Mentoring WordCamps

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most WordPress events are online. Please refer to our online events handbook.

For communities where COVID-19 has been more effectively contained or have easy access to COVID-19 vaccination and/or testing, returning to hosting an in-person 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. event is possible, with caution, using the resources provided. If you plan to move forward with an in-person meetup, you must use the provided checklist .

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. 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. are 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. who have experience organizing WordCamps and want to help other organizers have a great time planning a WordCamp. As a 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., your job is the same as every 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. job at 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.: to help make WordCamps easier to organize and better for attendees.

Hopefully you will be able to help organizers avoid problems before they become problems. We depend on deputies who are mentoring WordCamps to check in frequently with their WordCamp(s), and also keep up to date on new tools, developments, and decisions made by the Community Team.

Your involvement should be one of advisement on procedure and sharing of knowledge based on your history organizing WordCamps. Mentors are not on the planning team and should not assign yourself or be assigned any actual planning tasks.

Please schedule a 30 minute meeting every two weeks with the WordCamp you’re mentoring — this can be with just the lead organizer or with the the whole organizing team — and help the lead organizer keep planning on-track. We’ve found that a video chat goes faster, but a text chat is also fine. Frequent check-ins are important and really help everyone stay on track.

Please use the checklist on your WordCamp site dashboard when you’re checking in with your WordCamp: https://__WORDCAMP_SITE_URL__/wp-admin/index.php?page=wcm-planning-checklist

How should I communicate with the organizing team I’m mentoring?

Great question! Help Scout is the best way to communicate via email with the organizing team that you’re mentoring — it allows the whole Community Team to access the emails between you and the team, which is really helpful if you have to step away from mentoring for some reason or another (it happens). Our triagers will Notify you when an email comes in for you. If you prefer to communicate via 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/., please use an open channel like #community-events if possible.

OK, I met with the organizing team I’m mentoring. Now what?

After you meet with the team you’re mentoring, please write a short summary of your check-in as a comment in one of the Daily Update posts on make.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//community so that the whole team can keep up to date on each camp’s progress. Your summary could read something like this (more detail is better):

  • Checked in with WordCamp Narnia. They posted their call for speakers and sponsors last week and are setting a date for a speaker training event for the meetup for 3 weeks from now. They have made a list of potential local sponsors, and each team member will take 3 companies to contact within the next two weeks. Logo design is in process, and they’ll review options in their next organizer meeting, which is this Monday. They hope to have the site design launched in the next two weeks.

What happens if the WordCamp organizing team I’m mentoring asks a question I can’t answer?

If something comes up with the WordCamp you’re mentoring and you don’t know how to advise them, ask for help in the #events Slack channel or email [email protected].

This lead organizer cancelled our biweekly meeting and hasn’t replied to my emails. What should I do?

If the WordCamp organizing team you’re mentoring hasn’t been able to meet in more than a month, please raise a flag with the Community Team so we can reach out and see what’s up.

Want to become a WordCamp Mentor?

Last updated: