The Microsoft Global Community Initiative is buzzing around the world and this edition of the newsletter is your front-row seat for the latest news.
Hi MGCI Members!
As April moves forward, we hope you’re feeling inspired by the communities you’re part of and the ones growing all around you. From celebrating Women in Tech across the ecosystem to building excitement for the Microsoft 365 Community Conference in Orlando, shared energy and collaboration are fueling MGCI’s global momentum. Let’s take a look at what’s coming up next 🚀
💗 SharePoint Turned 25
Last month a digital event and many in person events around the world celebrated the 25th birthday of SharePoint, to view the digital event check out the link here - https://aka.ms/SPat25 Learn about the SharePoint Hackathon that so many of you participated in and get ready to view the upcoming "More than Code" short film. The cover photo is from an on-campus event with the SharePoint product team.
🌎 MGCI Regional Leader Update
Applications for our 2026 MGCI Regional Leaders are under review. Stay tuned - this next wave of leadership is going to help shape how Community Days grows around the world.
🗣️ MGCI Monthly General Sessions
Our March MGCI General Session showcased the power of Women in Tech & Allies communities across the Microsoft ecosystem 💜 featuring seven standout organizations creating real pathways for growth, mentorship, and leadership.
What showed up wasn’t just representation.
It was momentum 🚀
Across these communities, we’re seeing:
- ✅ Confidence being built
- 🔓 Access being created
- 🤝 Collective action taking shape
From mentorship‑driven programs to global networking and leadership pathways, these groups are turning connection into opportunity, proving that community isn’t just support.
It’s a launchpad for participation and advancement✨
If you want to explore how this momentum is turning into real‑world access and opportunity:
📖 Read the blog:
https://aka.ms/MGCI-WomeninTechandAlliesBlog-March2026
🎥 Watch the session recording:
https://aka.ms/MGCI-WomenInTechandAlliesRecording
Ready to move from reflection to action?
Discover Women in Tech speakers on Sessionize and help build inclusive, well‑rounded events:
🎤 https://aka.ms/MSWomenInTechSessionize
📅 General Sessions: On Deck
Don't miss out on our monthly general sessions hosted in two different time slots (AM and PM). We share the latest news and updates on what's happening behind the scenes at MGCI, as well as what's coming next. Community Members from all around the world get the opportunity to share insights on their upcoming events, current topics, community news, and interactive talks with other members. Mark your calendars now and join us every 3rd Tuesday of the month!
| Apr 21 | Microsoft Student Ambassadors - Guest Speaker: Tracey Salem, Senior Learning Manager, Global Skilling, Microsoft |
| May 19 | Community Spotlight: M365 Community Days DC |
| Jun 16 | Community Spotlight (to be announced) |
| Jul 21 | Community Spotlight (to be announced) |
📅 April 21 | ⏰ 8:10 AM PT | 👉 https://aka.ms/MGCIMtgAM
📅 April 21 | ⏰ 5:10 AM PT | 👉 https://aka.ms/MGCIMtgPM
Join Tracey Salem for an engaging look at the Microsoft Student Ambassadors program and the vibrant global community of students who are learning, building, and leading with Microsoft cloud and AI technologies. This session spotlights how Student Ambassadors bring fresh perspectives, energy, and new ways of engaging communities - both on campus and beyond. Attendees will come away inspired by what today’s students are doing, and better connected to a broader ecosystem of learners, leaders, and community builders shaping the future together.
👩🏫 2026 Event Trainings
Join our monthly Event Production Training & Office Hours with our Board Members Wes Preston and Sharon Weaver and learn from different leaders, with different perspectives how to run your next event. These are interactive sessions, giving you great insights into organizing community events around the globe.
Check out all upcoming and past calls and events
| Apr 23 | Run of Show – Day of Event Lessons Learned |
| May 28 | Event & Committee Planning |
| Jun 25 | How to Find and Select Speakers |
| Jul 30 | FOOD! Meals, Snacks, and Beverages |
| Aug 27 | No Meeting – Summer Break |
| Sep 24 | Event Branding – Graphics & Image Tips |
| Oct 29 | Filling Seats! How to Market Your Event |
| Nov 26 | No Meeting – Holiday Break |
| Dec 24 | No Meeting – Holiday Break |
In case you have any ideas, feedback, or would like to join us as a Guest Speaker to share your event tips & tricks, complete the form here👉 https://aka.ms/MGCI-EventOrganizerFeedback
🌎 Community Days: check out upcoming events
The community never sleeps! And this impressive list of events proves exactly that our community is active more than ever before. New events keep getting included on https://aka.ms/CommunityDays.Org and you can get your upcoming events listed too! Use this community initiative for all your event needs, like scouting active Call for Speakers, or submitting your own event to get spotted by potential sponsors.
A group of speakers on stage at a community conference in Europe💖 #CommunityLuv: in the spotlights
Himanshu Goil (Empowering Local Governments and Businesses to Scale through AI Agents, Automation, and Digital Transformation | TechForGov | IGNA™ | Ignatiuz) traveled from USA to Dubai for the event https://aka.ms/AIMaitri Where AI Meets Community. This beautiful shot was taken during his trip - read the full post here on LinkedIn:
https://aka.ms/AIMaitriLIPost #CommunityLuv
A man standing on a bridge in Dubai, UAE🌴🎉 MGCI Is Bringing the Community to Orlando at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference
The Microsoft 365 Community Conference is where community comes together in person.
This year inside the Microsoft Innovation Hub, organizers, speakers, MVPs, and community leaders will turn hallway conversations into global collaborations through:
🤝 Informal community meetups
🗣️ Product roundtables with Microsoft teams and community voices
⚡ Lightning talks from community experts
🧭 Guided demo stations
💻 Hands-on experiences with Copilot+ PCs
🎙️ Live podcast recordings
🎂 A SharePoint 25th birthday celebration
🧱 Build-your-own LEGO figurine stations
💄 Red Lip experiential moments inside the Hub (because sometimes showing up boldly is the point)
MGCI will be onsite all week connecting grassroots organizers from around the world:
📍 MGCI Community Meetup Tuesday @ 4:15 PM
📍 MGCI Roundtable Wednesday @ 4:15 PM
⚡ MGCI Lightning Talk on the Power of Community
Expect roundtable conversations that go beyond slides - bringing together Microsoft teams and real‑world community perspectives to share ideas, challenges, and what’s actually working across the ecosystem.
And don’t miss:
💬 The Women in Tech & Allies Lunch Discussion - April 22! With an executive panel and special guests from across our community, one of the most anticipated gatherings at M365 Conf - designed to spark connection, share experiences, and champion what’s next for women in tech.
📸 MVP Photo Opportunity
🎬 More Than Code - SharePoint 25 Documentary Premiere
Because sometimes the most important thing you take home from a conference…
is the people you met along the way.
🎟️ Helping More Communities Join Us in Orlando
To support nonprofits and small businesses in our ecosystem, we’re offering a grant program for free or discounted tickets to the Microsoft 365 Community Conference in Orlando (April 21–23).
This program is designed for:
- 🤝 Nonprofits
- 🏢 Small businesses
- 💜 Members of Women in Tech & Allies community organizations
✈️ Travel and workshop expenses are not included and supply is limited.
Know an organization that could benefit from building skills in:
- 🤖 Copilot
- 💬 Microsoft Teams
- ☁️ OneDrive
- 🧩 SharePoint
Encourage them to apply:
Learn more and apply 👉
https://aka.ms/M365CommunityGrant
🌉 Microsoft Build: now shipping!
Find out what Microsoft is building next in Satya Nadella's keynote during Microsoft Build. Hosted in-person and online on June 2-3, 2026 in San Francisco, USA. Connect with the developers community, join interactive meetups and workshops to debug problems with engineers who’ve already solved them. Plus, get direct access to Microsoft and GitHub technical leaders for strategic guidance.
👩💻AI Agent Con: chapters around the world
Is Microsoft Build not around the corner for you, or simply impossible to attend due to other reasons? Thankfully, the Global AI Community tours with local events around the world, organized by the community for the community. Check out the list featuring local chapters across the globe.
💫 What Happens Next
MGCI isn’t powered by programming. It’s powered by participation. The connections made in Orlando and around the globe. The lessons shared through training. The roundtable conversations. First-time speakers stepping forward. That’s how this ecosystem grows. Community doesn’t scale through announcements. It scales through action.
Across MGCI and https://aka.ms/CommunityDays.Org, we’re seeing organizers connect across regions, share what’s working, and build events that reflect the communities they serve — supported by the tools, training, and resources that make grassroots impact possible.
When you bring someone new into the room, you expand what’s possible.
When you share what you learned, you strengthen someone else’s event.
When you collaborate across communities, you turn local effort into global impact.
And that’s how momentum becomes movement.
Sincerely,
Your Board Officers
