Help:Onboarding

When joining many of Wikimedia resources (wikis and other services) it is not always clear how to:

• connect - to other individuals and groups (especially geo-locally and/or contextually-thematically relatable)
• present - to make yourself and your expereinces, know-how and skills findable/usable (in different contexts, processes and dynamics)
• commit - to know of and join different activities/actions (online, offline or hybrid)
• ...and that can lead to feelings of:
  • inadequacy (though everyone should be welcome regardless of experience
  • insecurity (non-intentional mistakes can be done and mostly undone in more then one way, so mistakes are ok)
  • alienation (people socialize and/or decide to not in many ways in Wikimedia, find how, when and with who works for you)

Usually there is not just one single obvious and useful option for all, but most often multiple concurrent options, what makes it hard evaluate and choose from sometimes even for informed Wikipedian/Wikimedian.

Outreach wiki is (exceptionally) outward facing and focused on work with external partners and new/perspective contributors who might have little or no Wikimedia insights, it is even more useful to examen the offered info and guidance.

Here are few suggestions on potential pathways depending on your background, experience and interests.

• If you are skilled and experienced Wikimedian that is informed of GLAM and/or Education work in Wikimedia, who wants to support others, be available for consultation and engage with different topic areas, you might want to make a User page profile that describe some of your competencies and experiences, as well as make yourself visible/available locally/regionally on listings pages of Education per country, GLAM with local contacts and/or thematically GLAM volunteers. You might also want to create profile on forum.movement-strategy.org which has built in automatic content translation for logged in Wikimedians.
• If you are joining in as external professional engaged in an institution, experienced freelancer, student or enthusiast in culture and education your focuses and needs might be best directed in specific areas here...(tbc)