Guide for hosting a DPG campus meetup

General
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:small_blue_diamond: STEP 1: Find Your Core Crew

Identify 3–5 motivated peers to help you pull this off, organising, promoting, and running your meetup. These could be friends, fellow techies, design students, or anyone with great energy and fresh ideas :light_bulb::high_voltage:

:speech_balloon: Need support? Post in the DPG Sierra Leone Discourse community to connect with other interested students on your campus.

Also decide: who’s your audience? CS students? Open source lovers? Undergrads from all disciplines? :bullseye: We advise you to bring together individuals from various backgrounds and relevant skill sets, including engineers, Developers, Product Designers, Content Developers, and communications specialists.

:small_blue_diamond: STEP 2: Plan the Meetup Magic

Pick a date, venue, and theme that sparks interest like:
:graduation_cap: “DPGs in Education”, :robot: “AI + Open Source for Good”, or :light_bulb: “Solving Local Challenges with Tech”

:spiral_calendar: Meetups can happen monthly, or even weekly, it’s totally up to you and your team’s vibe and energy!

Then create a fun and purposeful agenda:

  • :globe_showing_europe_africa: Brief intro to what DPGs are and why they matter
  • :high_voltage: Lightning talks by students or local innovators
  • :brain: Brainstorming local problems and potential DPG ideas
  • :wrench: Optional extras: mini hackathons, UI/UX jams, content sprints, or even pitch competitions

:small_blue_diamond: STEP 3: Hype It Up!

Spread the word loud and clear :loudspeaker:
Use WhatsApp, posters, social media, and your university mailing list to promote it.

:artist_palette: Want cool designs? The Ministry has you covered; reach out for official templates!

:small_blue_diamond: STEP 4: Host With Energy

When it’s go time:

  • Capture moments, lots of photos and videos :camera_with_flash::movie_camera:
  • Jot down key ideas and insights :memo:
  • Create space for dialogue, facilitate, don’t lecture :speech_balloon:
  • Guide attendees to sign up on dpg.discourse.group :white_check_mark:
  • Keep a simple attendance list (name, course, gender, etc.) :spiral_notepad:
  • Remind folks: this is about real impact, innovation, and global collaboration :globe_with_meridians::sparkles:
  • And yes, take more photos than you think you need :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

:small_blue_diamond: STEP 5: Wrap It Up & Report Back

Fill out the quick event report form (we’ll send it to you) :envelope_with_arrow:
Share:

  • What was discussed
  • What ideas came up
  • All your best event pics :camera:

Post everything to the Discourse group to inspire others, make your work visible and keep the momentum going :rocket:

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