A hackathon instead of a workshop, a sold-out WordCamp full of students, and a first contribution in an hour

Hola, and hello. Welcome to your monthly roundup of practical ideas, community updates, and results from organizers around the WordPress community.

Worth celebrating

WordPress Youth Day Nicaragua. Kids and teenagers in Managua spent Saturday, October 10 building websites and online stores at the third WordPress Youth Day Nicaragua, in hands-on workshops split by age from 9 to 18.

The organizersโ€™ recap counts 113 participants: 62 of them at their first official WordPress event, and 52 of them girls.

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 theyโ€™ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Guatemala. Organizers planned for 150 people on October 10 and welcomed 162, with 20 speakers across two tracks and about 30 organizers and volunteers.

WordCamp Costa Rica. The September 18 and 19 event sold out at 368 attendees, and at least 100 of them came from Campus Connect UCR Esparza and Campus Connect BeeNova. The second-place student from the UCR Esparza showcase featured in last monthโ€™s issue was one of the speakers, with a talk on reading the data your WordPress site already collects.

New groups. Limรณn, Costa Rica joined 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. chapter program on October 14, the same week as Gandia in Spain, Mostviertel in Austria, Cincinnati in the US, and Gwalior in India. Graz became Austriaโ€™s fourth meetup city in September, and Philadelphia held its first WordPress meetup in a very long time on September 24.

What happens when the workshop becomes a challenge

Campus Connect organizers in Dhaka noticed that students already line up for hackathons and programming contests, so they tried one at Stamford University Bangladesh: two days of online hackathon, then a day of seminar and workshop. Around 180 people registered, about 100 of them for the hackathon, across three tracks for beginners, designers, and developers. The result was 40 websites and 82 new 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/ profiles.

The write-up is honest about what did not work. About half of the registered students never took part in the hackathon, and some beginners stopped when they got stuck with nobody online to help. The organizers are now weighing a sequence of a Learn WordPress course, then a workshop, then the hackathon, and they are asking for ideas in the comments.

It lines up with new guidance for Campus Connect: build each event around something students actually do, such as creating a WordPress.org account, building a first site, or making a first contribution, rather than a day of talks. The Event Formats & Standards handbook page has been updated to match, so check it as you plan.

And when students build something, give them a stage. Making space for the next generation of WordPress builders describes students presenting their sites at WordCamp Europe 2026, and a sponsorship tier that brought WordPress Credits graduates to the event as volunteers and contributors.

Three formats to borrow this month

  1. A one-hour contribution session. WP LATAM ran its first online mini contribution session on September 30: 20 photos submitted to the Photo Directory, 10 strings translated, and one video subtitled, with 80% of attendees contributing in those areas for the first time. A draft guide for mini contributor sessions covers 30 and 60 minute versions, and its authors want organizers to try it and report back.
  2. Bring a 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.. When storms cut transport links across Chiba Prefecture, the Chiba WordPress Meetup moved its September 27 meeting online and asked everyone to introduce one favorite plugin. Two people the organizer had met at other 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. gave lightning talks on plugins they are building, and several attendees showed plugins of their own. It works online or in a room, and it needs almost no preparation.
  3. A campus series with a name for each stop. Campus Connect Surat ran its sessions as a named journey across partner colleges, starting with Aarambh, โ€œthe beginning.โ€ Across three colleges, more than 470 people registered and more than 300 students attended, and one college asked the team to run a similar session for its faculty.

Group of the Month: WordPress Ahmedabad, India

The September WordPress Ahmedabad Meetup drew more than 80 people, and one of its organizers spent the same month taking WordPress to three campuses. Campus Connect at OM Education Campus, Junagadh on September 7 and 8 was the first WordPress community event in Junagadh, and more than 90 students built their first website on day two. Adani University, Ahmedabad followed on September 19 with more than 80 students, then Gyanmanjari Innovative University, Bhavnagar on September 28 with more than 150 students, more than 15 faculty members, and coverage in the local newspaper. For an established group, the pattern is worth copying: lend the people and habits you already have to a nearby city that has never had a WordPress event.

Also worth knowing

Meetup groups are moving to events.wordpress.org

An update on community groups explains the move off Meetup.com for roughly 700 groups. Members will join the new groups themselves with a WordPress.org account, so start asking your members to create one now. Groups willing to run real events on the new platform as a pilot can say so in the comments, especially groups outside Europe and North America and groups that donโ€™t meet in English.

Who can organize a meetup event?

A Tokyo co-organizer asked a fair question after three handbook pages seemed to disagree. The answer they got: any community member can run an event without being a co-organizer, but should coordinate with the groupโ€™s co-organizers, who confirm the person is trustworthy and following the Five Good Faith Rules. The post proposes writing that down in one place. Add your view in the comments.

Students are organizing their own Campus Connect

Campus Connect Universidad Fidรฉlitas in San Josรฉ on November 12 and 13 is the WordPress Credits contribution project of three students, one of them the lead organizer. The tickets include a โ€œConectรก a alguienโ€ option that helps cover materials for the students attending.

Keep your event website working after the event

Instead of leaving a dead countdown and a ticket button, turn it into a closing page: photos with credits, talks with slides and WordPress.tv links, recaps, and a clear invitation to join your local group. WordCamp Costa Rica 2026 is doing it now, so you can watch theirs change.

Organizing in the US or Canada?

Events in the US and Canada: the plan through 2027 lays out three stages, starting with getting meetups back on track, and offers a menu of event types rather than a mandate. It is worth reading in full if you organize there.

A profile marker for Campus Connect participants?

A proposal suggests marking Campus Connect and WordPress Credits participants on their WordPress.org profiles, along with their mentorEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. or facilitator, so experienced contributors know who to welcome and support. Comments are open.

By the numbers

368

attendees filled a sold-out WordCamp Costa Rica, at least 100 of them from Campus Connect.

162

people came to WordCamp Guatemala, against a plan for 150.

82

new WordPress.org profiles came out of the Campus Connect hackathon at Stamford University Bangladesh.

80%

of attendees at WP LATAMโ€™s first contribution session were contributing in those areas for the first time.

Coming up

DateEventWhere
Oct 24, 2026WordPress Day for AI Faro 2026Faro, Portugal
Oct 24, 2026 โ€“ Oct 25, 2026WordCamp Islamabad 2026Islamabad, Pakistan
Oct 24, 2026 โ€“ Oct 25, 2026WordCamp Sofia 2026Sofia, Bulgaria
Oct 25, 2026WordPress Campus Connect Trasa CoWorking Space, TegalTegal, Indonesia
Oct 30, 2026WordCamp Johannesburg 2026Johannesburg, South Africa
Oct 30, 2026 โ€“ Oct 31, 2026WordCamp Brasil 2026Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Oct 31, 2026 โ€“ Nov 1, 2026WordCamp Valencia 2026Valencia, Spain
Nov 5, 2026 โ€“ Nov 6, 2026WordCamp Canada 2026Vancouver, Canada
Nov 6, 2026WordCamp Manchester 2026Manchester, UK
Nov 12, 2026 โ€“ Nov 13, 2026WordCamp Netherlands 2026Netherlands
Nov 12, 2026 โ€“ Nov 13, 2026WordPress Campus Connect Universidad Fidรฉlitas, San JosรฉSan Josรฉ, Costa Rica
Nov 13, 2026 โ€“ Nov 14, 2026WordCamp Pisa 2026Pisa, Italy
Nov 14, 2026WordPress Campus Connect Manila, PhilippinesMetro Manila, Philippines

Local meetups run in far more places than this. Everything, everywhere, is on events.wordpress.org.

Open calls for speakers:

Worth passing to your group. Someone who has never spoken before is usually one nudge away from it, and a first talk at a nearby WordCamp is how a lot of organizers started.

Over to you

Have you tried a contribution activity at your meetup, even a small one? Tell us what people finished and what got in the way, so the next organizer can plan around it.

Reply in the comments below, in #community-events, or by email to support@wordcamp.org, whichever you already use.

This newsletter is built from what you share!

Send your recaps and photos and your group goes in Meetups of the Month. Every group that shares one is included, so ask your groupโ€™s permission and send it. Group of the Month is for a story another organizer can learn from, and you can put any group forward including your own.

Did we miss your event? Possibly, and we would rather know. Send your recap in #community-events or #campusconnect for the next issue, which publishes Friday, November 13.

Tell us what you want to read here too. If there is a section missing, a format you want explained, or a question you wish someone would answer, say so and we will build it into the next issue.

Need support or guidance?

The Community Team is here to help. Email support@wordcamp.org or join us in #community-events on the 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/.

Each issue opens with a greeting from a language spoken where one of the featured groups is based. This month it is Spanish, for the organizers in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Costa Rica featured above. If you would like your language to open an issue, tell us.

Thanks for everything you do to grow and support the WordPress community.

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Students face a jury, three events easier than a WordCamp, and a plugin translated in one sitting

Konnichiwa, and hello. Welcome to your monthly roundup of practical ideas, community updates, and results from organizers around the WordPress community.

What happens after the workshop

A growing set of education programs gives organizers practical ways to help learners move from workshops into lasting WordPress participation. The Facilitator Training Program offers self-guided courses and facilitation guides, while a proposed WordPress Credits retention program would give graduates clearer routes into contribution, credentials, mentoring, and opportunities. Start by choosing one available course and considering whether your community could host it.

WordPress Campus Connect UCR Esparza shows how that pathway can work locally. Students completed five workshops, developed websites over several weeks, and presented their projects at an event attended by 45 people. Organizers looking for a repeatable model can pair preparatory workshops with a final showcase that welcomes educators, professionals, and community members.

Community groups were also invited to test how they appear on events.WordPress.org.

Three events you could run, from easiest up

A 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 theyโ€™ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. is not the only kind of WordPress event, and it is not the one most groups should start with.

  1. A weekday morning online 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.. One community reached its eighth session in August, showing that a simple recurring online format can become a dependable series. Choose a consistent time, keep the agenda focused, and make joining easy for people who may not attend an evening or in-person gathering.
  2. A project showcase after a short workshop series. At WordPress Campus Connect UCR Esparza, students attended five workshops, spent several weeks building websites, and then presented their work to a jury. Organizers can copy the sequence: teach, allow building time, and finish with presentations that recognize participantsโ€™ progress.
  3. A prepared facilitation guide, taken to a school or campus. First-time facilitators used the programโ€™s course and guide for online sessions in Bangladesh and an in-person workshop in Kolhapur. Their feedback also improved the programโ€™s forms, language, and flexibility for future facilitators.

Group of the Month: Chiba WordPress Meetup, Japan

The Chiba WordPress Meetup turned a translation task into a shared contribution session on August 23. Eighteen participants divided the Dinosaur Game 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.โ€™s description, instructions, and FAQ among themselves, and an experienced contributor reviewed the Japanese translations. The group translated the entire introduction page during the session. For a meetup elsewhere, the pattern is simple: agree on one manageable piece of documentation, divide it into small tasks, and arrange a knowledgeable reviewer before everyone starts.

Also worth knowing

An organizer is asking how you run online 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 โ€“ 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.

Do you run online office hours for your meetup group? One organizer is looking for advice on the format. Share how you schedule sessions, handle questions, and make newcomers comfortable.

Tip of the month for sustainable events:

Add a short reminder to your event page asking attendees to bring a reusable bottle and take only the food, napkins, and swag they expect to use. The Sustainable Events Handbook has a ready-made set of attendee tips you can paste straight in.

Worth watching

From the archive, Hector de Pradaโ€™s Tips for hosting a successful WP meetup in your city at WordCamp Europe 2025 shares lessons from restarting a meetup and building attendance. It is aimed at organizers starting a group or trying to bring more people to one that already exists.

By the numbers

45

people attended WordPress Campus Connect UCR Esparza, primarily students from universities in the area.

5

preparatory workshops helped students develop the websites they presented at UCR Esparza.

7

attendees took part across the Facilitator Training Programโ€™s two online pilot sessions in Bangladesh.

5

graduates have completed the WordPress Credits program that grew from the Ahmadโ€™s Education pilot.

Coming up

DateEventWhere
Sep 12, 2026WordPress Campus Connect BeeNova HHC Innovation Center, CartagoCartago, Costa Rica
Sep 17, 2026WordPress Campus Connect UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten 2026Serang, Indonesia
Sep 18, 2026 โ€“ Sep 19, 2026WordCamp Belgrade 2026Belgrade, Serbia
Sep 18, 2026WordCamp Bretagne 2026Rennes, Brittany, France
Sep 18, 2026 โ€“ Sep 19, 2026WordCamp Costa Rica 2026Costa Rica
Sep 18, 2026 โ€“ Sep 19, 2026WordCamp KathmanduKathmandu, Bagmati, Kathmandu
Sep 18, 2026 โ€“ Sep 19, 2026WordPress Campus Connect St Philomena College (Autonomous) PutturPuttur, India
Sep 19, 2026 โ€“ Sep 20, 2026WordCamp Jinja 2026Jinja, Eastern region, Uganda
Sep 19, 2026WordPress Campus Connect Adani University, AhmedabadAhmedabad, India
Sep 21, 2026WordPress Campus Connect Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji, Tanjung PinangTanjung Pinang, Riau, Indonesia
Sep 24, 2026WordPress Campus Connect Wawasan Open University, PenangPenang, Malaysia
Sep 26, 2026 โ€“ Sep 27, 2026WordCamp Managua 2026Managua, Nicaragua
Sep 28, 2026WordPress Campus Connect Gyanmanjari Innovative University, BhavnagarBhavnagar, India
Sep 30, 2026WordPress Campus Connect Universidad de A CoruรฑaA Coruรฑa, Spain
Oct 2, 2026 โ€“ Oct 3, 2026WordCamp Sylhet 2026Sylhet, Bangladesh
Oct 2, 2026 โ€“ Oct 3, 2026WordCamp Wrocล‚aw 2026Wrocล‚aw, Poland
Oct 3, 2026 โ€“ Oct 4, 2026WordCamp Rajasthan 2026Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Oct 7, 2026 โ€“ Oct 8, 2026WordPress Campus Connect SMK Bina Insan Mandiri, JakartaJakarta Barat, Indonesia

Local meetups run in far more places than this. Everything, everywhere, is on events.wordpress.org.

Open calls for speakers:

Worth passing to your group. Someone who has never spoken before is usually one nudge away from it, and a first talk at a nearby WordCamp is how a lot of organizers started.

Over to you

What small change has helped a newcomer take part in your meetup? Tell us what you tried and what happened so another organizer can borrow the idea.

Reply in the comments below, in #community-events, or by email to support@wordcamp.org, whichever you already use.

This newsletter is built from what you share!

Send your recaps and photos and your group goes in Meetups of the Month. Every group that shares one is included, so ask your groupโ€™s permission and send it. Group of the Month is for a story another organizer can learn from, and you can put any group forward including your own.

Did we miss your event? Possibly, and we would rather know. Send your recap in #community-events or #campusconnect for the next issue.

Tell us what you want to read here too. If there is a section missing, a format you want explained, or a question you wish someone would answer, say so and we will build it into the next issue.

Need support or guidance?

The Community Team is here to help. Email support@wordcamp.org or join us in #community-events on the 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/.

Each issue opens with a greeting from a language spoken where one of the featured groups is based. This month it is Japanese, from Chiba. If you would like your language to open an issue, tell us.

Thanks for everything you do to grow and support the WordPress community.

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

Community Team Meeting Agenda for 05 โ€“ February -2026

The Community Team chat takes place on the first Thursday of every month in theย #community-teamย channel onย 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/.ย 

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!

Asia-Pacific / EMEA friendly meeting:Americas friendly meeting: You will find a preliminary agenda for the meeting below.ย 

If you wish to add points to discuss, comment on this post or reach out to one of the team reps:ย @adityakane,ย @Arthur,ย @Shusei, orย @webtechpooja. 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: Program and Event Supporters / Contributors

  • What have you been doing and how is it going?ย 
  • What did you accomplish after the last meeting?ย 
  • Are there any blockers?ย 
  • Can other team members help you in some way?

Highlights to Note

Here are a few things everyone should be aware of.

2026 Big Picture Goals: Our Focus on Meetups

Community Education Initiatives: Help grow connections with educational institutions

Call for Scholarship Sponsors: Support Student Participation through WordPress Campus Connect

New: Request a video message from Matt for your WordCamp
Bringing Back Women-Centric WordPress Events for International Womenโ€™s Day

Call for Volunteers: Support Our Education Programs

Big Picture Goals for 2026

Open Posts

Check out these new and ongoing discussions needing review, feedback, thoughts and comments.

Reporting

Open Floor

This is your chance to discuss things that werenโ€™t on the meeting agenda.ย 

We invite you to use this opportunity to share anything that you want with the team. If you currently have a topic youโ€™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!

#agenda, #community, #meeting-agenda

WordCamp Islamabad 2025 โ€“ A Celebration of Learning, Contribution, and Community

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 theyโ€™ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Islamabad 2025 was a wonderful celebration of learning, collaboration, and the open-source spirit. Over two exciting days, students, professionals, and WordPress enthusiasts came together to share knowledge, contribute, and connect with others who believe in the power of community.

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Meet the Organizing Team

A big round of applause for our amazing organizing team who worked tirelessly to make this event a success. Their passion and teamwork brought the whole community together.

Organizers:

Each person played an important role in making sure every detail from logistics to social media was handled smoothly.

Contributors collaborating during Contributor Day.

Organizer: Arslan Kalwar & Muhammad Kashif

๐Ÿ’™ Day 1: Contributor Day

Contributor Day was full of excitement, learning, and teamwork. It was a day where many participants, especially students, discovered how they can become part of the global WordPress project.

We welcomed several students from different universities who were eager to explore the open-source world. For many, this was their first-ever contribution to WordPress, and their enthusiasm made the day truly special.

We started by helping everyone set up their 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/ profiles, join the Make 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/, and understand how the community works together. Then, we introduced them to various contribution teams like CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress., Polyglots, Support, Training, Docs, Test, Photos, and Patterns.

Together with our Table Leads, we guided attendees through handbooks and helped them make their first real contributions, translating strings, uploading photos, and testing patches.

A highlight of the day was a special recorded session by Muhibul Haque, introducing WPCredits and Campus Connect programs that help students get recognized for their contributions. Since he had to leave early for his session at WordCamp Dhaka, Arslan Kalwar continued the discussion, explaining how these programs help students build their profiles, get official contribution credits, and connect with the global WordPress community.

It was inspiring to see students so engaged and curious about contributing and realizing that WordPress is not just a tool, itโ€™s a community they can grow with.

๐ŸŽค Day 2: Conference Day

The second day was all about learning and inspiration. We had an amazing lineup of speakers who shared their experiences and insights on topics like development, 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 โ€œdirect accessโ€ (i.e. unassisted) and โ€œindirect accessโ€ meaning compatibility with a personโ€™s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility), design, community building, freelancing, and website performance.

Students and professionals found the talks motivating and relatable. Many shared that hearing stories from contributors and developers helped them understand how WordPress can open real career opportunities.

The energy in the room reflected one thing clearly: WordPress empowers everyone, no matter where they start.

๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ’ป Hands-On Workshops and WordPress Playground

The workshops were another highlight of the event. Speakers conducted practical sessions where participants could follow along and try things out live.

One of the most exciting parts was learning about WordPress Playgroundโ€”a browser-based tool that lets users experiment with WordPress instantly, without any setup. This made it easy for students to practice, test, and learn in real time.

These sessions helped attendees gain hands-on experience and boosted their confidence to keep exploring WordPress on their own.

๐ŸŒ A Community That Inspires

WordCamp Islamabad 2025 reminded us what makes the WordPress community so special: people coming together to share, learn, and build something bigger than themselves.

From enthusiastic students to experienced professionals, everyone contributed to making this event memorable. The teamwork, curiosity, and kindness we witnessed showed the true power of open-source collaboration.

A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who participated, volunteered, and supported this event. Thank you, eEarn, for providing an amazing free venue. Together, weโ€™re building the next generation of contributors and keeping the WordPress spirit alive. ๐Ÿ’™

๐Ÿ“ธ Contributor Day & Conference Day Highlights
Hereโ€™s a glimpse of the joy, collaboration, and learning that filled WordCamp Islamabad 2025โ€”from first-time contributions to inspiring sessions and hands-on workshops.

Welcoming attendees and introducing Contributor Day.

Arslan guiding new contributors at Contributor Day.

Co-Lead Organizer: Muhammad Kashif

Lead Organizer: Tahir Shahzad

Contributor Day Lead: Arslan Kalwar

Thanks to @peiraisotta for collaborating on this post.

#community, #contributor-day, #wordcamp-pakistan, #wordpress-events, #wpisb2025

[Update] 2025 Community Team Rep’s Voting ends, Thoughts & farewell from a Rep, and more.

First, the current Team Reps of 2024 would like to thank each one of you for voting. Voting has ended.

You made your voices heard and participated in voting.

Your selection of the two new nominees means they will join the Team Reps in 2025.


What happens next?

  1. The Voting Process has ended, and we are counting the votes to ensure everything was done correctly and fairly.
  2. The next steps are contacting the nominees who have the highest votes. We will ask them again. We want to know if they are willing to accept the role. They would represent the WordPress Projectโ€™s Community Team in 2025.
  3. Once they accept, we will announce who they are to the entire community. We will arrange a series of Hand-offs and Onboardings for them. These steps will make their role official in January 2025.

In 2025, I, @leogopal, and our dear @nukaga will step down as Team Reps. We have had the honor of serving this amazing community for the last 2 years.

We are happy and confident. We are grateful to have served alongside @peiraisotta and @st810amaze. They will stay as they continue supporting and welcoming our two new chosen representatives. They will onboard them just as we did for them. As well as continuing in their support, advocacy, and representation of the Community Team.


The next are the words & thoughts of me, @leogopal, and is not from my role as existing 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. or any official capacity:


The Power of Community

Power in our Community

This is a coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. and fundamental distinction of a truly Community-lead, Community-driven, and Community-focused open-source project such as 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/.

Your voice matters.
Your votes matters.
Your nomination matters.
You, fellow community member, you matter!

โ€“ Leo Gopal, to the WordPress Community (and probably some politicians and philosophers before him)

You, the community, ultimately decide who will guide and represent you. You made the decision and participated in selecting our next 2 representatives of the community team. Just as you did for me 2 years ago. It was an honor. I am grateful to every one of you.

This exists in many other open-source projects. I have to admit that I am biased. I have spent over 15 years in the WordPress ecosystem (People of WordPress โ€“ Leo Gopal). Most of that time, I was a developer writing code or managing other developers. I spend all my volunteer hours in the community team. I came for the code, but I stayed for the community.

I have never met another community with so much heart, so much care, and so much genuine kindness and a inner strive to both do good and be good than I have within this global WordPress community.

Thoughts of most in the Community

During my tenure as Team Rep, it was @nukaga, @peiraisotta, @st810amaze, and last year @mysweetcate that helped drive the day to day of the Community Team, while I had the honor of working on projects such as the 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 โ€˜pull requestโ€™ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged by the repository owner. https://github.com/ and Attribution standardization and automationโ€™s which we have adopted and so has many other teams behind the scenes (more on that in a separate post)



Advice for our new and future Reps

Advice To the future Team Reps

(or, things I wish I knew from the start):

  • Firstly, never ever lose the wide-eyed motivation, you start this role with.
  • and keep hold of the the innocence of believing you can accomplish anything (especially if at first you fail or encounter obstacles)
  • Importantly, Never forget that feedback is there to help you succeed. Even when itโ€™s not always what you want to hear or easy to hear.
    • Those who give their feedback have spent their time. They provide it with the sole hope of helping you succeed. Never fail to to thank those who give you their time in this way.
    • Learn to appreciate feedback that contradicts your current perspective. Search out opposing opinions. This is how you nurture your ability to understand others perspectives & viewpoints and adapt accordingly.
  • You learn nothing if you always succeed. Itโ€™s also a sign that you are staying safe in your comfort zone.
    • Understand that you always have only two options. You will either succeed or you will learn. Failure only exists for those who quit.
    • Learn how to fail fast. Learn how to fail often. Learn how to quickly pivot when you fail. Learn how to minimize the impact and always have a plan to reverse or revert should something fail.
    • Getting great at dealing with failure is an invaluable skill. It helps you become someone who can succeed where others dare not travel.
  • Seek out others who have succeeded and learn from them.
    • Find individuals with skills you want to acquire. Do everything you can to learn from them. You canโ€™t learn everything on your own. Gain knowledge from those who have already done the hard work.
  • And finally, you are not alone. You have both a team of reps and a whole community. They are there for you to support and who are more than willing to support you.
      • Get help when you need it. Our community is full of delightful people, always eager to lend a hand.

    I am stepping down as a Community Team Rep for 2023 to 2024. I want to thank everyone. This is also a farewell to all who have been a part of this great journey for me. As I step down, I am excited to see our new Team Reps. They will step up and accomplish great things.

    I do not know what my next adventure in the Community Team (or other teams) would be.
    Whatever it is, I know that whatever it is, I will be doing it alongside the best of people.

    +make.wordpress.org/updates/

    Community Team Meeting Agenda for 6 – June – 2024

    The Community Team chat takes place the first Thursday of every month in the #community-team channel 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/.ย 

    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!

    Asia-Pacific / EMEA friendly meeting: Thursday, 6 June 2024 at 12:00 PM UTC
    Americas friendly meeting: Thursday, 6 June 2024 at 21:00 PM UTC

    You will find a preliminary agenda for the meeting below.ย 

    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. 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: Program and Event Supporters / Contributors

    • What have you been doing and how is it going?ย 
    • What did you accomplish after the last meeting?ย 
    • Are there any blockers?ย 
    • Can other team members help you in some way?

    Highlights to Note

    Here are a few things everyone should be aware of.

    Open Posts

    Check out these new and ongoing discussions needing review, feedback, thoughts and comments.

    • Current challenges of WordPress Events. Shaping the future
      • Events program has seen significant challenges in bringing new users and new attendees in recent years due to many factors. To that end, this conversation aims to examine the events programโ€™s current state and explore what changes could attract fresh users to the WordPress Project. Read carefully and share feedback before June 28, 2024.ย 
    • Recognizing Contributions and Acknowledging Challenges
      • This conversation is posted on the Sustainability blog to address the challenge of recognizing all contributions across the project.
    • Project Health Dashboards
      • Following the discussion about the contribution recognition challenge, the whole community is invited to share ideas and feedback about what tools we can use to create dashboards for the contribution teams. Please join the conversation and leave feedback before June 17.

    Announcements / Newsletters

    Open Floor

    This is your chance to discuss things that werenโ€™t on the meeting agenda.ย 

    We invite you to use this opportunity to share anything that you want with the team. If you currently have a topic youโ€™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!

    #agenda, #meeting-agenda, #team, #team-chat, #team-meeting

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    Community Team Meeting Agenda for 2 – May -2024

    The Community Team chat takes place the first Thursday of every month in the #community-team channel 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/.ย 

    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!

    Asia-Pacific / EMEA friendly meeting: Thursday, 2 May 2024 at 12:00 PM UTC
    Americas friendly meeting: Thursday, 2 FMay 2024 at 21:00 PM UTC

    You will find a preliminary agenda for the meeting below.ย 

    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. 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.

    Call for meeting host
    If anyone is available to host the second sessions of the Community Team monthly meeting at 9pm UTC, please reach out to one of the team reps, who are all based in APAC and EMEA countries: @peiraisotta, @Shusei, @leo, or @nukaga.

    Check-ins: Program and Event Supporters / Contributors

    • What have you been doing and how is it going?ย 
    • What did you accomplish after the last meeting?ย 
    • Are there any blockers?ย 
    • Can other team members help you in some way?

    Highlights to Note

    Here are a few things everyone should be aware of.

    Open Posts

    Check out these new and ongoing discussions needing review, feedback, thoughts and comments.

    Announcements / Newsletters

    Open Floor

    This is your chance to discuss things that werenโ€™t on the meeting agenda.ย 

    We invite you to use this opportunity to share anything that you want with the team. If you currently have a topic youโ€™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!

    #agenda, #community, #meeting-agenda, #team, #team-meeting

    Community Team Meeting Agenda for 7 March 2024

    The Community Team chat takes place the first Thursday of every month in the #community-team channel 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/.ย 

    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!

    Asia-Pacific / EMEA friendly meeting: Thursday, 7 March 2024 at 12:00 PM UTC
    Americas friendly meeting: Thursday, 7 March 2024 at 21:00 PM UTC

    You will find a preliminary agenda for the meeting below.ย 

    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. 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.

    Call for meeting host
    If anyone is available to host the second sessions of the Community Team monthly meeting at 9pm UTC, please reach out to one of the team reps, who are all based in APAC and EMEA countries: @peiraisotta, @Shusei, @leo, or @nukaga.

    Check-ins: Program and Event Supporters / Contributors

    • What have you been doing and how is it going?ย 
    • What did you accomplish after the last meeting?ย 
    • Are there any blockers?ย 
    • Can other team members help you in some way?

    Highlights to Note

    Here are a few things everyone should be aware of.

    Open Posts

    Check out these new and ongoing discussions needing review, feedback, thoughts and comments.

    Announcements / Newsletters

    Open Floor

    This is your chance to discuss things that werenโ€™t on the meeting agenda.ย 

    We invite you to use this opportunity to share anything that you want with the team. If you currently have a topic youโ€™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!

    #agenda, #meeting-agenda, #team, #team-chat, #team-meeting

    #community-team-3, #agenda, #community, #meeting-agenda, #team, #team-chat, #team-meeting-2

    #community-team, #team-meeting

    Proposal: Modify the Events and News widget to show topic-based meetups worldwide

    Published on behalf of Amber Hinds (@amberhinds on Make Slack)

    The purpose of this post is to discuss proposed changes to the Events API that displays upcoming events from Meetup.com 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 in the WordPress admin 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..

    Backgroundย 

    Topic-Based 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 April of 2021, a proposal was created to allow topic-based meetups in the Meetup chapter program and in May 2021, meetup applications for topic-based groups were accepted.

    There are currently three meetups in the chapter program that are topic-based rather than city-based:

    These meetups have a city location of San Francisco, CA because that is the location of WordPress headquarters, however they each offer online events via Zoom that are open to anyone in the world (rather than in-person events).ย 

    The WordPress 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 โ€œdirect accessโ€ (i.e. unassisted) and โ€œindirect accessโ€ meaning compatibility with a personโ€™s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Meetup and Learn WordPress Online Workshops are holding events at times that are optimized for people around the globe so that some events will always be in the daytime, regardless of where you are in the world.

    WordPress Events and News Widget

    The WordPress Events and News admin dashboard widget displays upcoming events filtered by proximity to a city. This geographic radius makes sense for in-person meetups where people are unlikely to drive long distances to attend a meetup.

    For the three topic-based meetup groups, this means that their events are only visible in the WordPress admin Events and News section if someone has set their location to San Francisco.

    A challenge of the current geographic restrictions is that many users will be presented with a message telling them that there are no events they can attend and prompting them to start their own meetup. While we do want to prompt people to start meetups in their cities, itโ€™s a missed opportunity to not make people aware of upcoming events that they can easily attend online.

    Proposed changes: Allow events from topic-based meetups to show in the Events and News widget worldwide

    The WordPress admin dashboard Events and News widget is a key way meetup groups can reach attendees to promote their events and may be the first exposure a new WordPress user has to the meetup chapter program.ย 

    While the current geographic restrictions on event display make sense for a city-based group, they do not make sense for a group that is not city-based, holds events exclusively online, and which is intended to have worldwide speakers and attendance.

    Benefits of this change

    Changing the Events and News widget to include meetups from WordPress Accessibility Meetup, BlackPress Meetup, and Learn WordPress Online Workshops will accomplish the following:

    • Expose more people worldwide to virtual learning opportunities.
    • Provide increased resources to people in rural or other areas without a city-based meetup, thus leveling the playing field for people learning WordPress in these areas.
    • Increase the potential speaker pool size for these groups as more people become aware of them and participate in meetups.
    • Create a better user experience by showing virtual events in the WordPress dashboard rather than no events at all.

    Why WordPress Accessibility Meetup

    In the case of the WordPress Accessibility Meetup, making events show worldwide will also serve the goal of increasing general awareness of what accessibility is and emphasizing the importance of building accessible websites.ย 

    Many people have never heard of website accessibility or realize that they need to take people with disabilities into consideration when building websites. The more people who are exposed to the concept of accessibility, the more likely we are to see improvement in the overall accessibility of WordPress websites โ€“ whether itโ€™s because content creators will learn to enter their content more accessibly or because 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., theme, and web developers will put more thought into developing with accessibility in mind.

    The first step to making the web accessible is ensuring everyone knows about and has easy access to learn accessibility best practices. Putting WordPress Accessibility Meetup events in everyoneโ€™s WordPress dashboard is a major step towards growing awareness around the importance of accessibility.

    Why BlackPress Meetup

    BlackPress is a global WordPress meetup group that aims to raise awareness about WordPress in the global community of creators of Black African descent, and help connect them to other community members and grow participation and sponsorship toward WordPress.

    People of Black African descent are underrepresented in technology careers and within the WordPress community. Many people who identify as Black may benefit from a group that supports their growth in WordPress, but may not know that the BlackPress Meetup exists or know to look for a group like it. Making the groupโ€™s events show worldwide will help people in their target demographic find the group, thus potentially increasing the number of Black identifying people participating in the WordPress community.

    Why Learn WordPress Online Workshops

    Learn WordPress is a community initiative to make more training resources on WordPress available to people all over the world. While making this groupโ€™s events appear worldwide doesnโ€™t have the same social benefits that the other two have, the meetups held through Learn WordPress Online Workshops have a broad appeal and are specially created to help people work in modern WordPress.ย 

    Things to Consider

    If this proposal is approved there are some things to consider, a few of which were brought up in the original discussion on allowing topic-based groups.

    • Will there need to be changes in the events widget to display online event timing correctly across the globe?
    • How many topic-based meetup groups can the Events 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. support?ย ย 
    • Should the Events API handle each topic-based meetup group equally?ย 
    • Should the events be divided into two lists under headings for โ€œLocal Eventsโ€ and โ€œGlobal Eventsโ€?
    • Should the total number of displayed events increase to account for the large number of weekly events held by Learn WordPress Online Workshops?
    • Because there will no longer be โ€œno upcoming eventsโ€ results, where would the prompt to start a meetup group be moved to?
    • Could there be a way of filtering global events by language so that people could choose to see events happening only in their preferred language?

    Request for Feedback

    Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts on including events from topic-based meetups in the Events and News widget worldwide.

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    Slack notifications for WordCamp and Meetup application updates


    In the WordPress project, multiple teams (#meta, #core, #polyglots, etc.) make use of 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/ notifications to surface new, interesting changes in their teamโ€™s respective channel. This includes notifications on new commits, tracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. issue updates, new translation strings availability, etc.

    (Screenshot of a commit notification)
    (Screenshot of a commit notification)


    These notifications serve at least two purposes:

    1. People interested in following these teams have a very convenient way to look at recent and ongoing activities.

    2. It provides a way to acknowledge contributors.

    In the WordPress community channels, we donโ€™t currently use this tool, but there may be some cases where having these notifications would add lot of value for us.

    These include:

    1. Someone sends a new application for a 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 theyโ€™ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more.
    2. Someone sends a new application for a WordPress chapter 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.
    3. A new WordCamp is set to Scheduled status
    4. A new WordPress meetup group is now active in the chapter
    5. A WordCamp application is declined
    6. A Meetup application is declined

    For reference, you can see status of some active WordCamp applications here.

    These notifications could include whether the event is a WordPress or a Meetup, city and country of the event, description of the update, and 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/ usernames of people who were involved in vetting the event application.

    I have written some initial code for this, and it could look like:

    (screenshot for when a new WordCamp application is submitted)
    (screenshot for when a new WordCamp application is submitted)


    (screenshot for when WordCamp is scheduled)
    (screenshot when a WordCamp application is scheduled)


    (screenshot for when a WordCamp application is declined)
    (screenshot when a WordCamp application is declined)


    A few more things to note and discuss here:

    1. We can perhaps send these notifications to #community-events, ย #community-team, or both of these channels.
    2. The props section will include usernames of everyone who added notes to the application listing and/or changed the listingโ€™s status.
    3. We would also want to send notifications when an application is declined, and not just when it is received or scheduled, in order to credit the 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. who nevertheless did the ย work to vet and respond to it. It could normalize the process of declining the application, because it is not uncommon for subsequent applications to be approved.

    What do you think? Should we have these notifications? If we have them, then should they be more granular, or less granular? What changes in language or overall appearance would you suggest? Leave your thoughts in a comment on this post!

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