 Hello, everyone, and welcome to the WordPress briefing, the podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it, and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I'm your host, Josepha Hayden-Champosy. Here we go. Of course of this year, there has been a lot of research and examination of the contributor funnel in the WordPress community. That research confirmed some assumptions about what most contributor stories had in common. The hurdles, the general paths taken, and the way that problem-solving was done. Then, in February of this year, Hari Shankar published a proposal for a mentorship program for WordPress. And now, we've got a pilot program that's been defined and is waiting for your feedback. If you've not read the post about the contributor mentorship program, for one, do it. But if you would rather hear a synopsis from me, don't worry, I'm about to give you a 10 cent tour. First up, who is doing this? This pilot program has been outlined by a community working group. We often have working groups in WordPress, and they almost always have specific projects around events or programs or code updates. Since this working group is focused on a project-wide program, there is project-wide representation in it. All the names are at the bottom of the post, which you can find in our show notes, but it's got folks who contribute with code or contribute with time or contribute with design, folks who are self-sponsored or corporately sponsored, just a nice mix of people. The program as a whole, though, is being stewarded by Hari Shankar, a longtime supporter of and contributor to WordPress. So next, what is this for? There are a few goals for the program, but the overarching goal is to increase the success of new contributors over time. We can all agree that if we were to have thousands of new contributors every day, but they couldn't find their way to impactful contributions or meaningful connections quickly, then we would have done them a disservice, and they probably won't continue to be part of the community without a bit more effort. The one and the where are essentially right now and right here, so that brings us finally to why. Why are we doing this mentorship program? Apart from to help people who want to contribute have an easier path to success, which frankly is enough of a reason anyway, the why is wrapped up in our overall philosophies in the project. If we believe that good ideas can come from anywhere and that contributions of any size matter and that open source is an idea that can change our generation and that we are democratizing publishing, then bringing new people brings new ideas and beginner contributions can grow over time. We can maintain this idea, this concept of open source, into the next generation, into future generations and always keep our sites on the open web. To learn more about this and other project-wide initiatives, swing by make.wordpress.org slash project or check the links in today's show notes on wordpress.org slash news slash podcast. Which brings us now to our small list of big things. First on the list is WordCamp Europe. That's coming up at the end of the week on June 8th through 10th in Athens, Greece. There will be a mid-year update from Matt and friends, so even if you aren't there in person, keep an eye out for those recordings. But for those who are there and you're curious about the mentorship program or anything else to do with WordPress and contributing to the project, you can come find me or Angela Jinn, hurry will also be there, Chloe will be there, Ekdoor will be there, lots of people. And we want to hear your thoughts and answer your questions. Second is a call for brain power, a call for your brainstorms. On the subject of the next generation, we've got a discussion going on about the next generation of WordCamps. We've been discussing what new types and varieties might be available and that might make sense for people as we get back to in-person events. So if you've got a kind of WordCamp that you've been desperately wanting to try, now is the time to let folks know about it. And the final thing is the second volume of the WordPress history book called Building Blocks, the evolution of WordPress, is now available for download in several formats, as well as on GitHub. Stop by, give it a read, and relive some of the highlights of the past 10 years of the WordPress project. And that, my friends, is your smallest of big things. Thanks for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing. I'm your host, Josefa Hayden-Champosie, and I'll see you again in a couple of weeks.