docs: add recognizing contributor and appointing new maintainers guide (#1964)

Co-authored-by: Aahil13 <onyeanunaprince@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: V Thulisile Sibanda <66913810+thulieblack@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: Aahil13

docs/010-contribution-guidelines/recognizing-contributors-and-appointing-new-maintainers.md

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+---
+title: 'Recognizing Contributors & Appointing New Maintainers'
+weight: 170
+---
+
+AsyncAPI thrives on the passion, ideas, and time of its contributors. From reviewing PRs to improving documentation and hosting community calls, every contribution boosts our growth. This document outlines our process for recognizing contributors and appointing new maintainers across AsyncAPI projects.
+
+## Recognizing contributors
+
+Contributions can include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
+
+- Submitting issues, PRs, or feedback
+- Reviewing and testing pull requests
+- Writing or editing documentation
+- Participating in design discussions
+- Creating community content (blogs, talks, onboardings)
+- Supporting others in Slack or GitHub issues
+- Proposing ideas that influence roadmap or architecture
+
+### Recognition process
+
+We use the [All Contributors](https://allcontributors.org/) specification to credit contributors across all AsyncAPI repositories.
+
+To recognize someone:
+
+1. Add a comment on the related issue or PR. For example:
+
+    ```
+    @all-contributors please add @username for doc, review
+    ```
+
+2. Use the appropriate contribution types (like `code`, `doc`, `review`, `ideas`, etc.).
+
+If you notice a contribution that wasn't acknowledged, speak up in [Slack](https://asyncapi.com/slack-invite) or [GitHub](https://github.com/asyncapi). We'll gladly fix it.
+
+## Appointing new maintainers
+
+The role of a maintainer is about demonstrating ownership, consistency, and care for the project and its people. In this section, we outline how we identify potential maintainers, the nomination process, and the onboarding steps.
+
+### Selection criteria
+
+Potential maintainers typically demonstrate:
+
+- **Consistent quality contributions** across multiple PRs/issues.
+- **Responsiveness**: Participating in discussions, resolving feedback, and collaborating.
+- **Initiative**: Proactively suggesting or leading improvements, not just reacting to tasks.
+- **Community Mindset**: Supporting others, offering constructive feedback, and engaging in community spaces (like Slack or streams).
+- **Technical Alignment**: Understanding of project structure, workflows, and coding/documentation standards.
+
+### Nomination process
+
+Anyone can nominate a contributor for maintainership, including self-nominations.
+
+1. **Raise a GitHub issue**: In the relevant repo, create a new issue titled `Nomination for Maintainer: @username`.
+2. **Summarize contributions**: Include links to PRs, issues, reviews, or community engagement.
+3. **Gather feedback**: Allow up to 7 days for community/maintainer feedback on the nomination.
+4. **Decision**: Core maintainers or [TSC](https://github.com/asyncapi/community/blob/master/docs/020-governance-and-policies/CHARTER.md#2-technical-steering-committee) will reach a consensus and respond on the issue.
+
+### Onboarding checklist
+
+When someone is approved as a new maintainer, the lead maintainer ensures the following onboarding steps are completed:
+
+- [ ] Invite them as a GitHub maintainer with appropriate repo permissions
+- [ ] Add them to the [MAINTAINERS.yaml](https://github.com/asyncapi/community/blob/master/MAINTAINERS.yaml) file
+- [ ] Share [the Maintainer Onboarding Guide](https://www.asyncapi.com/docs/community/onboarding-guide/maintainer-guide)
+- [ ] Schedule a short onboarding call or Slack chat
+- [ ] Share the [TSC responsibilities and requirements](https://github.com/asyncapi/community/blob/master/docs/020-governance-and-policies/CHARTER.md#2-technical-steering-committee) from the Charter
+- [ ] Introduce them in the relevant Slack channels
+- [ ] Coordinate with the community manager and marketing team for a community-wide announcement, in addition to announcing it in their specific project repository
+
+Maintainers are leaders. But leadership isn't about gatekeeping but rather helping others grow while keeping the project healthy and welcoming. Let's keep celebrating contributions of all shapes and sizes, and support new maintainers as they take on more responsibility.
+
+Have a name in mind? Or would you like to nominate yourself? Head to the relevant repo and create a new Maintainer Nomination issue. Let's grow together.