speaker Training Group (#wpdiversity) 2020 Year-End Report – Jillbinder – https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/12/21/diverse-speaker-training-group-wpdiversity-2020-year-end-report/
  • Tuesday Trainings: Diverse Speaker Training Workshop Part 4 – Cami Kaos – https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/12/22/tuesday-trainings-diverse-speaker-training-workshop-part-4/
  • Contributor Working Group Agenda | January 6 2021 – Christina Workman – https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/01/05/contributor-working-group-agenda-january-6-2021/

Highlighted P2 posts

  • https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/01/04/community-team-goals-2021-open-discussion-sessions/ – Angela
  • https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/12/01/program-wide-payment-and-contract-intermission-december-19-2020-january-3-2021/ – Cami
  • Community Team Reps for 2021 announced – https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/01/07/community-team-reps-for-2021/ – Mary

Please add any additional items to this agenda by commenting on this post as needed.

#community-team, #deputy-chat, #team-chat

jillbinder 5:00 pm on December 21, 2020
Tags: WPDiversity   

Diverse Speaker Training Group (#wpdiversity) 2020 Year-End Report

Hello everyone! Every year we calculate our results accomplished since the previous 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/.. Here is October 2019 to November 2020:

In late 2019 and early 2020, the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) was operating as usual. In the Spring of 2020, we shifted our strategy online.

We produced a series of workshops, “train the trainer” sessions, and discussion groups that helped 242 participants from marginalized and underrepresented groups, across 87 cities in 26 countries, to be speakers at online WordPress events.

People from marginalized and underrepresented groups face extra challenges in getting on stage, but after spending at least one hour in the workshops, they reported a 20% increase in public speaking confidence!

We held the following events:

  • 8 three-part workshops between April and November 2020
  • 8 Group coaching / practise sessions between April and November 2020
  • 5 Discussion groups between October and November 2020
  • 11 Train the trainer sessions for 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. between October 2019 and November 2020
  • 7 Meetups held workshops themselves between October 2019 to November 2020

This year, we reached  these countries:

  1. Australia
  2. Buenos Aires
  3. Bulgaria
  4. Canada
  5. Colombia
  6. Costa Rica
  7. El Salvador
  8. Greece
  9. India
  10. Indonesia
  11. Italy
  12. Japan
  13. Kenya
  14. Mexico
  15. Netherlands
  16. Nicaragua
  17. Nigeria
  18. Panama
  19. Peru
  20. Philippines
  21. Serbia
  22. Spain
  23. Thailand
  24. Ukraine
  25. United Kingdom
  26. United States

We had 7 meetups or WordCamps in 5 countries run the workshop themselves for their communities between October 2019 and November 2020:

  1. Canada, Calgary
  2. India, Ahmedabad
  3. Japan, 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. Ogijima
  4. Netherlands, Leiden
  5. United States, Houston
  6. United States, Minneapolis
  7. United States, Oakland

Congratulations to the groups who did this during a difficult year for event organizers.

Did we miss any? We look through all of the meetups events that were run in this period to confirm the ones that are self-reported to us and to look for more, so it is quite possible that we are missing some!.

 We definitely want to count everybody, so tell us: Who did we miss? Please comment on this post to tell us!

Testimonials

“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

“LOVED the #WPDiversity Workshop! It really inspired me to bring this type of content to the WordPress Mexico community and bring more diverse groups into speaking at our Meetups and WordCamps. ¡Muchas gracias!”
– Maryl Gonzalez – Co-Founder / Lead 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./UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. Designer | Scrum/Agile PM – The App Chefs