[Gsoc-orga] Youthmappers and Google Summer of Code

[Sarah Hoffmann]

Hi Patricia,

thank you for your insights. That sounds all very good to me. I'd say
let's try with the email message and see how much response that gets. We
don't have a mail ready yet but will draft something in the next couple
of days. We'd probably need a slightly different appraoch if we are
targeting the presidents/mentors. I'll discuss this with my fellow orga
members.

I'll also make sure to point you to our tweets once the official
announcement is out. That's always a good way to spread the word.

Kind regards

Sarah

On Sat, Jan 28, 2023 at 09:32:59PM +0000, Patricia Solis wrote:
> Hello Sarah,
> 
> Thank you for your kind and encouraging words.
> 
> What a great idea about the GSOC! I do know about it but did not make the connection that there were OSM opportunities there. I agree that we can make the YouthMappers students aware. Generally there are two ways we disseminate information of this nature: one is through a message to them via email (sent to me, where I forward) to the Officers listserv. These are the presidents and/or mentors and/or communication officers of each chapter.
> 
> We also share a lot of details out on the twitterverse. That makes it’s way around.
> 
> There are a few additional communications means, like via OSM Teams (which is not everyone yet, just those who have agreed to send their OSM Username, still about 2,000 students); and there are Whatsapp channels, a Telegram channel, facebook page, linked in page etc. Which are all fine and just a way to repeat messaging.
> 
> We also have a blog – this is written by students – so if there happens to be a student who participated in the past whether a YouthMappers member or not, we would welcome sharing their voice in this way, too.
> 
> Let me know if any of this strikes you as interesting. If you have a ready made message, that is great. We send messages in several languages, but find that hitting English, Spanish and French are the best ways to reach nearly everyone.
> 
> Thanks again,
> Patricia
> 
> 
> From: Sarah Hoffmann <lonvia at denofr.de>
> Date: Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 4:28 AM
> To: Patricia Solis <patricia.solis at asu.edu>
> Cc: gsoc-orga at openstreetmap.org <gsoc-orga at openstreetmap.org>
> Subject: Youthmappers and Google Summer of Code
> Hi Patricia,
> 
> thank you a lot for your presentation at the OSMF board meeting. I
> really like what Youthmappers are trying to achieve as it reminds me very
> much of the spirit of "just doing what is interesting" in the early days
> of mapping in Europe.
> 
> I don't know if you are already aware of the Google Summer of Code
> programme (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/__;!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!bJeanValC0onCq6FRsO8ulksdDb91BXqHYTqZt8yGgg_3MUy93V62cAahoYB-2waNICUhoHgvADvvucd6a-y$ ). It tries to introduce
> students to the ways of Open Source. OpenStreetMap has been
> participating in the programme as a mentor organisation almost
> continually since 2006. The results have been mixed. We had some good
> outcomes but many projects just died after the programme. Despite that
> we think that the goal of teaching students how contribution to open
> source works, is worthwhile.
> 
> One of the main issues we had over the years is that most of the
> students participating had never contributed to OSM before. This usually
> means that they have a double learning curve: understanding the OSM
> community and the software project they contribute to. But it also means
> that the rate of people we retained is rather low.
> 
> Which brings me to why I'm writing to you. Listening to your
> presentation I realised that you have access to a large pool of
> enthusiastic students that have already been introduced to the OSM
> community. Exactly what we are looking for. So we really should reach
> out explicitly to them.
> 
> We are still in the early process of application for GSOC 2023.
> Organisation application ends this week and we'll only know by end of
> February if we have been accepted. That is also when students can start
> to apply. Nonetheless, now would be a good time to remind students that
> GSOC exists, so they can look into projects and make up their mind if
> they want to participate. What do you think is the best means to reach
> Youthmapper students?
> 
> Looking forward to your thoughts.
> 
> Sarah