Yuuichi Kojima
Yuuichi Kojima is a 45-year-old healthcare professional based in Tokyo, Japan. In his daily work, he supports and works closely with many people.
He is not an IT professional and never felt comfortable joining conversations about technology. However, when LibreOffice was introduced in his workplace, a colleague who led the project introduced him to the world of open source software (OSS). Since then, he has gradually become involved with OSS communities.
Today, he uses LibreOffice and Nextcloud as part of his daily work. After nearly five years of using them, he would like to share his experiences with the audience in this session.
Intervention
A person who had no interest in IT started using LibreOffice after it was introduced by a colleague at work. This simple change became the first step into the world of open source software (OSS).
The colleague who introduced LibreOffice was also active in OSS communities. At first, LibreOffice was just another tool for daily work. However, through using it, he learned about the community behind it. By meeting new people and having new experiences, his world gradually became larger.
In this talk, we will look back on how a person with no interest in OSS became involved in an open source community. We will also share the story from the viewpoint of the colleague who helped him take that first step.
Why did a world that once seemed unrelated become interesting? What encouraged him to get involved? What did he learn through community activities, and how did his way of thinking and acting change? We will answer these questions through real experiences.
This story includes the worries and uncertainty of joining a community for the first time, lessons learned from mistakes, the satisfaction of working together with others, and the process of finding a role within a community. We will also talk about how experiences gained through OSS activities have influenced work and daily life.
We hope this talk will be useful for people who are interested in OSS but hesitate to join, for those who want to take a first step into a new community, and for those who think OSS has nothing to do with them.