In May 2016, Harare, Zimbabwe was selected to host a WordCamp Incubator. This led to the birth of a local WordPress community. Thabo will talk about what it took to get the WordPress community in Harare started, and what you can do to grow your community.

1. Growing a Local WordPress Community
Thabo Tswana
@thabotswana

2. “
”
RAVI CHAHAR
The best thing about WordPress is the
community and support

3. • WordPress is an open source project as well as the
people who use it in any way.
• The greatest thing about WordPress is the community.
That’s what allows this free software to continue being
free, and to continue to improve.
WordPress is a Community

5. Getting a Meetup Started

6. Questions to ask when you’re
starting a meetup group
• Where should you meet?
• When should you meet?
• What are you going to do?
• Will there be any costs?
• Who’s going to do what?

8. Stood up by TheeErin https://www.flickr.com/photos/theeerin/4973646621
I
GOT
STOOD UP

9. Taking the Harare
Wordpress meetup
On the road

10. WordPress 15th Anniversary Celebration

13. WordCamp

14. What you need to do to get your
WordCamp added to the schedule
• Put together an organizing team.
• Find a venue and a date.
• Create a preliminary budget.
• Send your budget to WordCamp Central for review.
• Set up your wordcamp.org website.
https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/wordcamp-organizer/first-steps/

15. Our first
Wordcamp
venue

16. Cheap Tickets by Nick Youngson http://alphastockimages.com/

17. Wordcamp
Harare
2016

18. Wordcamp harare 2017… bigger and better!

19. The WordPress Community makes the world seem smaller

20. What You Can do

21. • Make sure you spread the word over social media that
you are trying to start a meetup group.
• Talk about what you want to do. Speakers and
presentations are the most common, but that’s not the
only way to do it
• You will need others around you to help
• Anytime you can, ask for volunteers to present
• Pick a consistent day of the month that’s easy to
remember

22. If you want to get the most out of WordPress,
get involved, learn from others and perhaps
lend a hand as well!

23. Thanks
Thabo Tswana
@thabotswana