Virtual Translation Day and Mini-Events

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This page is a work in progress. If you are interested in planning an event, check-in #polyglots or #polyglots-events first to coordinate.

With the shift to an online event format for many of our community events, various teams across the WordPress community have had the opportunity to collaborate across time zones, borders, and languages. When an event is online, rather than in-person, many of the barriers to organization are removed making it easier to experiment with new formats.

While switching to an online event format has allowed for some increased flexibility when planning events, it is important to remember that virtual translation days (or mini-events) are separate from WordPress Translation Day, which is a 24-hour global event organized by the WordPress community in which various localesLocale Locale = language version, often a combination of a language code and a region code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s used in Mexico. A list of all locales supported by WordPress in https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/ may participate. For this reason, when planning a mini-event, it is recommended that you reach out to #polyglots-events and the WordPress #marketing team early in your planning process to coordinate and create clear messaging about your event.

Planning an Online Translation Day Planning an Online Translation Day

The Polyglots Community has held global WordPress Translation Days as an event in the past to help recruit and onboard new contributors to the global Polyglots teamPolyglots Team Polyglots Team is a group of multilingual translators who work on translating plugins, themes, documentation, and front-facing marketing copy. https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. project. In 2020, a number of locales decided to host mini-events, focused on welcoming and onboarding new contributors to their localeLocale Locale = language version, often a combination of a language code and a region code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s used in Mexico. A list of all locales supported by WordPress in https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/ specifically.

There isn’t a formal process for organizing a local Translation Day, though organizers should generally follow the same expectations as for any other WordPress-related event. Likewise, when and if you decide to plan an online mini-Translation Day, it is a good idea to recruit other organizers to help you plan and manage the event. Planning an event is a lot of work and it helps to have others with whom you can share the responsibility – not to mention that it helps all involved to build new skills and relationships that strengthen your local community overall.

There are a few main elements that you will want to decide as you begin planning your event:

  • The date of the event.
  • The duration/time.
  • Where will you meet? For example, will you use Zoom or Hangouts? In which 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/. instance and channel will you communicate?
  • How would you like to introduce new contributors to the project and process?
  • What projects would you like to focus on? 
  • How will you manage reviewing, approving, and providing feedback on translations from new participants?

Once you have decided on the when and where of your event, start sharing it! It’s a good idea to promote your mini-Translation Day in both the #polyglots and #polyglots-events channels in the global WordPress Slack, as well as any relevant channels in your locale’s Slack. You should also aim to work with the WordPress Marketing team to see if they may be able to provide assistance in promoting and messaging your event, as well.

On the day of the event On the day of the event

Prior to beginning your Translation Day, it is a good idea to develop an introduction or presentation to introduce new contributors to the Polyglots team, and to create a list of projects to work on. The organizing team should have communicated with each other beforehand who will be available, when, and on which projects they will assist.

For some locales, it is a good idea to set up breakout rooms or different Zoom hangouts for different projects. However, depending on the size of your team and the number of attendees, it can also work well to have everyone in the same room, offering check-ins to new contributors at varying times.

Keep in mind that a large purpose of these mini-events are to help onboard new translators for future participation in the community. It is a chance to provide mentorship and guidance for new contributors, and to provide existing contributors with the opportunity to build their local community. Be present, answer questions, and always provide guidance on how to continue to contribute in the future.

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After the Event After the Event

A fun way to reflect on the successes and highlights of your mini-Translation Day is to tally any important, related data. For example, if your locale focused on translating a specific version of WordPress and the top 10 plugins, how many more stringsString A string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings. were added and approved? What percentage did these projects start at, and at what percentage are they translated now? Did you add any new PTEs? How many new participants were there?

If your locale hosts any sort of regular meeting or posts on your RosettaRosetta The code name of the theme for the local WordPress sites (eg. bg.wordpress.org is a “Rosetta” site). All locale specific WordPress sites are referred to as “Rosetta sites.” The name was inspired from the ancient Rosetta Stone, which contained more or less the same text in three different languages. site’s P2p2 "p2" is the name of the theme that blogs at make.wordpress.org use (and o2 is the accompanying plugin). When asked to post something "on the p2" by a member of the Polyglots team, that usually means you're asked to post on the team blog https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/., this is an excellent opportunity to share and reflect on these stats. It’s a great way to thank those who were involved, highlight the hard work on the organizers, and to make new contributors feel seen in their contributions, helping to ensure that they will come back and continue to translate in the future!

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