WordCamps run fully on volunteer energy. Toine Rademacher went from curious attendee to badge-wearing crew member at WordCamp Netherlands 2025. Right here’s what these three days truly seemed like, and why you would possibly need to enroll subsequent.
Volunteering at a WordCamp provides you front-row entry to talks, direct connections with audio system and organizers, and the sort of neighborhood expertise you merely can’t get from a daily ticket. It prices you just a few days. It provides you again a community, new expertise, and pals who’ll acknowledge you at each WordPress occasion after.
Toine Rademacher, a 27-year-old net designer and energetic Elementor neighborhood member, volunteered as a mic runner and doorkeeper at WordCamp Netherlands 2025 in Madurodam, The Hague. That is his story, structured across the three days that modified how he sees the WordPress neighborhood.
Who Is Toine?
Toine wears a number of hats within the WordPress ecosystem. He’s an internet designer by commerce, helps aged folks with digital expertise in his day job, and contributes as a Polyglot (translator) to the Dutch translations of each WordPress and Elementor. He attended his first NL WordCamp in 2024, adopted it up with WordCamp Europe in Basel, and determined that in 2025, he didn’t simply need to attend. He needed to contribute.
Day 0: Arrival and the Volunteer Dinner
Toine arrived on the Leonardo Royal Resort in The Hague round 13:00, sharing a room with fellow volunteer Charlotte Bax to separate prices. Earlier than the official kickoff, he did what any self-respecting Dutchman would do: cycled to Scheveningen for a seashore stroll and a broodje haring. You’re not actually Dutch in case you skip the bike.
By 18:30, the volunteer meet-and-greet was underway. Richard and Daniel had already sorted lots of of badges, prepared for distribution. Lead coordinator Richard walked the workforce via the constructing, defined roles, and ran via the logistics. At 19:00, the complete group dinner at Madurodam introduced collectively organizers, volunteers, sponsors, and audio system, giving everybody an opportunity to fulfill the crew you’d be working alongside for the subsequent two days.
Toine wound down the night within the resort sauna, recharging earlier than the true work started.
The important thing takeaway from Day 0? The volunteer expertise begins earlier than the convention does. By the point doorways open, you already know the workforce, the venue, and your position. You’re not a stranger serving to out. You’re a part of the crew.
Day 1: Soaking It All In
Toine’s volunteer shift didn’t begin till Day 2, so Day 1 was about experiencing WordCamp as a well-connected insider.
He arrived at 08:00 to lend his digicam to one of many occasion photographers. Doorways opened at 09:00, and the day kicked off with Wendy’s opening remarks and a chat on shopper retention.
From there, the day unfolded on the convention ground. Atanas, a speaker Toine had met the yr earlier than in a shared hostel room, was now commanding the principle stage with a chat on AI-era WordPress improvement. Within the sponsor space, conversations went properly past merchandise, overlaying all the pieces from web optimization plugin debates to life exterior WordPress. Cheryl delivered a session on design pondering that shifted the dialog from “making issues fairly” to actively co-thinking with shoppers.
When the official program wrapped, the true networking kicked in. After-hours drinks led to offers, collaborations, and (naturally) spirited debates about the perfect web page builder.
That night, Toine joined a dinner with the organizing committee, having expressed his curiosity in stepping as much as an organizer position for 2026, the layer above volunteering that handles programming, sponsorship, and occasion logistics.
Day 2: The Volunteer Shift
The alarm went off at 07:00. Toine cycled via the morning dew to Madurodam, arriving at 08:00 for his briefing. His position for the day: mic runner and doorkeeper for Observe 1, from 09:00 to 17:00.
The job is extra bodily than you’d anticipate. Mic operating means sprinting via the viewers handy the microphone to attendees with questions. Doorkeeping means ensuring classes begin on time by managing entry and shutting doorways as soon as talks start. After which there’s the improvised troubleshooting, leaping in when laptops received’t join or audio cuts out. Sporting the recognizable “localhost” volunteer shirt, Toine was straightforward to identify and always in movement.
The classes he supported have been various. Joost de Valk and Karim offered FAIR, a decentralized WordPress plugin repository first introduced at WCEU Basel. Acato and Yard, two competing Utrecht companies, took the stage collectively to current Open Webconcept, a second that carried additional weight for Toine, who had studied at one and utilized for an internship on the different. Maaike van Gerven explored behavioral UX and why responding to habits issues greater than pure design. Mark’s speak on AI MCP in WordPress 6.9 generated so many viewers questions that Toine was operating continuous with the mic. The day closed with lightning talks, together with Taco’s session on getting your web site into the highlight via the Web site Highlight collection.
For the closing remarks, the organizing workforce thanked volunteers, sponsors (together with Elementor), and everybody who made the occasion occur. Then got here the group photograph, the entire crowd captured in entrance of Madurodam’s miniature Netherlands.
Why Volunteering Is Value Your Time
Toine sums it up merely: it was among the finest selections he’s made locally.
You’re actually sitting in prime place throughout each speak in your observe. Handing somebody a mic seems to be a surprisingly efficient icebreaker with audio system. You meet organizers, sponsors, different volunteers, and audio system in contexts that common attendees by no means get entry to. And on a sensible stage, volunteer expertise at a global neighborhood occasion like WordPress stands out on any CV or portfolio.
Most of all, it’s genuinely enjoyable. After-parties, inside jokes, spontaneous conversations. It feels extra like a pal group than work.
We Love WordCamps!
Elementor is deeply embedded within the WordCamp ecosystem. As a Tremendous Admin Sponsor of WordCamp Asia 2026 (Mumbai, April 2026) and a constant presence at WordCamp Europe and WordCamp US, Elementor maintains cubicles at main WordCamps throughout the globe, in addition to many native occasions.
For Elementor neighborhood members, volunteering at a WordCamp is likely one of the most direct methods to characterize the neighborhood and present what the Elementor ecosystem is fabricated from. The Elementor workforce is commonly current on the sales space, at after-parties, and at facet occasions, so it’s a pure option to join nose to nose. You may mix volunteering with Polyglot contributions for WordPress and Elementor, identical to Toine does. And you’ll share your story: Toine reported on WordCamp Netherlands on behalf of Elementor, fully as a volunteer.
Tips on how to Volunteer at a WordCamp
Prepared to enroll? Right here’s the way it works.
Discover a WordCamp Close to You
Browse upcoming occasions at events.wordpress.org or the WordCamp schedule for a full checklist of WordCamps worldwide. Main occasions on the horizon embrace WordCamp Asia 2026 in Mumbai, India (April 2026), WordCamp Europe 2026 (date and placement TBA), WordCamp US 2026 in Phoenix, AZ (at present in planning), and WordCamp Netherlands 2026 (anticipated This fall 2026).
Necessities
The bar is refreshingly low. Based on WordCamp Europe and WordCamp US, you want a willingness to assist (no particular {qualifications} required), conversational English (although native occasions might use the native language), a WordPress.org account to your free volunteer ticket and communication with the organizing workforce, and sufficient time to commit not less than two half-days or one full day in the course of the occasion, relying on the duties you tackle.
Apply
Every WordCamp publishes a “Name for Volunteers” web page with an software type on its web site. Attain out early, as a result of volunteer spots refill, particularly at flagship occasions like WCEU and WCUS. You may point out which roles curiosity you, whether or not that’s registration, mic operating, images, tech assist, or one thing else fully.
What You Get
Each volunteer receives a free ticket to the WordCamp, volunteer swag (normally a particular t-shirt), meals and drinks in the course of the occasion, and entry to volunteer-only occasions just like the pre-conference dinner and after-parties. However the true perk is the community, one which carries over to each future WordPress occasion you attend.
Obtainable Volunteer Roles
WordCamps provide a variety of roles to match totally different expertise and luxury ranges. You would possibly end up on the registration and welcome desk, greeting attendees and handing out badges. Or operating a mic via the viewers throughout Q&A classes. Doorkeepers handle session room entry and preserve talks on schedule, whereas room managers and MCs introduce audio system and preserve this system flowing. Different roles embrace images, tech assist for audio and video gear, sponsor assist for sales space setup and logistics, roving assist for normal troubleshooting, and speaker help to assist presenters put together and get arrange.
What Toine Would Inform You
“Should you’re doubting whether or not volunteering at a WordCamp is for you, I can solely say one factor: do it. You’ll get vitality, expertise, new pals, and unforgettable reminiscences in return.”
Toine is already planning his return for WordCamp Netherlands 2026, probably as an organizer this time. His trajectory, from first-time attendee in 2024 to volunteer in 2025 to potential organizer in 2026, is strictly the sort of progress path the WordPress neighborhood is designed to assist.
Your WordCamp journey begins with one step. Make it a volunteer badge.
Need to keep up to date on Elementor’s WordCamp presence and neighborhood occasions? Comply with us and be part of the dialog: https://elemn.to/fb
