Author: Aditya Kane

Successful Open Source Workshops in Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Angola

In 2019, we set a goal of supporting the organizing more “Introduction to Open Source” workshops in parts of the world with less participation in open source: Latin and South America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia*.

Currently, we have had these workshops taking place in

Vadodara, India

The Introduction to Open Source workshop in Vadodara happened on September 01.

The workshop touched on different open-source licences and a discussion around why major organizations use the GPL license.

Dhruv Pandya who organized the event, felt the workshop would help their meetup grow with newer members.

After the announcement of “Intro to open source” workshop more attendees have become more involved with us

Lahore, Pakistan

The Introduction to Open Source workshop in Lahore happened on September 14.

Abdullah Ramzan who organized the event was excited about discussions around various open source projects, and a session around GitHub.

Thimphu, Bhutan

Ugyen Dorji organized the Introduction to Open Source Workshop in Thimphu, Bhutan on October 5.

Along with a session which introduced people to different types of open source software and their licenses, they combined it with a second session around building sites on WordPress using the new block editor.

Luanda, Angola

Marcio Zebedeu organized the Workshop Introdução ao Open Source on October 25. It was a small meetup hence they mainly decided to have a discussion around the GPL licence and how open source software would help their local community.

Marcio feels the workshop has helped recruit more local organizers for meetups around translating WordPress to Portuguese (Angola).

More workshops in the pipeline

There are a couple of workshops being still being planned that will happen in 2019. They are not announced as yet.

In the next couple of months we will open applications for Open Source Workshops for 2020.

*According to a recent study, the majority of Github participation in OSS projects is centered in North America and Western and Northern Europe.

Open Source Workshops Announced for 2019

Early in the year, as part of our continuing efforts to educate the public about WordPress and related open source software (OSS), we announced funding to Introduction to Open Source workshops for 2019.

The following communities have scheduled an Introduction to Open Source workshop, at the following dates:

This is a first short-list and we will be announcing some more later in the year as more events get confirmed.

Once all these events take place, we’ll publish recaps of the workshops. Many thanks to all of the groups who applied for the grant this year!

If you’re interested in helping the WordPress Foundation support open source education all over the world, please donate today!

Call for Organizers: Introduction to Open Source Workshops for 2019

Last year, in an effort to educate the public about WordPress and related open source software (OSS), the WordPress Foundation helped fund four “Introduction to Open Source” workshops in Ghana, India, Colombia and St. Lucia.

The goal of this workshop series is to highlight the potential of open source software in regions where there is less participation in OSS projects.

Last year’s workshops were quite successful, so in 2019 we’re expanding this program to support up to ten separate events.

We are particularly interested in funding event held in regions where there might be less awareness of — or support for — participation in open source, specifically Latin and South America, Africa, Oceania and Asia*.

Event title: Introduction to Open Source

Event description: What do people mean when they use the term Open Source when referring to software? This workshop will cover that question as well as what the GPL software license provides, why WordPress is an open-source project, and how this is important for both the users of WordPress and the contributors to WordPress.

Event purpose: Spread knowledge and understanding of the open web and open source through two-hour training events, staffed and organized by local communities, and financially supported by the WordPress Foundation, using training materials here:

Financial support: up to $200 USD per event, available to cover costs associated with event venue, refreshments, and/or videography / photography.

Expectations for organizers: Event should be free of cost, open to anyone, and organized/held in 2019. Strong preference will be given to organizers who are already members of a community group that is part of the WordPress open source project’s meetup chapter program, but has not yet organized a WordCamp.

Organizers should not need to solicit additional event sponsorship. Financial support will be provided via Paypal or wire transfer, and will require documentation. This financial support will be in the form of reimbursement after the event has taken place.

We’ll select and notify our first round of shortlisted groups by the 31st May 2019 and the second round of shortlisted groups by 31st August 2019.

The application form will be closed on 15th July 2019.

Interested in organizing an event like this? Fill out this 10-question application!

*According to a recent study, the majority of Github participation in OSS projects is centered in North America and Western and Northern Europe.

Successful Open Source Workshops in Ghana, India, Colombia and St. Lucia in 2018

In 2018, we set a goal of supporting the organizing of four “Introduction to Open Source” workshops in parts of the world with less participation in open source: Latin and South America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia*.

This was accomplished with events in

Kumasi, Ghana

The Introduction to Open Source workshop in Kumasi was held on November 15, 2018 at HapaSpace.

Albert Opoku, the main organizer for the event, commented that after an introduction to open source philosophy and relevant examples, there was a good discussion amongst the attendees.

The issue of Africa’s low contribution to Open Source was widely discussed, participants discussed what were the challenges and also came up with a few suggestions to increase our participation in open source.

The WordPress Kumasi meetup group was founded a little over two years ago, and currently has 130 members. A few new members signed up for the meetup group during the workshop, to get involved with the community.

Udaipur, India

The Introduction to Open Source workshop in Udaipur was held on November 18, 2018 at CTAE.

When asked about what the impact of the event had on attendees, main organizer for the event, Surbhi Jain commented

A lot of young students from schools and colleges took a keen interest in joining further local meetups.

The WordPress meetup group for Udaipur was formed over 3 years ago. The workshop was attended by well over 50 attendees.

Barranquilla, Colombia

The Introduction to Open Source workshop in Barranquilla happened on November 24 at CUC University.

The main organizer, Fabian Altahona suggested that many of the attendees were not aware of how to go about contributing to open source projects and would get more involved.

Many people thought open source and contributing was not that common, and they contacted the speakers to share their fears and doubts about it. Based on this experience, we would think they will actually become more involved in open source.

After the workshop in Barranquilla was planned, the Barranquilla meetup group found a sponsor to pay for refreshments and was also able to find a free venue — which meant they did not need financial from the WordPress Foundation for this event.

Castries, St. Lucia

The final Introduction to Open Source workshop was in Castries, St. Lucia also on November 24 at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College.

The organizer, Uriahs Victor, felt that the workshop helped get more attention toward the WordPress meetup group in Castries. A hot topic of discussion at the workshop was security and updates in open source software.

Looking forward to more workshops in 2019

Based on the success of these four workshops, we hope to expand this program in the future. If you’re interested in organizing an event of this kind in your community, please keep an eye out for the next call for organizers, which will be posted in the coming months!

If you’re interested in helping the WordPress Foundation support open source education all over the world, please donate today!

*According to a recent study, the majority of Github participation in OSS projects is centered in North America and Western and Northern Europe.

Call for Organizers: Introduction to Open Source Workshops for 2018

Last year, in an effort to educate the public about WordPress and related open source software (OSS), the WordPress Foundation helped fund two “Introduction to Open Source” workshops in Mombasa and Kanpur.

The goal of this workshop is to highlight the potential of open source software in regions where there is less participation in OSS projects.

Last year’s workshops were quite successful, so in 2018 we’re expanding this program to support up to four separate events. We are particularly interested in funding event held in regions where there might be less awareness of — or support for — participation in open source, specifically Latin and South America, Africa, Oceania and Asia*.

To learn more about this workshop program, and how you can get involved, read on!

Event title: Introduction to Open Source

Event description: What do people mean when they use the term Open Source when referring to software? This workshop will cover that question as well as what the GPL software license provides, why WordPress is an open-source project, and how this is important for both the users of WordPress and the contributors to WordPress.

Event purpose: Spread knowledge and understanding of the open web and open source through two-hour training events, staffed and organized by local communities, and financially supported by the WordPress Foundation, using training materials here:

Financial support: up to $500 USD per event, available to cover costs associated with event venue, refreshments, and/or videography.

Expectations for organizers: Event should be free of cost, open to anyone, and organized/held in 2018. Strong preference will be given to organizers who are already members of a community group that is part of the WordPress open source project’s meetup chapter program, but has not yet organized a WordCamp. Organizers should not need to solicit additional event sponsorship. Financial support will be provided via Paypal or wire transfer, and will require documentation.

Interested in organizing an event like this? Fill out this 10-question application!

We’ll close grant applications on August 23, and notify the successful applicants no later than September 10, 2018.

*According to a recent study, the majority of Github participation in OSS projects is centered in North America and Western and Northern Europe.