feat(blog): publish weekly hacknight recaps on civictechwr.org

.pa11yci.json

@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
   "urls": [
     "http://127.0.0.1:4000/",
     "http://127.0.0.1:4000/about.html",
-    "http://127.0.0.1:4000/projects.html"
+    "http://127.0.0.1:4000/projects.html",
+    "http://127.0.0.1:4000/blog/",
+    "http://127.0.0.1:4000/blog/season-9-week-1/"
   ]
 }

_config.yaml

@@ -83,6 +83,12 @@ defaults:
       comments: false
       share: false
       read_time: true
+  - scope:
+      path: ""
+      type: "posts"
+    values:
+      layout: "post"
+      permalink: /blog/:title/
 
 # Plugins
 plugins:

_data/navigation.yml

@@ -6,4 +6,4 @@
 - text: About Us
   url: /about.html
 - text: Blog
-  url: https://civictechwr.github.io/blog/
+  url: /blog/

_layouts/default.html

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
       type="image/x-icon"
     />
     {% seo %} {% if jekyll.environment == "production" %} {% assign css_file =
-    "css/main.min.css" %} {% else %} {% assign css_file = "css/main.css" %} {%
+    "/css/main.min.css" %} {% else %} {% assign css_file = "/css/main.css" %} {%
     endif %}
 
     <link rel="preload" href="{{ css_file }}" as="style" />
@@ -52,8 +52,8 @@
       aria-atomic="true"
     ></div>
     {% include header.html %} {{ content }}
-    <script src="js/optimized-bundle.min.js"></script>
-    <script src="js/nav-toggle.js"></script>
-    <script src="js/mailchimp-embed.js"></script>
+    <script src="/js/optimized-bundle.min.js"></script>
+    <script src="/js/nav-toggle.js"></script>
+    <script src="/js/mailchimp-embed.js"></script>
   </body>
 </html>

_layouts/post.html

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+layout: default
+---
+
+<div class="has-fixed-nav">
+  <main id="main-content" class="post">
+    <article class="post-article">
+      <p class="post-back"><a href="/blog/">&larr; All recaps</a></p>
+      <header class="post-header">
+        <h1 class="page-title">{{ page.title }}</h1>
+        <p class="post-meta">
+          <time datetime="{{ page.date | date_to_xmlschema }}">{{ page.date | date: "%B %-d, %Y" }}</time>
+          {% if page.discourse_url %}· Adapted from <a href="{{ page.discourse_url }}">{{ page.author }}'s recap</a>{% elsif page.author %}· Written by {{ page.author }}{% endif %}
+        </p>
+      </header>
+      <div class="post-content">{{ content }}</div>
+    </article>
+  </main>
+  {% include footer.html %}
+</div>

_posts/2025-02-12-season-3-week-9.md

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+---
+title: "Season 3, Week 9"
+date: 2025-02-12
+author: Dre
+season: 3
+week: 9
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-3-week-9-2024-02-12/41
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Connected KW**, our volunteer directory, hit a milestone: registration works, so people can now sign up.
+
+**Waterloo Region Votes** recruited more volunteers and moved the site to its new domain. The team is starting to think about where the project goes next.

_posts/2025-02-19-season-3-week-10.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+title: "Season 3, Week 10"
+date: 2025-02-19
+author: Shay
+season: 3
+week: 10
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-3-week-10-feb-19-2025/43
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Waterloo Region Votes** started a shared HedgeDoc, a Markdown editor the whole team can write in at once. The team gathered a first batch of voter resources, sketched out a way to collect more of them over time, and added the first event to the website. More events are on the way.
+
+**Connected KW** finished its profile page and is still fixing some bugs. Login works now, and the team has started filling in profiles. The rich text editor is still giving them trouble. Next up are a cleaner page layout, the page that lists every profile, and a form for creating your own profile.
+
+**Connected KW's outreach team** started planning an event for March 5 and is scheduling more meetings. Invitations will go out with a link to the volunteer directory.
+
+**Our Discourse forum** is up, and a welcome post is ready for new members. The next steps are finding more ways to use it, connecting it to the tools we already use, and writing a guide to installing it on your phone.
+
+## Get involved
+
+Waterloo Region Votes needs help with marketing and outreach. The easiest way to help is to share their posts.
+
+Come say hi on [the forum](https://discourse.ctwr.org/), or join us at a Wednesday hacknight.

_posts/2025-03-19-season-4-week-1.md

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 1: System maps from UW students"
+date: 2025-03-19
+author: Dre
+season: 4
+week: 1
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-1-2025-03-19/58
+---
+
+Season 4 opened with guests. Students from the University of Waterloo who study sustainable business and social innovation presented system maps of challenges and opportunities in our local economy. The maps look at how social enterprises, community wealth-building, and local economic development affect each other. Small groups then talked through each map.
+
+## Homelessness in the region
+
+One student presented a system map of homelessness in Waterloo Region. A guest from the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness (PECH) pointed out causes the map could add, such as renoviction, and the room had plenty of constructive feedback. The two plan to keep talking.
+
+## Startups
+
+People from very different backgrounds compared notes on startups. Topics included which markets Canadian startups could look to and how non-tech startups can take advantage of supply chains. The group's takeaway was that plenty of help exists for founders, and a clear roadmap and playbook go a long way toward reducing uncertainty.
+
+## Climate change in Southern Ontario
+
+Organizing gets harder as the region grows toward a million people. The group talked about building up instead of out and about working with government on new policy. Next they want to dig into urbanization.

_posts/2025-03-26-season-4-week-2.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 2: Picking this season's projects"
+date: 2025-03-26
+author: Dre
+season: 4
+week: 2
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-2-2025-03-26/67
+---
+
+This week four ideas were on the table, and everyone voted on which ones to take on this season.
+
+## The pitches
+
+**Midtown Radio** came with a mockup of a mobile app made by their graphic designer. The group talked about making it work well on phones and building a prototype in the open on GitHub. An open source app could also be useful to other community radio stations. This pitch got the most votes, with 11.
+
+**Volunteering with Connected KW** got 9 votes. The team decided to build login next. They also want better skill categories, like the ones on Fiverr or Upwork, plus prompts that help people describe themselves, a request form, an intake process, and messaging.
+
+**PECH**, the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, got 4 votes. The group agreed the problem needs more research before anyone builds anything. Ideas so far include Power BI, Tableau, a self-hosted Metabase, and helping PECH collect data in new ways. A few volunteers will gather requirements with PECH.
+
+**Food security** got 3 votes. Many of the existing apps have a lot of complaints. The group looked at Tiny Home Takeout and liked the idea of a local version of Vancouver Food Runners.
+
+## The decision
+
+Midtown Radio and Connected KW go ahead this season. PECH and food security move into the pipeline for more research.

_posts/2025-04-02-season-4-week-3.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 3"
+date: 2025-04-02
+author: Dre
+season: 4
+week: 3
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-3-april-02-2025/73
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Connected KW** made a GitHub repository with its projects and tasks and started getting everyone set up. The goal is to finish the profile form and the request form. Next the team will hand out tasks and make sure new volunteers can get the project running on their own computers.
+
+**Midtown Radio** made a Kanban board and added structure to its problem statement with flow charts and documentation. The team chose Flutter to build the app. Next it's waiting on mockups from Midtown Radio, handing out tasks, and writing a script to help set up the development environment.
+
+**Our research and booth team** started planning for the Youth Tech Labs Demo Day on April 12 ([discussion here](https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/youth-tech-labs-demo-day-saturday-april-12th-ctwr-booth/72)). They also built a simple word cloud that could grow into an interactive kiosk for the booth, and they're open to help with it.

_posts/2025-04-09-season-4-week-4.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 4"
+date: 2025-04-09
+author: Shay
+season: 4
+week: 4
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-4-apr-09-2025/78
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Midtown Radio** spent the night setting up and walking everyone through the project and the core development concepts behind it. The team is dreaming big. The design assets aren't on GitHub yet. They're meeting on Saturday to keep working on the prototype and hope to have a working demo by next Wednesday.
+
+We learned how **Project Ploughshares** collects its data. The group brainstormed which parts could be automated and how to move off Microsoft Access to a more modern database. We're working with Project Ploughshares to scope what needs to happen before next season.
+
+**Connected KW** cleaned up its code and started moving to the Next.js App Router. Next it will upgrade to the latest Next.js and finish its documentation.

_posts/2025-04-16-season-4-week-5.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 5"
+date: 2025-04-16
+author: Shay
+season: 4
+week: 5
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-5-april-16/80
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Midtown Radio** has an app! It has light and dark modes, and you can listen to the station live. Next the team will pull on-demand shows from the station's API and hook into the phone's built-in media controls.
+
+**Connected KW** is working on the profile form, a limit on how many tags a profile can have, and login. Next are categories and finishing the profile form.
+
+**PECH** has lots of data and little capacity to analyze it. A data analyst there is already setting up a SQL database, so the question is how we can work alongside them. Possible next steps are getting a database schema and another brainstorm about internal communications.

_posts/2025-04-23-season-4-week-6.md

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 6"
+date: 2025-04-23
+author: Shay
+season: 4
+week: 6
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-6-april-23-2025/83
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Midtown Radio**'s on-demand listening tab works. The team is updating the design to match Midtown Radio's style guide, and it welcomed new volunteers and gave them tasks. Still to do: skipping forward and back, swiping the bottom bar to move to the next episode, updating shows automatically from RSS feeds, and fixing a bug where the app forgets your light or dark mode choice.
+
+**Connected KW** brainstormed marketing and outreach. Ideas included focusing on students, making better use of Instagram and other social media, and connecting with companies that are hiring. On the build side, the team is working on the profile and request forms, organizing the tagging system, creating the flows for email notifications, and reviewing the database structure. Next it will connect the forms to the back end and roll out the new tags.
+
+**Our organizers** are preparing for an upcoming guest speaker and talked about how to welcome new members. They also connected the Youth Tech Labs Grocr team with the Cambridge Food Bank.
+
+## Coming up
+
+Demo Day is June 4, and planning has started.

_posts/2025-04-30-season-4-week-7.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 7"
+date: 2025-04-30
+author: Shay
+season: 4
+week: 7
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-7-april-30/87
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Midtown Radio** updated the design of the Listen Live and On Demand screens and talked about how to handle new RSS feeds. Next the team wants the app to load feeds automatically, which means getting in touch with Midtown Radio's web developer. Playback controls and show notes are also on the list.
+
+**Connected KW** got login working and can now keep some pages behind it. The team has a first list of tags, with a limit on how many show up on a profile card, and talked about who the volunteer directory should reach. Next are the new tags and the login and logout buttons and messages.
+
+**Our organizers** made a checklist for Demo Day and will start handing out tasks.

_posts/2025-05-07-season-4-week-8.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 8"
+date: 2025-05-07
+author: Dre
+season: 4
+week: 8
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-8-may-07-2025/99
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Midtown Radio** has a fully working app. Next week it should be ready to submit to the app stores.
+
+**One Million Neighbours** is starting from a report and working out how to turn it into something people can use, beginning with which measures of a neighbourhood to build. They also talked about using existing open source tools like OpenStreetMap so the project works well with others, and what a second phase could look like.
+
+**Connected KW** added login and logout buttons and talked about finding sponsors.

_posts/2025-05-14-season-4-week-9.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 9"
+date: 2025-05-14
+author: Shay
+season: 4
+week: 9
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-9-may-14/90
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Midtown Radio** worked on final touches and made a list of what's left. The team will meet with Midtown Radio this weekend to submit the app for review on the App Store and Google Play.
+
+**Connected KW** finished the front end of the profile form and the database table for volunteer requests. Next it will connect both forms to the back end and finish the list of skills people can choose from.
+
+**Our organizers** printed the posters for the project showcase. The agenda and the plan for streaming the event are set, and a dry run is booked for May 28. Next up are posting the event on Luma, booking the space, posting on social media, and handing out roles for the day.

_posts/2025-05-21-season-4-week-10.md

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 10"
+date: 2025-05-21
+author: Dre
+season: 4
+week: 10
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-10-may-21/92
+---
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Connected KW** welcomed two new volunteers and decided to group skills into categories so they're easier to pick. The volunteer form and the volunteer request form are both done. Next is polishing the design.
+
+**Midtown Radio** is submitting the app to Google Play, has created an Apple developer account, and is writing a privacy policy. The plan is to finish the policy and complete both app store submissions.

_posts/2025-05-28-season-4-week-11.md

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+title: "Season 4, Week 11"
+date: 2025-05-28
+author: Mohamed
+season: 4
+week: 11
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-4-week-11-may-28-2025/94
+---
+
+Demo Day is next week! This was our biggest night of the season, with 24 people in the room.
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Midtown Radio**'s Apple developer account is verified, and the app store listing now has screenshots and a description. The team also moved the show feed out of a CivicTechWR GitHub repository to a place the Midtown Radio team can manage on their own. Next is a presentation for Demo Day, and they want plenty of honest feedback on it.
+
+**Connected KW** did a lot of testing and caught some bugs, but overall everything works. The team rewrote the site's text in plain language for people who aren't technical. The skill selection feature still needs work and will be ready for the demo.
+
+**Our organizers** held a rehearsal, and the sound setup works (we think!). Card payments work too, so we can accept donations now. We confirmed a check-in desk downstairs with the building and set up virtual polling for next week. All that's left is the logistics.
+
+## Coming up
+
+Both teams will demo their work at Demo Day on June 4.

_posts/2025-06-11-season-5-week-1.md

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+title: "Season 5, Week 1"
+date: 2025-06-11
+author: Dre
+season: 5
+week: 1
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-5-week-1-2025-06-11/125
+---
+
+Season 5 is underway. Teams spent the first night figuring out what they're building.
+
+## Project updates
+
+**Project Ploughshares** wrote out its problem statement and split the work into streams, with two volunteers sharing the lead. Next is checking in with the team's contact at Ploughshares.
+
+**PECH** wants to build a website that informs people about homelessness in the region. It will share lived experiences, involve several organizations, and be open about the data while keeping people anonymous. The team reviewed a first dataset and is working on getting access to more.
+
+**One Million Neighbours** put a structure in place for the project and is still defining its scope.
+
+**A malware detection tool** that uses AI is in the brainstorming stage.
+
+**Our organizers** went over how Demo Day went and set a date for the end of the season. Next they'll take stock of our equipment and start tracking expenses.

_posts/2025-06-18-season-5-week-2.md

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+title: "Season 5, Week 2: Desirability, viability, feasibility"
+date: 2025-06-18
+author: Shay
+season: 5
+week: 2
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-5-week-2-june-18-2025/111
+---
+
+This week each team tested its project against three questions. Do people want it? Will it create lasting value? Can we actually build it? This is the DVF framework: desirability, viability, and feasibility.
+
+## How the projects stack up
+
+**PECH** has an audience waiting: the people co-creating the project care a lot about the data. Nothing like it exists in Kitchener-Waterloo, or even across Canada, so plenty of people will be watching. The team found Ghost, an open source publishing platform that's easy to maintain and meets PECH's needs.
+
+**One Million Neighbours** also has a built-in audience in the organizations taking part in its roundtables. It should interest residents and people thinking of moving here too. A few existing tools could be stitched together to build it, but the team is small right now.
+
+**Project Ploughshares** mostly matters to the few people at Ploughshares who will use it, but it could create a lot of value for the wider community. It may be too ambitious for one season, so the team may break it into smaller projects across several seasons.
+
+**Tiny Home Takeout** is very useful to Tiny Home Takeout and its community, though probably not to anyone else. The project is already well underway.
+
+**Keystroke** is a malware detector that looks for one kind of malware, keyloggers, on your computer. It's a chance for its makers, and for CivicTechWR, to show what they can do.

_posts/2025-06-25-season-5-week-3.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+title: "Season 5, Week 3: Project self-evaluations"
+date: 2025-06-25
+author: Dre
+season: 5
+week: 3
+discourse_url: https://discourse.ctwr.org/t/recap-season-5-week-3-2025-06-25/118
+---
+
+This week each team scored its own project out of 20, with up to 5 points in each of four areas: how involved the community partner is, the strength of the team, how interesting the tech is, and how much it matters to the community.
+
+## The scores
+
+**PECH, 19.5 out of 20.** The community partners have committed to showing up, and the team has a good mix of developers and other skills. The data problem is an interesting one, and homelessness affects the whole community. The team tagged its task board and will start looking at the data next.
+
+**Project Ploughshares, 18 out of 20.** Our contact at Ploughshares is available as needed, and the team has lots of energy. The tech has room to grow over the long term, and the cause is a good one: making the arms trade and where weapons end up visible to the public. The team drafted a rough timeline and will track its work against it.
+
+**One Million Neighbours, 17 out of 20.** The project's community partner has joined every other week. The team has three or four people, though who shows up varies. There was a good discussion about building on Connected KW's existing work. A second phase would follow up with 100 people before reaching out to the wider community. The team tagged its task board and will start looking at the data next.
+
+## Coming up
+
+The season's project showcase was set for September 3. It later moved to September 10.
+
+Thanks to Nick for taking notes and to Shay for transcribing.