After the grand success of WordCamp Kolhapur 2025, held on January 11–12, we decided to launch a dedicated Contribution Series to help new contributors understand the different ways they can contribute to the WordPress project.
This initiative was conceptualised and planned by Makarand Mane, the Lead Organizer of WordCamp Kolhapur 2025.
Following several thoughtful discussions and planning sessions, the series was finalized. All events were scheduled on March 14, 2025, by me, Abhay Kulkarni, through the WordCamp Kolhapur Meetup.com group. I also volunteered as the Meetup Organizer for the entire series.
Harshada Patil took charge of managing social media updates, sharing timely announcements about upcoming events and post-event highlights.
Makarand Mane served as the speaker and mentor for each session, guiding both new and experienced contributors through various areas of the WordPress project.
Why We Started the Contribution Series
Makarand was a mentee in the WordPress Contributor Mentorship: 2024 Q4 Cohort. He successfully graduated from the program in November 2024.
During this journey, he not only learned how to contribute effectively to WordPress Core and Courses, but he was also recognized as an All-Star Mentee and earned a place in the program’s Hall of Fame!
Additionally, Makarand received a Diversity Scholarship to attend WordCamp Asia 2025. These scholarships are designed to support individuals who are passionate about contributing to the WordPress ecosystem but may face financial or logistical challenges.
Inspired by his cohort experience and the opportunities he received, Makarand wanted to give back to the community. What better way than by becoming a mentor himself – guiding and inspiring others to start their own contribution journey?
And that’s the core reason we started the WordPress Contribution Series.
Event Recap
After the planning and preparation, here’s how the contribution series unfolded across different meetup topics:
Kickstart Your WordPress Contribution Journey
Date: March 15, 2025
This opening session focused on getting contributors started with the basics—setting up a WordPress.org profile, joining global Slack channels, and understanding the various Make WordPress teams. The session concluded with a photo contribution activity where participants submitted original images to the WordPress Photo Directory.
- Total Contributors: 9
- First-Time Contributors: 3
Core Contributions: Testing & Release Parties
Dates: March 25, April 1, April 8, April 14, April 15
These sessions were designed to help participants contribute to WordPress Core by testing the Release Candidate versions of WordPress 6.8. Rather than writing code, the focus was on functional testing, identifying bugs, and joining the community for release celebrations.
- Total Contributors: 28
- First-Time Contributors: 23
Pattern Contributions
Date: March 29, 2025
This meetup introduced contributors to the WordPress Pattern Directory. Attendees learned how to design block patterns, follow accessibility guidelines, and submit reusable layout designs to enrich the editor experience for users worldwide.
- Total Contributors: 12
- First-Time Contributors: 11
Polyglots / Translation Contributions
Date: April 5, 2025
This session focused on language accessibility. Contributors worked on translating WordPress core, plugins, and themes into regional languages. Guidance was provided on using translation tools and maintaining quality across localized strings.
- Total Contributors: 8
- First-Time Contributors: 7
WordPress TV: Talks, Videos & Guest Participation
Date: April 12, 2025
In this session, contributors explored how to contribute to WordPress TV through video uploads, captioning, and translating community talks. We also hosted guest speaker Prathamesh Palave, who shared insights on creating impactful presentation content.
- Total Attendees: 13
- Guest Spearker: Prathamesh Palave
Contributors from the Series
We’re proud to recognise all the individuals who actively participated in the series:
- Makarand Mane
- Abhay Kulkarni
- Harshada Patil
- Rajesh Rathod
- Suraj Sutar
- Prashant Patil
- Shubham Patil
- Pritam Sonone
- Vaibhav Singh
- Ketan Niruke
- Digvijay Zite
- Rajendra Ghorpade
- Prathamesh Bhagat
- Shreyas Desai
- Sunita Khattar
- Nilesh Shiragave
- Amit Bhosale
- V Gautam Navada
- Snehal Kashid
- Rupesh Patil
- Akshay Dhere
- Aditya Bansode
- Suhas Sutar
- Vaibhav Nawale
- Dheeraj Bhosale
- Rajendra Patil
- Prathamesh Palave
- Soham Joshi
- Mrunal Kulkarni
Closing Thoughts
The WordPress Kolhapur Contribution Series served as a meaningful platform to onboard new contributors and support the global WordPress community. Whether it was testing RC builds, translating content, designing patterns, or uploading photos, every contribution added value.
A huge thank you to all the contributors and everyone who joined hands to make this initiative successful.
We look forward to continuing this spirit of contribution and collaboration in the months ahead.
