If you don’t already know, WordCamp Harare 2018 will include a Contributor Day! That’s awesome, right. Except…you’re probably wondering what a Contributor Day actually is. First of all, you’re not alone. Although they usually run concurrently with WordCamps, Contributor Days aren’t as popular. This is because not all WordCamps around the world include the Contributor Day. But we’re changing that in Harare.

Definition of Contributor Day

As the name suggests, Contributor Day is a day set aside to contribute to WordPress. In a 2017 interview with a member of his community, Aaron Campbell, Contributor Day Lead for WordCamp US 2017, defined it as “a day for existing contributors to work on projects together as well as for people to learn how to contribute back to WordPress for the first time.” You can find the full interview here.

What Happens At Contributor Days

So, now that you know what it is, we’ll break down what actually happens at Contributor Day. Generally, people are broken down into teams, depending on skills and interests. The teams will work on specific aspects of WordPress. These are called tracks and include core, polyglots, support, docs, and many others. In fact, there are over fifteen ways to contribute to WordPress, but most WordCamps keep their Contributor days focused on three or four tracks, depending on the number of people who sign up.

Usually, contributors get a free lunch and/or snacks during the course of the day (I see you smiling; I’m smiling too 🙂 ). If you’re planning to join us for this year’s Contributor Day, all you’ll need to do is just show up. Don’t forget your laptop or tablet though!

Why Contributor Day is Important

In comparison to other WordPress communities around the world, the WordPress Harare community is fairly new (just three years old. Others have been around since the beginning!). The good thing is we’re still growing, and events like Contributor Day help all newbies (me included) to learn more about WordPress and how it’s changing people’s lives daily.

For veterans, Contributor Day offers an opportunity to work on the aspect of WordPress that is very close to your heart, the thing that made WordPress stand out.

Whether you’re new to WordPress, or you’ve been living and breathing it for a while now, Contributor Day gives you a voice in the global community, which I think is the most awesome thing about it.

Get Involved

We’ll put up a separate sign-up form for Contributor Day. I highly recommend that you sign up and be part of the first-ever Contributor Day in Harare! It’s something that you wouldn’t want to miss out on, best believe. For all your questions about Contributor Day, and WordCamp Harare 2018, contact us and we’ll respond to you as soon as we can. We hope to see you there!