Community Update: Bringing the Tribe Together in Your Hometown

It’s time to launch the project I’m personally most excited about this year 🤩 . It’s something that’s been on my mind for a long time…

WiFi Tribe has brought us together in amazing places where we’ve taken on adventures that bonded us for life. But when a Chapter comes to an end, it feels like a bubble bursting and the magic of that moment dispersing. 

We come to terms with life coming “back to normal”, and hope that we’ll cross paths again with our friends somewhere else in the world.

We may not be able to hold on to this moment; this constellation of people in this place. But how can we hold on to that feeling of being a part of such a close-knit community, beyond the Chapter?

Some of us have commitments that make it difficult to travel the entire year. Maybe caring for family members or pets, work or time-zone restrictions, or partners who aren’t fully remote.

Or sometimes, we just feel the need to hunker down somewhere to focus on launching our project or growing our business.

For some of us, the recent increases in flight and travel costs mean we can only afford to travel a few months a year.

And, I know of many Tribers who, after several years of travel, feel that they’d like to have a base somewhere, to try to get the best of both worlds; a cozy place to call home, but with the freedom to travel whenever they get that itch.

As much as we’d like to stay connected to the community, it’s not always easy.

Trying to align our lifestyles and life cycles with our nomadic friends is hard, especially when they’re bouncing around the world.

At the same time, I guess we’re all here because we believe community is an important part of our lives; that life is richer and more fulfilling when we can take that journey on with people who just “get us”. It feels amazing to be around people who see the world in a similar way and resonate on shared values, but who are also curious about our differences and celebrate them.

Over the last 6 years and 138 Chapters, we’ve learned a lot about building a strong community in a short period of time.

To bring the community back into our lives – even when we’re not traveling as much – the team is making this a big focus for the next year: We want to help members establish pockets of community all around the world, starting with the Tribe’s favorite cities.

But this isn’t just for Tribers who are traveling less. As a more nomadic member, you’ll be able to get connected with these local hubs as you travel, too!

Of course, we don’t have all the answers yet, but we’re confident that we’ll figure it out with you and that it will be one hell of a journey building this together. We feel it’s about time to get started…

Introducing the Ambassador Program

Imagine there were active and engaged pockets of community in many of the cities that we all love to travel to. It would mean that, wherever we go, we would already be plugged into an instant community and meet fellow Tribers there to join them for dinner, drinks, or maybe at a local speakeasy.

And as the person based in that city, it would give us the chance to stay connected to the Tribe by meeting new people who visit our town, as well as seeing old friends again and again, even if we’re not able to be out there in the world as often as we would like.

These pockets of community, or hubs, would be led by Tribers who have a deep love for the place they call home. The kind of locals who jump on every opportunity to show others why their hometown is so magical, just like Tribe legends, Ruta and Tomas, who invited the Tribe to explore the mighty Lithuania and inspired the idea for this plan.

One day, we imagine Tribe hubs not only in popular destinations, but in all major cities around the world. This is the truly global community that we want to build together with you.

We’ll do everything we can to help, but it’ll take the Tribe to make this crazy vision happen. Will you help us?

Become a Tribe Ambassador

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to bring Tribers together and create a strong local hub that embodies our values. As an Ambassador, you are also charged with spreading the word to local entrepreneurs, freelancers and remote professionals to help WiFi Tribe become a more international community. With more members from your country inside the Tribe, we can tackle our international diversity challenges together.

You can bring any community-building ideas to life over the course of a year. Instead of us asking for something specific, or to follow a process, we want to make space for the creative ideas our future Ambassadors likely already have brewing.

You’ll be added to the Ambassadors group to brainstorm ideas and collaborate to bring these local hubs to life.

Who can become a Tribe Ambassador?

Any member, whether a seasoned veteran or new Triber, can apply to become an Ambassador for a year-long commitment, and most cities will just have one person to start.

Here’s what we are looking for in a nutshell:

• Someone who is already an advocate of our culture and values. Your reputation precedes you in the Tribe! Your name comes up often for all the right reasons and we’ve probably already heard great things about you from other members and Hosts.
• Someone who is passionate about this community, and excited about where it’s going next and to be involved in making that future a reality.
• You love to bring people together by organizing meetups, dinners or even trips, and by bringing your own unique ideas into the community.
• Ideally, you’re plugged into the local community too – maybe you love the underground arts and music scene or you’re involved in the local entrepreneurial community.
• You may love to travel and travel often, but ideally, we’re looking for someone who is also planning to be in their homebase for a good part of the year (otherwise, you won’t be there to welcome others in!). And when you’re away, can you work with a fellow Triber to cover for you?
• While we’re saying your hometown or local city, it can also be your adopted hometown or the city that you’re planning to call home for a while. Basically, you don’t have to be an official resident of the city for which you’re the Ambassador.

The role is also open to anyone interested in joining WiFi Tribe as a way to make the community more accessible to currently under-represented nationalities in the Tribe. In the process of becoming a member, they’ll have a chance to apply to become an Ambassador.

Our future community hubs

These are our “most-wanted” cities based on current popularity with the Tribe. Don’t worry if your hometown isn’t listed here yet. If you know several Tribers travel through your city every year (or should be!) or if you’d like to spread the word about the Tribe in your country, then please still consider applying as an Ambassador to broaden our horizons.

South American hubs

Central American hubs

North American hubs

Central European hubs

Eastern European hubs

African hubs

Middle Eastern & Asian hubs

Australian hubs

What is expected of me?

The Ambassador program is a year-long commitment to help WiFi Tribe bring Tribers together and create a strong local hub that embodies our values.

The basics to accomplishing this mission are:

1. Be an advocate for our culture and values: Keep doing what you’ve been doing on Chapters* that got you noticed! Keep our intentional community vibe and way of doing things alive in your hub. *If you haven’t been on a Chapter yet, don’t worry, we’ll run sessions on how to be a culture advocate.

2. Create a local hub of our community in your hometown: Welcome visiting members your local hub, make regular meetups happen, and moderate the local #hub Slack channel. Get creative!

3. Spread the word about WiFi Tribe to entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote professionals in your city who would thrive in the community.

As long as you keep this mission in mind, you will have control over how you choose to activate your local hub and how you spread the word.

Benefits of being an Ambassador

Tribe Ambassadors will be the ultimate connectors inside the community. We are looking for Tribers who have a homebase for most of the year, but we also know that staying connected with the rest of the Tribe on a few trips is ultimately going to make you a better Ambassador in your hometown.

With that in mind, and as a thank you for carrying this mission forward, you’ll receive these benefits during the year you’re an Ambassador:

• No membership fee: The next year of your membership will be fully compensated
• 1 x $500 Chapter credit towards any Chapter that year. An additional $500 credit for a second Chapter will be awarded to our most engaged and successful Ambassadors
• 2 x $500 Colive credits ($500 per each Colive). We just ask that you do your thing and help in setting the vibe/culture there too (note: there can be max 3 Ambassadors per Colive and priority will be given to Ambassadors who have more Chapter experience)
• $200 referral credit: $200 credit for every new member that joins because of your efforts in spreading the word within your country
• Join the Ambassador Slack channel to connect with other Ambassadors, share ideas, and get support

Please be aware that all of these benefits are only valid for the year during which you are the Ambassador for your city.

Next steps

This is a big community initiative and the Tribe needs your help making it a success! For those who are ready to get started, apply to become an Ambassador or drop any questions in the Slack thread.

The countdown is now on for our first Ambassadors to bring a little slice of our community to their hometowns around the world!

See you in a future Tribe hub – Diego