Open Education Week (OEWeek) always leaves us with a lot to think about. Not just because of the number of events and contributions, but because of what it reveals about how the open community actually works when so many people are contributing at once across different contexts
This year, we tried something new alongside OEWeek 2026 – the OEWeek Ambassador Program.
Rather than stepping back and evaluating it in isolation, this post is an opportunity to reflect on what we learned from introducing it, what worked in ways we expected, and where things were more complicated than anticipated. At the center of all of this is a simple question we keep returning to:
How do we support visibility and connection in ways that are sustainable, shared, and not overly complex?
Where this idea came from
It connects back to earlier brainstorming about a pilot project to have committee members from the Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER) act as “ambassadors” and represent OEGlobal and CCCOER regionally in Open Education spaces, like conferences. With such a small staff, no matter how much we’d like, we can’t be everywhere and attend all of the wonderful events happening, even if it’s virtual.
OEWeek Ambassadors evolved from that first idea (which we still plan to pursue!), reflecting another question we keep coming back to:
What does it look like to show up for each other in a distributed community?
Why try something different for OEWeek?
OEWeek is always full; full of events, ideas, conversations, and energy from around the world. In 2026, the open community put on a full slate of sessions in March (before and beyond the month), and there were many more happening at the same time.
The scale is exciting, but it also creates a familiar challenge. With so much happening, it becomes harder for individual events to be visible.
That’s what pushed us to try something different. Instead of adding more programming from OEGlobal and its regional nodes, we asked this question:
What if our role during OEWeek was to show up for others?
The OEWeek Ambassador Program grew from that shift.
The intent behind the program
The design goal was simple. It should feel good to participate in. Not heavy. Not complicated. Not another layer of work. The focus was on low-barrier participation and a visible form of support that feels human and relational.
In practice, that meant:
- attending a small number of OEWeek events, if possible, selecting some outside of your usual attendance
- letting organizers know you were joining as an ambassador
- participating as an engaged audience member
- introducing yourself in the chat
- sharing reflections with OEGlobal afterward (who would then share these in spaces like LinkedIn)
Nothing complicated. The idea was presence, not performance.
What we learned along the way
Like many new ideas in community work, the value of this program became clearer through experience.
Even when something is designed to be simple and low-barrier, it still depends on shared understanding. One of the clearest lessons for us was around communication.
That message, however, did not always come through clearly. In some cases, participants understood the role as something additional, separate from their existing work, rather than something integrated into it. As a result, some ambassadors participated less than intended, not because of a lack of interest, but because expectations were not as clear as they needed to be.
We also ran into practical challenges. Identifying and contacting event organizers in advance was not always straightforward, especially with the pace of OEWeek and not always having direct contacts for event organizers. Still, that notification step mattered to us. We wanted organizers to know ambassadors were there in a supportive role (and not be surprised by them popping up in the chat). But also, we wanted to make clear that ambassadors were there to give attention to the events as participants, not to draw attention to themselves.
The challenges to the application of the concept don’t take away from the value of the idea itself. If anything, it reinforces something we already know in Open Education work – even strong ideas depend on shared language, clear expectations, and careful communication to be sustainable.
We also saw something encouraging. Even small moments of participation created visibility. A presence in a session. A short message in a chat. A reflection shared afterward. These are not large actions, but they shape how people experience being seen.
What we heard from ambassadors
One of the most meaningful parts of this experiment was hearing how participants described the role in their own words.
“OEWeek Ambassadors help turn a week of random events into a space where people feel seen. ‘Your work matters. We see it. We’re glad you shared it.’ And that can lead to so many positive things!”
Another reflection focused on the bridging function of the role:
“OEWeek Ambassadors serve as a bridge for the excellent work in open education being done around the world. They connect the stories of sharing and innovation from one context to another.”
These reflections highlight something important. This is not just about attendance. It is about recognition, connection, and helping people situate their work within something larger than a single event.
We also saw this reflected in the short “sharebacks” ambassadors contributed, which were later highlighted through OEGlobal’s LinkedIn to expand the visibility of the sessions.
For example:
“What stayed with me from the session was how students were included in shaping AI policy through ethical questions like: ‘Can we use AI without losing our voices?’ ‘Can we justify its use given the environmental cost?’ and ‘What does authorship mean when humans collaborate with AI?’”
And,
“The African Library and Information Associations & Institutions (AfLIA) and OER Africa/SAIDE co-organized the first Open Education Week/Open Education Virtual Summit on 3-4 March 2026. The words of Aflia’s director, Nkem E. Osuigwe, resonated strongly: “An open knowledge ecosystem is not a technology. It is a social contract with the communities we serve.”
Why this still matters
Open Education is deeply community-driven. Many OEWeek events are organized by small teams or individuals who care deeply about sharing their work, but who may not always feel visible in a global program of this scale.
The ambassador program was an attempt to respond to that reality in a different way.
As stated in the introductory piece explaining the concept, when someone shows up intentionally, introduces themselves, engages thoughtfully, and reflects on what they learned, it sends a clear message.
Your work matters.
We see it.
We are glad you shared it.
Even in an early version, that matters.
Looking ahead
For 2026, the OEWeek Ambassador Program began with invited participants from across the community, including OEGlobal staff, board members, advisors, long-time participants, and regional node volunteers. Starting small gave us space to learn how this kind of role works in practice.
We are taking those lessons forward.
There is still work to do in making the program clearer and easier to engage with. Simplicity and communication matter, even when the intention is low-barrier participation. There is also room to think about how this approach might extend beyond OEWeek as a way to support each other across the community.
Closing
At its core, this is not complicated.
Sometimes the most meaningful contribution is not producing more. It is showing up.
Listening well.