Let’s Connect Learning Clinic “Exploring Diff Blog” has been held!

Wikimedia has a peer learning program called Let’s Connect, where people learn from each other. It is an initiative to share various knowledge and learn from people outside of each community. Looking at the program from the calendar onwards, multiple clinics are held every month, with various themes. I was invited to speak at this learning clinic on the theme of “Exploring Diff Blog: Sharing your story and understanding technical implementation”. I haven’t talked much about Diff, so I thought I’d definitely like to do it, and said OK.

Preparation meetings began online around February. The speakers were Diff editor Chris Koerner, author Eugene Ormandy, and myself. The program for the clinic had been prepared in detail, and we discussed the content accordingly with the staff. We also shared information about what participants would gain from the clinic. The date for the clinic was finally set for May 6th.

The event started at 12 UTC. When I entered Zoom, I noticed that more and more participants were joining from all over the world. After playing a simple icebreaker game, Chris’ lecture began. He gave an easy-to-understand explanation of what Diff is, why it is important, an overview of Diff readers and writers, and tips for writing Diff, with concrete examples.

Next, Eugene gave a case study presentation titled “Diff and Wikimedia Activities.” In 2023, Eugene was awarded the Wikimedian of the Year Newcomer Award for his prolific writing activities on Diff. His lecture, following a self-introduction and his activities before joining Diff, he talked about four Diff writings: “Reports of editathons” he conducted in various locations, “interview articles” with Wikimedians, “book review” related to Wikimedia, and “Wikimedia philosophy.” He concluded that these writings would archive the world of Wikimedia on Diff, making it an information resource not only for Wikimedians but also for researchers and journalists.

The second case presentation I gave was titled “Connecting Japan and the World through Diff.” First, I started writing for the English version of Diff to inform Wikimedians overseas about the situation in Japan. Second, I discovered that the English version of Diff contained many overseas case studies, so I translated them into Japanese and shared them with the Japanese community. Third, I translated articles from the Wikimedia Foundation and affiliate organization, ESEAP, into Japanese. And while translating articles from Ukraine, I reaffirmed the role of the Wikimedia Movement, which is based on collaboration.

A total of 85 people attended the clinic, and there was an active question and answer session. The participant survey showed positive feedback, with comments such as “so inspiring and thoughtfully presented, offering a unique perspective that added immense value!” and “feel motivated to read and create more interesting Diff posts.” I hope that this opportunity will encourage many Wikimedians to participate in Diff. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the staff who made this clinic possible, and to all the participants. Thank you very much.

Click here to watch the video from the clinic.