What is an API?

An API is a way for two systems to pass information to each other, without a person copying it across. That is all it is.

What does that look like for your events?

Today your chapter posts an event in Eventbrite. For EO members outside your chapter to see it, somebody has to copy the title, the date and the link into another place by hand.

The 1EL global calendar is where EO members around the world look for events. With an API, it reads your events straight from Eventbrite. Nobody copies anything. You post once, and the event shows up in both places.

Why is it called an API?

The letters stand for Application Programming Interface. You do not need to remember that. Think of an API as a door that one system opens, so that another system can ask it questions such as "which events are coming up?".

Do I have to build anything?

No. Eventbrite already has an API, and the integration team already runs the other end of the link. Your part is to give that team access to your Eventbrite account, once. The page What we need from you explains the two ways to do that.

What is an API key, then?

It is one of those two ways. The page What is an API key? explains it in plain words.