I am going to share my experience to become a CNCF Ambassador and how I got selected for this program.

But first, let's understand what the CNCF ambassador program is. A CNCF ambassador is the person who is willing to contribute to the CNCF landscape in any form, like by collaborating with local communities, writing blog content, or creating video content related to any CNCF projects, programs, or events.

Check out this to know more about the program requirements, role, and responsibilities.

How I Got Selected:

My passion to contribute to open-source projects attracted me to this role. Before getting selected as CNA (Cloud Native Ambassador), I was an active member and co-organiser at CNCG Ahmedabad (Cloud Native Computing Groups). Where we regularly organise meet-ups on Kubenetes and other CNCF technologies.

My contributions to building a local CNCF community and sharing my experience with Kubernetes on different blogging platforms were the plus points of my application for CNA.

Application Process:

Generally, this program operates on a cohort (H1 and H2) basis yearly. You can find all important dates on the application page

There will be a few questions, like why you want to be CNA and what type of contributions you have such as that. Your selection will be based on the answers to these questions and your contribution to the community.

Benefits:

It is very impactful to connect with fellow ambassadors and gain their insights on various CNCF events and projects. You will get free access to all Linux Foundation Certifications and Trainings that will help you upgrade your skills and career. Also, you will get $150USD monthly reimbursement for all the meetups or events you host as a CNCF Ambassador. Also you will get Ambassador-specific swags and a large CNCF project sticker decal pack for yourself and for the community.

If you are not a professional speaker and want to start, there are also guidelines created by CNCF people that will help you learn how to be a good speaker and share your knowledge and experience with the community.

Impacts

With the help of ambassador benefits, i recently cleared KCNA and CKA exams from the Linux Foundation. Also,I am right now learning more about multiple CNCF projects and implementing them to my personal projects; if I face any issues, I will raise the questions to the respective CNCF slack channels.

Also recently, we hosted KUBERTENES Birthday Bash Meetup, where we celebrated 10 years of Kubernetes with the Ahmedabad community.

We had two sessions focused on FinOps and auto-instrumentation with Kubernetes in that meetup. Although our swags were late and we couldn't use them, we somehow managed swags from our previous meetups for the audiences.

Now that KubeCon CloudNativeCon India 2024 is happening in December, I am excited to meet fellow ambassadors in person.

Conclusion

The CNCF Ambassador program is quite different from other community ambassador programs as it gives lot's of learning and networking opportunities with the diverse CNCF community. Also,it gives you motivation to grow your local CNCF community with ambassador benefits.