Community Days | FAQs

Communitydays.org is a one stop shop website for listing events that focus on products in the Microsoft ecosystem. It includes both free and paid events hosted by community members or produced by third party community producers. The Communitydays.org site is created and administrated by members of the community and supported by Microsoft.

Communitydays.org is a part of the Microsoft Global Community Initiative (MGCI), see below for more information about MGCI.

Community Days events are organized by the community and supported by Microsoft and partner organizations. We believe in openness and inclusion, so our events come in all shapes and sizes, taking place all over the world.

Yes, absolutely! We encourage community members, hosts, organizers, and producers to submit events both locally to your area, hybrid, virtual or global to our list. If you know about an upcoming event that you think would be of interest to our community, please use the "Create Event" button on our website to add it to our list.

We review all submissions and aim to keep our list up-to-date with the latest community events happening around the world. By sharing your event with us, you can help connect with like-minded individuals and organizations, and contribute to building a vibrant and inclusive community.

Submission criteria:

• The Event lasts four hours or more. Currently typical user group meetings are not approved for the communitydays.org site.
• Events should be technical skilling in nature, they should not be sales pitches by vendors.
• Events listed on Communitydays.org need to have a written and displayed code of conduct by the organizers for their events.

Community Days submissions are reviewed by the Community Days management team and when necessary, the MGCI community board. All events are subject to approval and may be denied if they do not fit the criteria above on a case-by-case basis.

Our team tries to review event submissions within 1-2 business days. If we require additional information or have any questions about your submission, we will reach out to you directly via email.

Once your event has been approved, it will be available to all community members. We recommend submitting your event as early as possible to ensure enough time to review and that community members have ample time to plan to attend.

To provide as many event listings as possible to the community, we support the addition of both free and paid events on our site. To determine how an event is classified, we use the following criteria: events that cost $20 or less are considered free events, while events that cost more than $20 are considered paid events. This helps to ensure that our community members can easily identify which events are free and which ones require payment.

Our goal is to be as inclusive as possible, and we believe that providing information about both free and paid events can help achieve that goal. So, whether you are looking for a free event to attend or are willing to pay for a unique experience, we have got you covered. Check out our list of community events today and find something that interests you!

The name of your event is up to you, the only restriction is each event must have a unique title. Too many characters may impact the display experience of your event to community members. Examples of event titles include "Community Days" Los Angeles, M365 Community Days Zionville, or Power Platform Community Days Atlanta. You do not need to include the moniker of Community Days at all.

All events listed on this site can use the logo on our Media page to identify as a Community Days event for promotional purposes.

Yes, we have vector graphics available for download on our Media page.

No, the organizers of the Community Days site are not involved with every event listed. Our site was created as a way to help people find local events in their communities after the closure of SPSEvents.org (the non-profit website that supported SharePoint Saturdays event for two decades).

The site was designed, built and is maintained by Thomas Daly, a Microsoft 365 Apps & Services MVP, with the help of several volunteers and the support of Microsoft. Without the contributions of our volunteers, the design, creation, and testing of various parts of the website would not have been possible.

We welcome any feedback on the site and are always looking for more volunteers to help us improve it. If you are interested in getting involved, please reach out to us. No contribution is too small.

We are hosting monthly training for event producers via the Microsoft Global Community Initiative (MGCI). If you would like to join please sign up at https://aka.ms/MGCISignUp and be a part of those meetings to gain access to helpful templates.

There are several registration systems available for running a conference type event, some of which are:

• Eventbrite - A popular event registration platform that allows organizers to create customized registration pages, manage ticket sales, and promote the event.
• Ticket Spice - An online ticketing and event registration platform known for its transparent fee structure, allowing organizers to sell tickets for various events with a flat fee per ticket, simplifying cost management.
• Meetup - An online platform that allows organizers to create and promote events, connect with attendees, and manage event registration and RSVPs.
• Microsoft Forms - A tool that enables organizers to create and manage online forms for collecting user registration data for events.

Visit the Virtual event Playbook @ aka.ms/VirtualEventPlaybook

CommunityDays.org integrates with Sessionize through an API key. This integration allows our site to provide an integrated experience using our custom display and calendaring solution.

Note: When you are generating your Sessionize API key, in the Format section, you must select 'JSON (coding required)' and NOT any of the other formats. The Community Days site requires the raw json data.

If you are having issues with your Sessionize.com API key, please check out the following blog articles.

• Creating a Sessionize Key for Community Days
• Community Days / Sessionize Key Deep Dive

The Sessionize Playbook is a comprehensive guide for conference organizers who want to create successful events. It covers various topics such as how to set goals and objectives, how to select speakers, how to promote the event, and how to handle logistics.

The playbook also includes tips on how to use technology to enhance the conference experience, how to measure success, and how to build a community around the event. Overall, it provides a roadmap for organizers to plan and execute a memorable and impactful conference.

Check out the Sessionize Playbook for more details.

Visit the MVP lookup tool @ Find an MVP (microsoft.com)

Check out the speaker board for a listing of active speakers from Sessionize.

Yes, a member of our Microsoft Global Community Initiative support team can help you inquire about Microsoft event facilities.

Fill out the Microsoft Facility Request Form @ aka.ms/MSFacilityRequest and one of our board members will get back to you in 2-3 business days. Microsoft facilities usually require a full-time Microsoft employee to be on-site during the entire event and there are costs for AV, security, food/beverage, etc. depending on the venue. The details can be discussed directly with the event management.

Do you host a call regarding community, products, or a special interest group regarding the Microsoft ecosystem? The new Calls area of CommunityDays.org includes a calendar and details for calls led by both Community members and Microsoft Community teams. All calls should be technical skilling in nature. No sales pitches, please.

The Calls area on CommunityDays.org is a great place to amplify your calls to other like-minded individuals to join in your conversations.

COMING SOON - You can add a call just like you add events through the authoring tool. If your call requires registration, we highlight that as well as an option for attendees.

The Microsoft Global Community Initiative (MGCI) Advisory Board, Regional Leaders and Microsoft Steering Committee operationally support this site.

MGCI is a global initiative led by Microsoft to bring internal Microsoft employees who work on community teams and all who are interested in products in the Microsoft ecosystem together. MGCI has an appointed board and elected regional leaders from the community.

MGCI is a community of practice where we share best practices on community programming, engagement as well as training and guidance on how to run local community events. Learn more about the initiative and join us for our monthly meetings and newsletter. https://aka.ms/MGCI.

If you're interested in becoming more involved in community events, joining the Microsoft Global Community Initiative (MGCI) is a great way to get started.

As a member of the MGCI, you'll have access to a variety of resources and tools to help you get started with organizing your own event or collaborating with others to make events happen in your community. Join us today and discover the value of being part of a vibrant and inclusive community! Membership in MGCI is open to all through a sign-up form. Once the submission is complete you will receive an email within three business days inviting you to join our MGCI community.