“Fascinated by the Wikimedia Movement”

On October 8, 2025, I gave a talk titled “Fascinated by the Wikimedia Movement” at the Japan Society of Information and Knowledge (JSIK) Senior Group Table Talk. JSIK, which aims to promote information and knowledge studies, has a Senior Group aimed at seniors, and I was invited to attend a table talk hosted by the group. The venue was Kinokuniya Bookstore in Shinjuku, and about 10 people gathered around a table in the academic lounge on the third floor, with about 16 people also participating online.

First, I explained what “Wikimedia” is, explaining that Wikimedia’s activities are not a business, but a “movement” led by volunteers from around the world. Following my self-introduction, I outlined my motivations for publishing a book titled “A 70-Year-Old Wikipedian talks about the charm of libraries” in 2023. It’s my story of how I came to write for Wikipedia after encountering encyclopedias and learning about collective knowledge. Along the way, I also touched on Wikipedia’s three main principles.

Next, to show what kind of articles I have written on Wikipedia, I introduced my user page on Wikipedia, which contains a link to a list of articles I have written, organized by region. From that list, I chose music librarian Takashi Ogawa as an example of something I knew well. Next, I chose entomologist Toichi Uchida as an example of something I researched and wrote about that I didn’t know. Finally, I chose Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha as an example of translations from foreign languages, which is my main focus at the moment. I showed that in order to write these articles, I draw on all the knowledge and experience I have cultivated up to now, and that I am experiencing rewarding experiences every day.

The third topic is “Getting to know Wikimedians around the world.” In 2022, I met Japanese Wikimedian Eugene Ormandy and learned that he writes many articles on the Wikimedia Foundation’s blog, Diff. In 2023, Eugene won the Wikimedian of the Year Newcomer Award, and the award ceremony was held at Wikimania 2023 in Singapore. As a result of learning about these events, I was attending the ESEAP Conference in Malaysia and Wikimania in Poland in 2024, and this year, the ESEAP Summit in Manila and Wikimania in Kenya, both with scholarships from the Wikimedia Foundation. I frequently posted about these experiences on Diff, in both Japanese and English, and invited many of the Wikimedians I met to start a Facebook group called “Diff Japanese Edition Club.”

The Wikimedians I met are all fascinated by the Wikimedia movement and are working hard every day to move it forward, even if just a little. Various kinds of activities are being carried out, both locally rooted and transcending local boundaries, not just in the small region of their own countries but all over the world. Every day, I feel that Wikimedia is a movement that transcends the activities of individuals.

As my fourth topic, I spoke about my plans to exhibit at the Library Fair 2025 in Yokohama in October, where I plan to share my experiences from overseas exchanges with the community. Finally, I introduced a recent article in Diff about a “100-year-old Wikipedian,” saying that I would like to age like that, and I hope many people, regardless of age, will join this movement.