So firstly for those who may be unfamilar with a Global Jam  and what it’s all about.  The Ubuntu Global Jam (UGJ) is a a world-wide online and face-to-face event to get people together to fix Ubuntu bugs – we want to get as many people online fixing bugs, having a great time doing so.  This is not only a great opportunity to really help Ubuntu, but to also get together with other your team mates and work on things as a group and help one another.

This year the  Ubuntu Global Jam will take place over the weekend of  27th – 29th August and it’s a great opportunity to work  together to improve Ubuntu. Everyone is able to contribute to the Jam, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to get involved. It’s for all levels so don’t be put off thinking it’s only about development and looking at bugs for the weekend, there are loads of areas to help.

The Ubuntu Global Jam incorporates events that have been organized over the world to get Ubuntu contributors and fans together to have a great time and improve Ubuntu. Each event has one or more of our themes:

• Bugs – finding, triaging and fixing bugs.
• Testing – testing the new release and reporting your feedback.
• Upgrade – upgrading to Maverick from Lucid and reporting your upgrade experience.
• Documentation – writing documentation about how to use Ubuntu and how to join the community.
• Translations – translating Ubuntu and helping to make it available in everyone’s local language.
• Packaging – work on Ubuntu packages and improve them.
• Other – other types of contribution such as marketing and advocacy etc.

So what do you need to do to have a UGJ – a venue where you can meet up, suggestions for places to work on are a library room which many will donate free, a coffee shop will often oblige.  Having them in colleges  class rooms are ideal as many are closed for the summer.  Have one in a friends house, just remember to bring something to say thanks!  Don’t be put off if you are having a problem finding a place, you can always join people remotely on your loco irc channel or on #ubuntu-locoteams.

Remember not everyone will have experience in areas, try and help them, use this weekend as an opportunity to help you team learn how they can help with Ubuntu.  If there is someone who likes writing documentation or is good at proof reading manuals, get them to help with your loco wiki, or pick a part of the Ubuntu wiki and work on that as a team.  Encourage your team members to help and mentor others, break into groups and work on things together.  Work still gets done and confidence builds up for future events.

WE have create the Ubuntu Global Jam event on the LoCo Directory - There are at present over 142 teams located on the LoCo directory and only 8 teams have added their events! So lets see if we can get more events on there!   This is a Global event! Lets spread the word and get everyone involved! Join us in #ubuntu-locoteams during the weekend