Maker Party/Get involved

Maker Party 2013: Guide for Partners and Event Hosts

This page is for partners and event hosts to find out how to get more involved with Maker Party 2013.

Let’s get this party started!

Mozilla has officially kicked off Maker Party 2013! From now to September 15, people around the world will meet up at great events, make cool stuff and share it all online.

The goal: host a worldwide party celebrating all the amazing things we can make and learn thanks to the web.

“The web gives us all the chance to be creators, makers and inventors. Maker Party is about joining thousands of people across the globe to make something amazing, teach each other new skills, and have a great time doing it.” – Mark Surman, Mozilla’s Executive Director

What is Maker Party?

A big tent with more than 40 partner organizations all running making-and-learning activities across the globe. Like Mozilla, these organizations are part of a growing movement to teach the web and promote the maker spirit with hands-on learning.

Let's work together. Our community and network of partners are crucial to growing this movement. There's no way any one organization can do this alone!

How can Mozilla help?

We've launched a brand new webmaker.org with new features for making and learning on the web. We can also help with:

• Promoting your organization on webmaker.org/party
• Promoting your events on our site and social media
• Providing Press templates and kits for doing your own outreach
• Providing activity kits and event guides for hosting events
• Helping you create personalized projects using our tools to meet your needs

Maker Party Partners

Hosted in partnership with the National Writing Project and the MacArthur Foundation, Maker Party partners are helping us offer a truly diverse range of events. From CERN’s Citizen Cyberspace Centre and the New York Hall of Science to Girls Learning Code andIndieWebCamp, this is a big tent for everyone interested in making and learning together.

• Black Girls Code will run 10 coding workshops across Africa and the U.S.
• The MIT Media Lab is inviting kids to program stories, games and animations.
• DIY.org will make 250,000 projects with kids
• The Maker Education Initiative will teach teachers
• Girl Scout Troops will issue merit badges for digital skills

...and many more. See the complete list here.

Maker Party News

• Maker Party News Channel: http://blog.webmaker.org/tag/maker-party

How to get support

Support channels for before, during and after your Maker Party events:

• webmaker.org/party: Party central. This is the "home base" for Maker Party. Enter your events, see other events, see what others are doing and share your progress.
• Find events. Find Maker Party events near you on our global map.
• Access our event guides. Step by step instructions for hosting your own event.
• Join the #teachtheweb Webmaker Mentor community on Google+. This is the place to find other mentors around the world, share ideas, get access to resources, find new partners and get peer support.
• Tweet #teachteweb with your question. The fastest easiest way to get help.
• Email makerparty@mozilla.org. Need help? Email us with your questions!
• Frequently Asked Questions. (coming soon) (draft in progress here)

• Webmaker's project gallery: See what other people are making. Got a great Make that illustrates your Maker Party experience? Want one of your constituents to get some love? Our Webmaker Content Team will be around to feature and highlight the best Makes, giving your outputs the attention they deserve.

Event Guides

Need some help and advice on what kind of party you want to throw, check out our Event Guides:

• Kitchen Party
• Hack Jam
• Hive Pop-Up
• Facilitation Guide

Activity Kits

Need some activities, mixers and conversation starters? Check out our Webmaker Activity Kits:

• Online Storytelling
• Revolutions in Media
• Remix Hacking Guide
• Ways of the Web
• Make It! Share It!
• X-Ray Goggles Kit
• Thimble Hacking Guide
• Popcorn Hacking Guide
• Thimble for Journalists

Templates

Want to create your own Activity Kits? Use our templates

• Make a Kit
• Hackable Goals
• Hackable Activity
• Hackable Resources
• Hackable Profile
• Webmaker Starter Make Templates

How to request Webmaker swag

You can request Webmaker stickers, t-shirts and tablecloths that you can use at your events. There are differently swag packages depending on your event size. Please allow for 1-2 weeks for delivery. You'll need a link for your event and a shipping address.

• Request swag for your party!

Advertise your Maker Party

• List your Maker Party on our global events platform.
• Remix and build a webby invitation to your party.
• Have you and your guests create web pages for the stuff they made.
• Email Template

Logos and visual assets

Useful graphics assets for branding or co-branding your events:

• Maker Party logo
• Maker Party wordmark
• Maker Party banner
• Maker Party email graphic
• Maker Party brand palette
• Maker Party animated GIFs
• more Maker Party assets

Connect with our content, make your own, and get featured!

• Create your own Maker Party projects and content.(coming soon)
• Create and share teaching guides, resources and party favors. (coming soon)
• Report back on your Maker Party events. (coming soon)
• Submit Makes/Projects to Webmaker.org and get them featured. See below for details.

How to get your Makes featured

To give the best Maker Party outputs the attention they deserve, whether these Makes are created on Popcorn, Thimble or XRay Goggles, our Content Team will crawl through the Maker Party world each day to find the next best thing — so if you or one of your constituents have something you'd like us to share with a wide and diverse set of audiences, let us know by tagging it with the hashtag #webmakerwin on Tumblr, Twitter, Popcorn or Thimble. Details on each type of submission are below:

• On Thimble, add the line <meta content=”webmakerwin” name=”webmaker:tags”> to the <meta> part of your page HTML (this should be somewhere at the top!)
• On Popcorn, tag the project “webmakerwin” under the ‘Publish’ tab when you save it
• On Twitter and Tumblr, tweet the URL of your #makerparty Make using the tag #webmakerwin so we can find and RT it!

Need a bit of mentoring, need help starting to build a Make? The Content Team will also be available throughout Maker Party for those who need a bit of creative inspiration in the form of templates, example Makes, online tutorials and in-person Webmaker demo sessions. To get in touch, feel free to ping them in the Mozilla IRC (Freenode) channel “#makesmiths” or on the Makesmiths Google+ Group.

Spread the word

Our goal this summer is to work together to create a global movement of Makers learning, creating and sharing new things with the world online. No one organization can do it alone - but we won't have to! By sharing our event info, blog posts, photos, and the inspiring creations our follower build - we will create a compelling worldwide Call to Action that moves consumers of the web into makers of the web. In turn, by sharing your Makes and creative Maker Party outputs above, we'll make sure your hard work gets the kudos it deserves!

How can you help us spread the word? It's easy! Here are a few quick ways you can help:

• Show it off. Post the Maker Party Logo on your website. Don't forget to link it back to the Maker Party!
• Brag. Tell the world what you're doing as a part of the Maker Party. Don't know how? Use this quick paragraph as a guide. Need more words? We have a full list of talking points to use this summer. And don't forget to share your best work using the #webmakerwin tag so we can share it too.
• Tweet about it. Use the hashtag #MakerParty when you're talking about events! And check out our full best practices guide for more help with social media.
• Tell your friends! Send an email to your list announcing what you're doing as a part of the party—and inviting all of them to join. Looking for the right words? Use this Sample Email Template to send an invitation to your list.
• Promote your events. Need help doing press around your events? Check out our handy press kit for a guide.

• Still have more questions? Check out our full Maker Party communications guide: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Maker_Party/Communications.

What's next?

Maker Party runs from June to September, but Mozilla’s hope is to build a lasting network of people around the world who want to teach people web literacy and digital skills. In September, we’ll be inviting mentors and local organizers to stay involved in Webmaker -- including participating in the 2013 Mozilla Festival in London this October, opportunities for continued online mentoring, local organizing, and a chance to shape where we take the Webmaker program in 2014. In many ways, Maker Party is a kickoff for these lasting activities.