Hackathons/Before you start planning

Organizing an event like the yearly large Wikimedia Hackathon, is a lot of work and requires substantial commitment but it is a great experience. You will be supported by the WMF team and enthusiastic collaborators from all over the world. A Wikimedia Hackathon is a team effort that will keep you, your team, and your community busy for more than a year.

If you are thinking about hosting a Wikimedia Hackathon in the future, here's how to get started:

Phase #1: Draft a vision

 * Attend a Wikimedia Hackathon
 * ... If you haven't already! Get inspired and pay special attention to the organizers' work.


 * Talk about your thoughts with other organizers and hackathon-experienced Wikimedians
 * All of this will give you a good idea of whether you are ready to host a hackathon.


 * Ask yourself "Why do we even want to do all this work?"
 * By asking yourself a couple of tough questions, you can get a clear vision of if – and if yes, why – you would want to plan an event: Event planning process (Related Learning Pattern: Learning patterns/Event planning process)


 * Learn the definition of a Wikimedia Hackathon
 * Understand what is required of every hackathon (and think about which special things you would want to do.)

Phase #2: Discuss with your team and community

 * Get familiar with the timeline
 * Make a rough plan: Would this work in the following year, or the one after? Check with your team and community if it would be possible.


 * Flip through the handbook for organizers
 * Skim the articles to get an idea of the individual tasks you have to organize.


 * Check out how the organizers of previous hackathons did it
 * Learn from previous events and build on previous organizer's lessons learned.

Phase #3: Propose!

 * If you still want to do this, you are ready to propose a hackathon!