Let’s Connect: Register Now for the Peer Learning Program 

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Why Register to Let’s Connect?

The Let’s Connect Working Group and the Community Resources team are excited to announce the launch of the Peer Learning Program – Let’s Connect. You can register now here.

Let’s Connect creates spaces for horizontal, flexible, and interactive peer learning spaces and resources. It encourages a learning culture based on curiosity and honest reflection, learning about good practices, but valuing what didn’t work out as expected – the surprises, the “failures”. It encourages learning that is adaptable and flexible to different contexts, levels of development, and needs. 

The Working Group is a joint community-Foundation team that is coordinating Let’s Connect in its initial pilot phase (March to July). This team was built based on an expression of interest during the initial brainstorm discussions, and Introductory blog. There is also an advisory group of community members that are supporting the program by offering guidance and feedback.

“Peer learning in the Wikimedia movement has been an important factor of growth among many volunteers and their communities. A well-structured approach like “Let’s Connect” would go a long way in making sure more communities receive the knowledge they truly deserve to grow their communities.” Justice Allotey, Let’s Connect Working Group Member.

“It’s exciting for me to know that there is now a structured space within the movement for us to gather and learn from each other, I can’t wait to tap in all the knowledge that will be harnessed in Let’sConnect” Winnie Kabintie, Let’s Connect Working Group Member.

How can I participate?

Let’s Connect is directed at Wikimedians in all regions that are part of “organised groups”.  These groups can range from a group of individuals that are not formally organised, Wikimedia affiliates, and mission-aligned organisations, seeking to share their knowledge and learn from others. They can be those that receive funding from Wikimedia Funds or planning to do so in the future.

By filling out the Let’s Connect  registration form, you will express 1) what skills you would like to share, 2) how you would like to do this 3) what skills you would like to learn or further develop and 4)  what financial, methodological, or technological support you may need. If you have difficulties accessing the form you can also email us Letsconnectteam@wikimedia.org or write on the Let’s Connect Talk Page. 

This information will allow us to match you with peers interested in similar topics for One-to-One connections, invite you to Learning clinics as well as keep you updated on other peer learning and training opportunities within the Movement. In the following weeks, we will be updating this calendar of Learning Clinics, and matching you with your peers! 

Peer learning can happen around a number of different skills, such as organizational and funding-related issues, programmatic tactics, or Wikimedia project-related tools. 

For Let’s Connect to be community-led and expand, we need lots of community members proposing Learning Clinics. If you want to take on this role as a Learning Ambassador please register this interest in the registration form! The Working Group will reach out to you to support you in planning the session, provide technological and financial support to cover the time taken to do this, as well as other needs such as translation, connectivity, etc.

It’s important to register for the Let’s Connect Peer Learning program because it gathers and showcases capacities, and skills of various community members within our Movement. The program will provide resource sharing opportunities via the skills directory, (an aggregate) resource center, and connections to the amazing people that make Wikimedia what it is today, and what it will be in the future. Douglas Ssebaggala, Let’s Connect Working Group Member.

The information gathered during the registration will be used to build Let’s Connect’s “Skills Directory” on Meta (link to the skills directory). This directory will be an open directory for everyone to know who is doing what and where and proactively reach out to each other. The information will be updated monthly by the Let’s Connect Working Group and Let’s Connect registered members will also be able to edit their information.

What is in for me? Incentives to participate!

Apart from being able to make connections with people in the movement and offer mutual support, participating will also be a way of networking and making visible your work to others and the wider movement. Let’s Connect will award you a certificate of participation, barnstars, and visibility in movement communications as a means to recognise your contribution. 

Finally, you can ask for financial support to participate in sharing your work or organising learning spaces as a Let’s Connect Ambassador. There will be two different types of funding support:

  • For individuals and organizations with existing grant agreements: an amendment to existing grant agreements to provide financial support for sharing in Let’s Connect.  
  • For individuals or organizations without existing grant agreements: a stipend that will provide financial support for sharing in Let’s Connect.  

These financial resources can be used for any needs related to participating in the program, this can include the time taken to organise sharing material, translation, connectivity, design pieces, childcare, amongst others. 

“I think it is important to register for the program, since it is a meeting space for peers from the entire community where we can generate great encounters for collaborative learning,” Florencia Guastavino. Let’s Connect Advisory Group Member

Learn More about the Let’s Connect Program Here.

Any questions

If you have any questions registering or any suggestions, please write to us at: Letsconnectteam@wikimedia.org

Thank you! – From the Let’s Connect Working Group.  

1. Peer learning is one of many collaborative forms of learning. It differs from formal training, which generally seeks to build and transfer knowledge in a structured and more formal setting. Peer learning can complement and not replace formal training.

2. This is a very basic directory in a google sheets format. We hope to transition to more user-friendly and technological tools developed by the Capacity Exchange team and Community Development WikiLearn platform. 

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