Wikimedians of Japan User Group participated in the Open Source Conference2025Hokkaido

Wikimedians of Japan User Group participated in the Open Source Conference 2025 Hokkaido, held on July 5, 2025.

This time, the event was held at the Sapporo City Industrial Promotion Center.

Originally, I was scheduled to arrive at Chitose Airport on an evening flight on the previous day, July 4th.

However, when I opened my reservation management app on my way to the airport where I was scheduled to board, it said “Flight cancelled due to aircraft scheduling issues.” However, there was nothing I could do if I turned back, so I headed to Kobe Airport, where I was scheduled to board, and arranged for a replacement flight. After consulting with the person at the counter, I headed to Haneda Airport on the 4th and secured a flight departing from Haneda on the morning of the 5th, and finally arrived at Chitose Airport on the morning of the 5th.

In Honshu Island, temperatures were already exceeding 30°C every day, but the coolness I felt as soon as I stepped off the plane made me realize that I had arrived in Hokkaido.

From Chitose Airport, I took the Rapid Airport train to Shin-Sapporo Station, then took the subway to Higashi-Sapporo Station and arrived at the Sapporo City Industrial Promotion Center.

Due to the venue restrictions, the community exhibit booths were smaller this time, which was also a nice touch.

OSC Hokkaido is run by LOCAL, a general incorporated association that brings together the OSS community in Hokkaido. The highlight of the event planned by the local organizers was the “Lunchtime Social Gathering,” also known as the “Curry Conference.” Naturally, I (VZP10224) attended.

The seminar will start at noon and we will split into groups of 5-6 people for a discussion. This time, we have been provided with Miyoshino‘s gyoza curry, which is said to be “famous in Sapporo.”

Since Mr. Ogasawara, who I had met at the LibreOffice conference, was sitting at the same table, I think we mainly talked about international conferences such as last year’s Katowice and this year’s Nairobi.

As in previous years, we used flyers to explain the full scope of Wikimedia’s projects at our booth, and in the seminar section we held a seminar on Wikidata.

At the final lightning talk of the conference, just like the OSCs in Nagoya and Shimane, the theme was “Let’s all go to the ESEAP Conference 2026 together!”

The social gathering after the conference, dubbed the “Big Social Gathering,” was held at Sapporo Beer Garden. While enjoying Genghis Khan and a mug of beer, participants also had meaningful conversations about the OSS community and the challenges of working as a “solo IT admin” (many of the OSC participants are IT engineers by trade).

When it comes to promoting understanding of the Wikimedia movement, it’s tempting to think of events that are primarily online, but it makes sense that if you can’t meet people you can’t meet unless you go to the event site, you have to go to the event site. A survey of OSC participants also showed that the overwhelming majority of participants were from the vicinity of the event site, and it was rare to see people traveling from Tokyo to a regional event, or from the regional area to Tokyo or Osaka. As long as it doesn’t interfere with our members’ activities, the user group will continue to promote understanding of the Wikimedia movement and Wikimedia projects by exhibiting at events in major cities in Japan.