International SharePoint Professionals Association

I have recently came across this announcement about the ISPA or the International SharePoint Professionals Association which is currently being formed to allow SharePoint resources and professionals to participate in. According to the site:

Welcome to the International SharePoint Professionals Association

The International SharePoint Professionals Association (“ISPA”) is the first independent, community-run, not-for-profit organization designed specifically for SharePoint Professionals. ISPA is a professional association dedicated to the promotion and global adoption of Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies. The Association provides support and guidance to the community by establishing connections between SharePoint professionals and groups, resources, education and information.

FAQ from site

Who is involved in ISPA

ISPA was founded by SharePoint professionals and MVP’s who care deeply about the greater SharePoint Community. The Board of Directors is comprised of Bob Fox (MVP), Darrin Bishop (MVP), Christopher Regan, and Natalya Voskresenskaya. ISPA is currently represented in over 19 countries by 50 regional evangelists, thirty of whom are SharePoint MVP’s. Everyone involved has a proven passion for community efforts and many are User Group leaders themselves.

How is ISPA different

There are numerous User Group-related organizations throughout the world who provide material and organizational support to various groups. These organizations do a fantastic job providing resources to the broader Microsoft community; however, none are focused exclusively on SharePoint. As community leaders, you are already aware of the differences between the SharePoint community and other technical communities; we share a certain sense of camaraderie and collaboration that is not often found elsewhere. ISPA is a support organization that truly understands this passion and how the community thinks. ISPA fills the gap where the others leave off; it was founded by SharePoint professionals, for SharePoint professionals, to deliver unparalleled resources directly to community leaders and participants.

Who are the evangelists

Evangelists are the primary representative of the ISPA in your region, they are people that you can reach out to if you are looking to find a local group in your area, or if you are a user group lead looking for assistance finding meeting sponsors, organization guidance, searching for speakers, and so on, or if you are motivated individual looking to start up a user group. As a team, they will offer the guidance needed to perform all of these functions, and will interact closely with the Local Microsoft offices when it's needed. Evangelists will also help organize events (Code Camps, Regional Summits).

ISPA globally supports evangelists efforts.

How do I become a member

Soon you will be able to register as an ISPA Member. We will provide a notice on the ISPA Portal home page. ISPA relies on its members and leaders to create a community for SharePoint Professionals and user groups. As a member you can participate on various ISPA committees to help determine the offerings, functionalities and programs that ISPA will take on. We will soon have need for members to provide content and translation, videos and even some community development as we build out our social applications. ISPA is a community driven effort and as a member your input is welcomed and needed.

I have checked and they already allow registration to ISPA which can be found here. Likewise, you can request for your own SharePoint user group here.

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