Hari Shanker R 10:55 am on May 23, 2022
Tags: announcement ( 3 ), proposal ( 14 ), Regional WordCamps ( 4 )

Regional In-person WordCamps Going Forward

In March, I kicked off a discussion in this blog on revisiting regional in-person WordCamps. A big thank you to all of you for sharing exciting and diverse perspectives and concerns on regional in-person events. I have attempted to summarize your feedback in the wrap-up comment. The goal of the 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. program is to connect WordPress enthusiasts with each other, inspire them to do more with WordPress, and encourage contribution to the WordPress project. Per your feedback, regional WordCamps would help us achieve this goal in 2022. Hence, the Community Team has decided to simplify the guidelines for regional in-person WordCamps.

Moving forward, regional WordCamps will not need to go through additional steps (such as writing a proposal), and can directly apply to organize a camp for their region using the regular WordCamp application form.

Regional WordCamp applications will continue to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by WordCamp CentralWordCamp Central Website for all WordCamp activities globally. https://central.wordcamp.org includes a list of upcoming and past camp with links to each. 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..

Importance of Local Communities While Organizing Regional WordCamps

I would like to specifically highlight that ongoing regional WordCamps cannot be held at the cost of 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. and local communities. Local communities offer more accessible ways to connect over WordPress, and more supportive pathways to participation in larger, more complex events. If a local community wants to continue organizing regional WordCamps, they should follow these guidelines:

The local 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 that constitute the region should continue to meet regularly and be active (they may continue to meet online).
A regional WordCamp will not be a replacement for local WordCamps in a location. We strongly encourage local communities to continue organizing WordCamps. As opposed to traditional multi-day WordCamps, they can organize smaller events that are akin to a meetup-day format, yet benefit from WordCamp benefits such as sponsorship, etc.
Local communities should encourage new volunteers, and continue to add new members to positions of leadership.
If a community wants to organize a local WordCamp, it should have adequate representation from all local meetups and should have a fresh set of organizers. The community should be very strict about two-year term limits for lead organizers.

Request for Feedback

First of all, I would like your feedback on this proposal. I continue to appreciate your honest and direct feedback on this new direction for regional camps.
Healthy local communities are important for the success of regional events. As such, WordCamp Central will evaluate the health of local communities when assessing a regional WordCamp application. What metrics can be used to measure the health of a region? We would love to hear from you! I have shared a list of indicators that our team has considered below – but I’m sure I would have missed some important pointers. So I would love your input on any additional metrics that could help measure the health of our communities! The indicators we are currently evaluating include:
- The number of new (and old) organizers.
- Diversity in the organizing team (age/gender/ethnicity/sexual orientation, etc).
- Number and frequency of events held by the local meetup groups within the region.
- Past WordCamps in the region (if any).

Once again, a big thanks to all of our community members who commented on the original proposal and to all our community members planning regional events to revitalize our vibrant community.

The following fine folks contributed to this post: @angelasjin @devinmaeztri and @juliarosia

#regional-wordcamps #proposal #announcement

Md Nahid Islam 11:20 am on May 23, 2022

Hi Hari Shanker R Sir

Really good work. The good news is that regional in-person WordCamps are moving forward it’s good.

The goal of the WordPress program is to connect WordPress enthusiasts, motivate them to do more with WordPress, and encourage them to contribute to the WordPress project.

As well as keeping the community active, giving something good through work.

We will all strive to add co-organiser and volunteer members to the community.

Thank You
Taco Verdonschot 7:44 pm on May 23, 2022

How do we identify what is local and what is regional?

Do we use the number of people in the area? Or the travel time it takes to reach the 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.? Is there any other metric that helps with this?
- Hari Shanker R 3:37 pm on May 24, 2022
  
  Excellent question, @tacoverdo!
  
  How do we identify what is local and what is regional?
  
  Our existing handbook page (which needs updating to reflect these guidelines) clarifies this very well:
  
  A Regional 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. is a special kind of WordCamp that represents the WordPress communities in a geographical area larger than one city/metro area.
  
  To elaborate, a local WordCamp is typically a city-based event. A WordCamp organized by a city, town, or a small geographic area can be considered as a local WordCamp. Typically, a local camp can be organized by the local 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. group representing that city – however, there have been local WordCamps that are organized by multiple meetup groups in an area (E.g. WordCamp Atlanta or WordCamp Dallas-FortWorth). The final decision on the same lies with community 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..
  
  A regional WordCamp encompasses a larger region that encompasses multiple towns or cities. For example, a European country or a state in a large country like India or the United States would be a regional WordCamp.
  
  As per these proposed guidelines, folks organizing a regional WordCamp will now have a much-simplified process. As long as their local community is active and thriving (regularly organizing 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. and local WordCamps) and the regional camp has adequate representation from all local companies, they can continue organizing regional camps.
  - Patricia BT 7:03 pm on May 24, 2022
    
    Hi Hari and thank you and the team for thinking about this all
    
    See:
    
    however, there have been local WordCamps that are organized by multiple 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 an area (E.g. 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. Atlanta or WordCamp Dallas-FortWorth)
    
    Switzerland is like Atlanta metropolitan area in term of population (8 millions vs 6 millions = “similar”) and about 10 meetup groups.
    
    Since we had to rename Switzerland to city name after 2015, we knew it was unrealistic to have more than one per year in the country (like if you asked people of Atlanta to have 1 WordCamp per meetup group) so we moved it from city to city year after year, which was awesome to onboard new organisers, but still missing a “united” event
    
    It’s really cool that we can now go forward with WCSwitzerland next year, as I feel we had lost a bit of the “Swiss community momentum”. We will recreate that feeling again next year 🙂
    
    Thank you so much to have made that possible again
Hari Shanker R 8:57 am on June 7, 2022
Thanks for all your feedback on this post so far, folks. We would love to get as many inputs on this as possible so that our team can set guidelines for regional WordPress events that can be published in the 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. Organizer handbook.

In the meantime, here are some pointers for organizers to start planning regional WordCamps:
- In this context, a “region” is a small geographical area comprising a few towns or cities. For example, contributors within a European country, a U.S. state, or even a group of local cities can organize a Regional WordCamp together. Bigger events (such as events encompassing a larger country or a continent, like WordCamp Asia) would still need to create a proposal and follow existing guidelines.
- Organizers can directly apply to organize a regional WordCamp using the regular WordCamp application form.
- Regional WordCamp applications will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by WordCamp CentralWordCamp Central Website for all WordCamp activities globally. https://central.wordcamp.org includes a list of upcoming and past camp with links to each. 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.. Key criteria include the following:
  - There should be excellent representation from as many areas in the region as possible (e.g. if there are multiple 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 region, all of them should be represented in the organizing team).
  - WordCamp Central will stress the importance of diversity and inclusion among speakers, sponsors, and volunteers (this includes representation across age, gender, sexual orientation, class, etc.).
  - The Community Team will continue to uphold two-year lead organizer terms. The team will not allow repeat organizers to continue to occupy positions of leadership in the regional WordCamp team and will encourage new team members to be a part of the organizing team.