- ENSURE you apply for your Meetup to be approved. You met otherLocal Guides through this forum, it is only proper that the Admins give a nod to your Meet. Submit Meetup here.
- NAVIGATE the Meetup point and places you will be visiting. Ensure you ‘have a hang’ of the area before the Meetup day.
- DISCUSS only topics relevant to the Local Guides program; Accessibility, Clean the world, Local businesses, Food Crawl, Map Editing; etc. You can find some of those topics here; content guidelines
- SCREEN your attendees. When possible, screen your attendees. Create forms, make people do R.S.V.P., send details of Meeting only to those who complete the R.S.V.P. and you are sure of. I did that for a couple of my Meetups; M.E.L.T. and T.I.P. This is partucularly relevant when you don’t live in an Advanced country.
- MEET in a place that is already existing on the Maps and in a place you are sure other people will be. From the point, you can proceeed to visit other places.
- CONNECT with your Attendees before the Meetup, either; via Connect, Social Media, the various Local Guides group, VIRTUAL MEETUPS. This is important as you get to know the ‘VIBE’ the person is ‘bringing to the table’. You know the sound of their voice, how they look, how they reason, the Local Guides Topics they are passionate about.
This is not an exhaustive list, you can add yours in the comment. Think safety at all times (especially when you do not live in an Advanced country) because the Local Guides Program is open to everyone, you just never can tell if there is someone lurking in the shadows. Stay vigilant at all times, keep your belongings yourself and always in your view.
Finally, go through the Local Guides Program rules. Local Guides are wonderful people, if we see something, we say something, I have said mine.
