Introducing supported meet-ups in limited markets

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Caption: An illustration of Local Guides walking around the Local Guides pin while doing different activities, such as talking, taking picture and holding some food with buildings in the background.

This year, we expanded Connect Live to include 200 Local Guides from around the world, and we hosted smaller Connect Live events in cities around the world to bring the magic of Local Guides to more community members. 

Today, we’re excited to launch a pilot program that will provide financial and promotional support to a handful of Local Guides to host meet-ups in their own cities! This means even more Local Guides can now connect with one another in person to celebrate your shared passion: helping others to discover new places thanks to your contributions to Google Maps. 

We’re testing this program with a few hosts this year. In the coming months we'll be sharing more information about our meet-up hosts and where their events will be. 

We bet you have a lot of questions, so keep reading!

What does “supported” mean? It means we’ll be providing limited funds to help enhance a meet-up. Funds vary per city and meet-up, and can go toward the costs of a meet-up; things like food, beverages or swag. We will also be emailing select Local Guides who have consistently contributed to Google Maps in the city where the supported meet-up is being hosted to give them the first chance to RSVP.

How can I get Google to support my meet-up?

We are not accepting volunteers or nominations for supported meet-ups right now, but should that change, we will let you know. In the meantime, we recommend being consistently active in contributing to both Google Maps and your local community with meet-ups. 

How will I know if a meet-up is supported?

If a meet-up is supported, the event description will include this information, but you can also see the meet-up posts and recaps here in Connect. To make it easier for you to catch up on past events, we’ll also share links to those posts at the bottom of this post. 

How did you pick the supported meet-up hosts?

We reached out to select Local Guides who have demonstrated commitment to the program. We took into account the  Local Guide’s overall participation in the program, including but not limited to Connect activity, Google Maps contributions, and past meet-up experience. 

Will you pick more hosts in the future?

We decided to support a few meet-ups hosted by Local Guides to start and will reassess our continuation of this support in the near future.

How can I plan a great meet-up?

Check out How to organize a successful meet-up and How do I write a great meet-up recap?

We hope you’re as excited about this program as we are. It’s thanks to ideas like yours (yes, you, @HelloSamsonR) that we’re able to try new things out and bring fun opportunities to the community.

We welcome your thoughts on this pilot and encourage you to continue submitting ideas on the Idea Exchange.

List of Supported Meet-ups

October 13, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia, hosted by @PaulPavlinovich

November 17, 2019 in New Delhi, India, hosted by @AmbrishVarshney 

November 9, 2019 in Lagos, Nigeria hosted by @Sagir 

November 16, 2019 in Batu, Indonesia hosted by @Annisa1208 

November 24, 2019 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka hosted by @IlankovanT 

November 30, 2019 in Douala, Cameroon hosted by @nkwetche 

November 30, 2019 in Lalitpur, Nepal hosted by @BishowvijayaP 

December 8, 2019 in Chennai, India hosted by @RtnArulPrakasamT 

December 20, 2019 in Dhaka, Bangladesh hosted by @Kamalhasnainee