Hello,
A a first timer at the Ubuntu Global Jam and as a Linux Beginner, can you please elaborate as to how I can contribute?
Welcome to the Ubuntu community!
As a beginner, you can start with just installing the new version of Ubuntu and testing if it works well with your hadware. Once you have completed these tests, you can report them online so that other people can also benefit from the same. This is called image and hardware testing (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams/Testing).
After that, you can explore many other options. You can write / update documentation about various applications (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams/Docs). If you would like to see your favourite applications in your own mother tongue, you can contribute to translations (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams/Translations). If you have a favourite application that is not packaged for Ubuntu or it does not install well in Ubuntu, then you can contribute to packaging (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams/Packaging). If you are good at programming, you can fix bugs (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jams/Bugs). If you know how to write Ubuntu Touch apps, you can conduct an App Dev School (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoRunningAppDevSchool).
There are tons of options available if you want to contribute to Ubuntu. You can pick any one Jam and work on a task. Once you finish with one task, you could even pick another Jam and work on some other task.
So, just come to the event and we'll help you find something to your liking! And the best part is that contributing to Ubuntu is simple!
Best Regards, Rigved