Wikimedia Hackathon 2018/Mentoring Program/Emails

Email sent to mentors 1 week before the hackathon

Hi Wikimedia Hackathon 2018 Mentors!

If you are receiving this email you have indicated in your registration that you are willing to help mentor newcomers at the upcoming Hackathon. Thank you!

What to expect from the newcomers!

We have 46 volunteers to mentor at the hackathon and are expecting 45 newcomers / mentees.

In a checkbox style question (where newcomers could choose more than one answer) they indicated the following about the help they would like at the hackathon:

• I’d like to have a mentor and some ideas about what to work on: 19 people
• I know what I want to work on (related to my interest areas) and I need some help: 11 people
• I’d like an introduction to specific projects: 19 people
• I just want some help at the beginning: 23 people

Before the event, here are some things you can do to help !

• Add yourself and your picture to the mentoring page here: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2018/Mentoring_Program#Point_of_contact
• Add tasks for newcomers and people without projects to Phabricator and subscribe srishakatux (Srishti) and the #easy or #needs-volunteer tag to your task and move it to the “Project” column on the workboard.
• Make sure to review the Wikimedia Friendly Space Policy and Code of Conduct for technical spaces. Our intention is that everyone feels comfortable and welcomed at our events! :)  

On the first day of the event, here are some things you can do to help!

• During the opening ceremony of the hackathon make sure to announce the ways you can help newcomers and people without projects during the open-mic time.
• Please join the following sessions on Friday (the first day of the hackathon)
  • Mentors Poster Session / Introduction - in this session you will get an introduction to the mentoring program, some ideas for how to effectively mentor, and together we will create posters showing the projects and skills you can offer to mentors.
  • SESSION FOR NEWCOMERS: Mentors and Mentees matching session - in this session newcomers and mentors will come together and decide who to work with and how to work together. Even if you don’t have a specific project in mind it would be helpful to have lots of mentors here to help guide newcomers towards the right projects.

During the event, here are some things you can do to help!

• Keep an eye on the #wmhack IRC channel and the telegram group (more details on the mentoring page)  
• During the event, help us collect changes on ways we can improve (https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T194056)

A few more details

• Mentors will be given green handkerchief/bands to wear around the hackathon. If you are wearing your green band this indicates to newcomers and people needing help that you are happy to be approached and asked questions. Newcomers will wear white bands. When you see someone wearing a white band this means that they welcome help and introductions.
• We are very open to new ideas for the mentoring program and how to both support mentors and newcomers. If you have any ideas or requests for support please respond to this email!

If you have any questions or would like any support please respond to this email!  See you soon!

Email sent to newcomers 1 week before the hackathon

Hi Wikimedia Hackathon 2018 Newcomers!

If you are receiving this email you have indicated in your registration that you would like to take part in the mentoring program as a newcomer / mentee. Welcome!

Some information for you about the mentoring program:

• We have 46 volunteers to mentor at the hackathon and are expecting 45 newcomers / mentees.
• In this program “newcomer” can mean any of the following
  • First or second hackathon
  • New to wikimedia
  • New to wikimedia tech, but not new to wikimedia in general
  • Someone wanting to learn a new skill / have help finding a projet
  • ...Or anything you want it to mean! Anyone who would like support and guidance at the hackathon is welcome to participate.

How to participate

• Please join the following sessions on Friday (the first day of the hackathon)
  • SESSION FOR NEWCOMERS: Wikimedia Tech overview - in this session you will get an introduction to the mentoring program, and get a quick overview of wikimedia Technology and have a chance to ask any questions you might have.
  • SESSION FOR NEWCOMERS: Mentors and Mentees matching session - in this session newcomers and mentors will come together and decide who to work with and how to work together. We will provide personalized support to anyone who attends.
• Please make sure to sign up on the participants list so that other hackathon participants can get to know about you.
• Please review the hackathon mentoring program page where you can learn more about the program and the 3 steps to participate pages where you can make sure you are ready for the hackathon!
• Make sure to review the Wikimedia Friendly Space Policy and Code of Conduct for technical spaces. Our intention is that everyone feels comfortable and welcomed at our events! :)  
• During the event, help us collect changes on ways we can improve (https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T194056)

A few more details

• Mentors will be given green bands to wear around the hackathon. If you see someone wearing your green band this indicates that the person is happy to be approached and asked questions. Newcomers can wear white bands. When you have you white band on this means that you welcome help, introductions, or new mentors and people might approach you asking if you have questions.
• We are very open to new ideas for the mentoring program and how to both support mentors and newcomers. If you have any ideas or requests for support please respond to this email!
• If you would like to be pre-matched to somebody with a specific technical background or skillset or would just like to be connected by email to another hackathon participant in advance of the event to have a friendly face when you arrive please respond to this email letting us know what type of buddy would be helpful for you!
• There will be quiet spaces inside and outside where you can go to work on your own or take a break whenever you like.  

Details on how a hackathon works!

This is a Hackathon! Throughout the event expect the majority of participants to be “hacking”. In other words, this is not a standard conference and most of the time, most of the participants at the Hackathon will be working together in small groups on their various projects.

We do provide space for people to meet, run sessions, and have discussions, so there is a session program where many of these will be listed, however this is not the main focus of the event and there may be many times throughout the event where no sessions are running at all.

Anyone who is registered for the event can schedule a session, so all sessions are scheduled by the participants themselves and can be scheduled at any time, including 30 min in advance of the session start. So keep refreshing the program page as the event continues.

If you have any questions or would like any support please respond to this email! See you soon!