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Author: SethTisue

blog/_posts/2024-03-26-ambassadors-initiative.md

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 by: The Scala Center
-title: Announcing the Scala Ambassadors Initiative
-description: The initiave to recognize and empower community members who contribute back.
+title: Announcing the Scala Ambassadors initiative
+description: An initiative to recognize and support community members who contribute back.
 ---
-As mentioned in our [Roadmap for 2024](https://www.scala-lang.org/blog/2024/02/06/scala-center-2024-roadmap.html), in an effort to promote the positive image of Scala and to recognize the independent work of active community members who dedicate their time to giving back to the community, we are launching a new initiative called the Scala Ambassadors.
 
-With the Scala Ambassadors initiative, the Scala Center aims to provide and foster a space for the Ambassadors to help each other and discuss topics that arise in their community work. We will also offer our support by providing them with a platform in promoting their activities on the Scala Center's social media. This way, the Ambassadors will gain more visibility and their work will gain more reach.
+We are pleased to announce the launch of the Scala Ambassadors initiative.
 
-As an ordinary Scala user, the initiative is aimed to put the active and helpful individuals in the community on your radar. Whether you have a question about how to start speaking at a conference or organize a local meetup, or you're not sure about your next steps in Scala, they are the people to reach out to.
+This new effort aims to:
 
-Currently, we are in the process of selecting and onboarding the first group of Ambassadors. Stay tuned for more information about the Scala Ambassadors initiative and the Ambassadors themselves!
+* strengthen the Scala community
+* promote a positive image of Scala
+* recognize and support the independent work of active community members who volunteer time to growing the community
 
-You can find more details and the list of ambassadors [here](https://scala-lang.org/ambassadors).
+## What are Ambassadors? 🤔
+
+Ambassadors are leaders and key figures in the Scala community.
+
+Ambassadors have volunteered to work with the Scala Center and the community to:
+
+* help newcomers learn Scala and become part of the community
+* improve communication between everyone involved with Scala
+* aid and support each other's efforts
+
+Ambassadors are encouraged to:
+
+* Be present whenever possible at their local community events
+* Start new community events if they aren't already happening
+* Be visible to other community members as Ambassadors
+* Be perceived by the other community members as go-to people to find high quality answers to Scala-related questions
+* Relay community feedback to the Scala organization
+
+## Ask an Ambassador! 🙋
+
+How can Ambassadors help you, as a Scala user?
+
+We aim to put active and helpful individuals, both locally and online, on your radar.
+
+Whether you have a question about how to start speaking at a conference or organize a local meetup, or you're not sure about your next steps in Scala, these are people you can reach out to.
+
+## Empowering Ambassadors 💪
+
+The Scala Center will provide and foster a space for the Ambassadors to help each other and discuss topics that arise in their community work.
+
+We will also support them by promoting their activities on the Scala organization's social media. This way, the Ambassadors will gain more visibility and their work will gain more reach.
+
+## Launching 🚀
+
+The Center selects Ambassadors who have:
+
+* Strong knowledge of Scala and its community
+* A positive track record of activity in the community -- conferences, meetups, forums, chat rooms, open source projects, and so on
+* No track record of unprofessional behavior
+
+Currently, we are in the process of selecting and onboarding the first group of Ambassadors. A few of them are already listed here:
+
+* [Scala Ambassadors page](https://scala-lang.org/ambassadors)
+
+At the moment the list is short, but we aim to make it much longer in the coming weeks and months.
+
+Stay tuned for more information about the Scala Ambassadors initiative and the Ambassadors themselves! This is only our first blog post on the subject.
+
+## Becoming an Ambassador 🪴
+
+We'll cover this in a subsequent blog post.
+
+## Background 📔
+
+The Ambassadors initiative was first publicly mentioned in the Center's [Roadmap for 2024](https://www.scala-lang.org/blog/2024/02/06/scala-center-2024-roadmap.html), which we invite you to peruse if you haven't seen it already.
+
+The initiative first took concrete shape at [Scalar 2024](https://www.scalar-conf.com) in Warsaw. Thanks to the conference organiers and to everyone who participated in these discussions.