FAQs about being an organizer and the Call for Locations

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Information architecture is not well understood in my community. How do I explain it?
In the Resources section of our guidebook, we have included a short article written by Abby Covert. We find her language to be helpful when explaining Information Architecture to people with varying levels of familiarity with the discipline.
Selling Information Architecture
What does it mean to be a local organizer?
Each World IA Day celebration is hosted by one or more individuals. You will represent your location by leading a team and organizing the celebration.
Location organizers are in charge of all the details for the local celebration such as:
Securing a venue for the celebration. It could be a conference hall, an educational institution, or a coffee shop.
Curating presentations or other content that promote an understanding of IA preferably in the context of our selected global theme.
Funding the celebration. We encourage events of all sizes, shapes, and forms. From small informal gatherings to large conference-style events, it is up to you and what you feel will work in your community.
Leading a local team (including a photographer and videographer).
Marketing the celebration to your community.
Maintaining open communication and a participatory spirit with the global board and other organizers.
What is the time commitment?
It depends on the size of your celebration and how you structure your team. Some locations with larger celebrations spend on average about 40 hours per month. Other locations hold small gatherings which equate to 5 hours per month.
The commitment runs from July to March and in most cases we offer local organizers the opportunity to renew their commitment each year.
What qualities do you look for in a local organizer?
We are a community of like-minded professionals and enthusiasts who share the common goal of teaching, learning, and shaping the future of Information Architecture. We do this out of passion and not for financial gain. If this sounds like you, we encourage you to apply.
You may be the lead organizer for your WIAD event, but we highly recommend that you recruit a co-organizer and or a dynamic team of decision-makers to help you.  World IA Day is a community event where building communities, empowering leaders, and growing together have been our driving principles since the beginning. Having a co-organizer or team will strengthen your application.
Is the Call for Location application accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis?
Not necessarily. Each location has to reapply annually and we value the relationships we have built along the way. If more than one individual applies for the same location, we encourage collaboration but reserve the right to select organizers based on their existing contributions to the community at large.
Each location must have a unique organizer. We do not permit one person to run multiple celebrations.
My location is small. Can I still apply?
Yes. Events of any size are welcome. You may want to check last year's locations to see if there was a event nearby.
Can there be more than one event per location?
We encourage members of the community who have a shared interest in bringing World IA Day to their location to work together collaboratively. The general rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether another celebration in your region would cause competition for resources and attendees.
After I apply, how soon should I expect to hear from you?
We close our call for location on July 15. We expect to notify our selected location organizers by the end of July.
Are events always free?
We encourage our celebrations to remain free and open to anyone that can attend. However, because of the global nature of World IA Day, we understand there may be different needs within each community and are open to locations asking for a reasonable fee from attendees to help cover the expense of their celebration. 
We will ask that you inform the global board of how much you intend to charge for your event. Admission must always be affordable to all and the funds should go towards operating costs. 
The idea of World IA Day is to be sustainable, which is a different goal than to be profitable. If your event takes in more money than it costs to put on, the expectation is that "overage" goes back to the World IA Day development funds to help support next year's events: 
5% of your proceeds are applied to WIAD global 
the rest is saved for your location next year
Accepting money from sponsors
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What support should I expect as a local organizer?
World IA Day is supported by a dedicated team of volunteers. We are here for you and have structured our global board to help support locations around the world. 
Each location receives:
resources (e.g. brand assets, slides templates, sample marketing materials, a location page on our website, a location email address, etc.)
guidelines and learnings from other locations 
access to organiser channels on the World IA Day Discord
access to organiser mailing list for that year of WIAD events
Can I reach out to potential sponsors, venues, or speakers before applying?
Yes. Committed sponsors, venues, and speakers will strengthen your application. However, our expectation is that you are clear, explaining that you do not officially represent World IA Day and are applying to host an event in your location.
How does the global theme work? Do I have to use it?
Short answer: Yes.
Longer answer: Each year we ask local organizers to submit theme ideas and then the Global team collectively votes on submissions to select our annual theme. The theme serves as a common thread that connects all of our locations and should be integrated into the content of your event.
The process for selecting the global theme is two-part:
1.Organizers will get a chance to submit theme suggestions
2.Suggestions are then analyzed and consulted with WIAD governance board and advisors-at-large
If needed, we’ll have a vote. Regardless, the global theme is announced by the end of August at the very latest.
What happens if I am selected as a local organizer but I need to pass the role to someone else?
We allow transfers of location representation. You have the option to nominate someone else to take over your role (by email). Otherwise, your event will be no longer be listed as a participating location.
What happens if I need to add a co-organizer? 
More help, the merrier! Just let us know their name, email, and Discord ID and we'll help with the following: 
Add their name to the event page as a co-organizer on the website
Add their email  to the organizer mailing list
Add the organiser role to their profile on the World IA Day Discord
What happens if I am not able to organize an event? 
Very sorry to hear that. If you're unable to continue and are unable to find a replacement, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can start the off-boarding process. 
Status on Discord changes from organiser to alumni - You will still retain access to organizer channels in the Discord community. 
You will be unsubscribed from the organizer mailing list. 
Your event will be removed from the list of participating locations.