docs: update good first issue template with welcome + criteria

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/01_good_first_issue.yml

@@ -4,6 +4,15 @@ title: "[Good First Issue]: "
 labels: ["Good First Issue"]
 assignees: []
 body:
+  - type: markdown
+    attributes:
+      value: |
+        ---
+        ## **Thanks for contributing!** 😊
+
+        We truly appreciate your time and effort. If this is your first open-source contribution, welcome!
+        This template is designed to help you create a Good First Issue (GFI) : a small, well-scoped task that helps new contributors learn the codebase and workflow.
+        ---
   - type: textarea
     id: intro
     attributes:
@@ -16,6 +25,38 @@ body:
     validations:
       required: false
 
+  - type: markdown
+    attributes:
+      value: |
+        > [!IMPORTANT]
+        > ### 📋 Good First Issue (GFI) Guidelines
+        > 
+        > **What we generally consider good first issues:**
+        >
+        > - **Narrow changes or additions to `src` functionality** that use generic Python skills which can be tested by adding to an existing test. For example:
+        >   - `__str__` functions
+        >   - `__repr__` functions
+        >   - Typing fixes, like return type hints or basic type conflicts
+        > - **Refactors of existing examples:**
+        >   - Separating existing examples into separate functions
+        >   - Or, conversely, taking a split example into a monolithic function
+        > - **Improvements to documentation** in examples and source code:
+        >   - Docstrings: module docstrings, function docstrings
+        >   - Inline comments
+        >   - Addition or changes to print statements to improve clarity
+        > - **Functional improvements to examples:**
+        >   - Additional steps that would help to illustrate functionality
+        > - **Specific additions to existing unit or integration tests**
+        >
+        > **What we generally do NOT consider good first issues:**
+        >
+        > - Creation of new examples
+        > - Creation of new unit and integration tests
+        > - Changes to DLT functionality, like `to_proto` and `from_proto`
+        > - Anything requiring knowledge of multiple areas of the codebase
+        >
+        > 📖 *For a more detailed explanation, refer to  `docs/maintainers/good_first_issues_guidelines.md`.*
+
   - type: textarea
     id: issue
     attributes:

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@ This changelog is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.
 - Add PR inactivity reminder bot for stale pull requests `.github/workflows/pr-inactivity-reminder-bot.yml`
 - Add comprehensive training documentation for _Executable class `docs/sdk_developers/training/executable.md`
 - Added empty `docs/maintainers/good_first_issues.md` file for maintainers to write Good First Issue guidelines (#1034)
+- Enhanced `.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/01_good_first_issue.yml` with welcoming message and acceptance criteria sections to guide contributors in creating quality GFIs (#1052)
 
 ### Changed
-
 - Refactored `account_create_transaction_with_fallback_alias.py` by splitting the monolithic `create_account_with_fallback_alias` function into modular functions: `generate_fallback_key`, `fetch_account_info`, and `print_account_summary`. The existing `setup_client()` function was reused for improved readability and structure (#1018)
 - Allow `PublicKey` for `TokenUpdateKeys` in `TokenUpdateTransaction`, enabling non-custodial workflows where operators can build transactions using only public keys (#934).
 - Bump protobuf toml to protobuf==6.33.2
@@ -619,3 +619,4 @@ contract_call_local_pb2.ContractLoginfo -> contract_types_pb2.ContractLoginfo
 ### Removed
 
 - N/A
+