Thank you to the folks at Sustain for providing the hosting account for CHAOSSCast!

CHAOSScast – Episode 104

In this episode of CHAOSScast, join our host Harmony along with guests Winifred Young and Oluchi Nwankwo as they dive into their journeys and experiences in the open source community. They discuss their first encounters with open source, their contributions, and the impacts they've made within CHAOSS Africa. They also highlight the importance of effective onboarding, clear documentation, and the need for better marketing strategies in open source communities. Press download to hear more!

[00:00:24] Winifred and Oluchi introduce themselves and tell us what they do.

[00:01:55] Winifred recounts her initial confusion about open source and her eventual engagement through programs like Google Summer of Code.

[00:02:53] Oluchi describes her introduction to open source during a coding bootcamp and meeting Ruth Ikegah, community lead at CHAOSS Africa.

[00:04:52] Oluchi talks about her slow start and eventual active involvement in the CHAOSS Africa community through managing social media.

[00:06:50] Winifred shares her struggles with joining the community due to her mobility issues and how she became more involved through attending community meetings.

[00:09:28] Harmony highlights the importance of attending community meetings as a form of participation and praises newcomers’ hangout for helping new members.

[00:11:13] Oluchi reflects on her impactful experience managing CHAOSS Africa’s conference communications in 2018.

[00:13:07] Winifred discusses organizing an outreach event for the Disability-Inclusion team, emphasizing how open source has provided her with opportunities to lead and make a difference.

[00:16:14] We end with a discussion on the areas for improvement in the community, like better documentation and increased visibility of projects through effective marketing.

Value Adds (Picks) of the week:

[00:19:50] Oluchi’s pick is to make that switch and see yourself flourish.
[00:20:23] Winifred’s pick is to learn how your brain works and don’t be shy to ask for help.
[00:21:06] Harmony’s pick is to just take the risk.