first-draft

pages/blog/2024-february-summary.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+title: "Community Update: February 2024"
+date: 2024-03-04T06:00:00+01:00
+type: Communication
+tags:
+  - Project Status
+cover: /img/posts/2024-blog-banner/blog-banner-february.webp
+authors:
+  - name: Thulisile Sibanda
+    photo: /img/avatars/thulieblack.webp
+    link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/v-thulisile-sibanda/
+    byline: AsyncAPI Community Manager
+excerpt: 'Community update for February'
+featured: true
+---
+
+We are starting the year off with a bang as we got accepted to the [Google Summer of Code 2024](https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/programs/2024/organizations/asyncapi) program after two years of rejections. It is an incredible achievement for the community, and we wouldn't have done it without our Doc's Lead,  [Alejandra Quetzalli](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandra-quetzalli/), who crafted an excellent proposal, and [Elegbede Azeez](https://twitter.com/_acebuild). We are very excited to have received this opportunity, and you can read [the AsyncAPI Project Ideas Page](https://github.com/asyncapi/community/blob/master/mentorship/summerofcode/2024/asyncapi-gsoc-ideas-page.md) for in-depth details on participating projects.
+
+## AsyncAPI Conf on Tour 2024
+The planning of AACoT'24 is already underway as we prepare for our first conference in Helsinki on the 28th - 29th of May. We are putting in the final touches to update our conference website with the latest details, and we will soon announce the Call for Speakers. In the meantime, be sure to start crafting those proposals and get ready to share your expertise with the community.
+
+## Financial Sponsors
+We are thrilled to share that the initiative has secured new sponsors who generously paid for the entire year in advance. We welcome [Postman](https://www.postman.com/) as a gold sponsor, who contributed $12,000, and [HiveMQ](https://www.hivemq.com/), our silver sponsor, who gave $6,000. For more information about our financial budget, please [refer to the 2024 Budget discussion](https://github.com/orgs/asyncapi/discussions/1017).
+
+## Community Discussions
+We have important discussions that require the community's attention:
+
+- ### Marketing Activities 
+  We need to invest in marketing efforts this year, and as the first initial step, we have secured a budget of $24,000. The next step now is to find a workaround to achieve this goal. If you have experience or have insights on how we can spend and efficiently boost our marketing aspects, please [join the Marketing Activities discussion](https://github.com/orgs/asyncapi/discussions/1062).  
+- ### Doc's Project Ideas for GSoD'24
+  Google Season of Docs 2024 is now open, and we plan to participate again this year. We are currently gathering project proposals for our application, and if you have ideas on areas we should improve or focus on in our documentation, please [propose new docs project ideas in the community discussion](https://github.com/orgs/asyncapi/discussions/1069). 
+- ### Sovereign Tech Fund Application
+  The [Sovereign Tech Fund](https://www.sovereigntechfund.de/) is opening its applications for open-source organizations in Q2. We have some ideas and areas we should focus on for the application, such as CI/CD infrastructure. Be sure to [join the Sovereign Tech Fund discussion](https://github.com/orgs/asyncapi/discussions/1073) if you want to collaborate or share application ideas.
+- ### Code of Conduct Draft Update
+  The AsyncAPI Code of Conduct Committee is halfway through updating the current Code of Conduct to the latest version. They have created some documents that explain the procedures and guidelines that the CoC Committee will use to enforce the Code of Conduct. You can glimpse [the updated Code of Conduct draft by checking the work-in-progress pull requests](https://github.com/asyncapi/community/issues/994).
+- ### Cupid is Looking For Maintainers
+  We're on the lookout for maintainers for the AsyncAPI Cupid. The library focuses on finding and analyzing the relationships between AsyncAPI documents. If you're well-versed in Event-Driven Architecture and AsyncAPI, please [join the Cupid repository discussion](https://github.com/asyncapi/cupid/issues/182) and help us drive its development.
+- ### AsyncAPI Working Groups
+  We are finally officializing working groups throughout the AsyncAPI community. A working group will be a community where people share similar interests beyond GitHub repositories. You can read the [Working Groups docs](https://github.com/asyncapi/community/blob/master/WORKING_GROUPS.md) or view the [Working Group public discussion](https://github.com/orgs/asyncapi/discussions/1037) for more comprehensive details.
+
+## Coming in March
+- **AACoT'24 Helsinki Call for Speakers** - We will announce our Call for Speakers for AACoT'24 Helsinki by the first week of March. Start crafting those proposals and get ready to submit them.
+- **AsyncAPI Community Updates Newsletter** - The March Edition issue will drop on the 6th. Make sure [you're subscribed to the AsyncAPI Newsletter](https://www.asyncapi.com/newsletter); you don't want to miss out!