megane (Hajime Ogushi) 
I participated in a panel discussion at WordCamp Asia 2023. The details of the panel discussion are as follows.
Building WordPress Communities in Your Country
https://asia.wordcamp.org/2023/session/panel-building-wordpress-communities-in-your-country/
In this session, panelists will share their experience of building their local WordPress community and inspire you to start or get involved with yours.
It was a 50-minute session with five panelists, including myself, and the moderator, Angela Jin. The session was recorded so feel free to check the video (3:14:06) below if you’re interested!
There are many things that I wanted to share, but I will leave that for another time. In this post, I just wanted to focus on the important details of the event and my feelings about everything that happened.
The #1 thing I wanted to share (‘Be consistent’)
What I mean is that you should find your own pace to do things consistently and/or so that you can continue to do it for a long time.
I have found that it is not something glamorous, nor it is easy, but rather it is very challenging to keep doing something continuously for a long time. That’s the reason why I have nothing but respect for the WordPress community and the people who have been keeping up with this for 20 years until now.
After listening to the questions from the audience and other panelists, I felt it once again that I would like to continue to work with the WordPress community in the future.
About speaking on stage: I was the most nervous I’ve ever been
Being a relatively experienced speaker, I am usually not very nervous. But this time, there were several factors that were completely different than what I am used to, and thus it makes me nervous. Let’s look at the things that were different.
1. The content of my speech was different from what was originally planned
The title of the speech when I first applied for as a speaker is below.
- My 10-year contribution to WordPress has never felt right.
However, I was asked to participate in a panel discussion focusing on community and share my experience representing my country, Japan. As much as I felt honored to do so, I also wondered whether or not it was okay for me to accept the offer. “Can I really do this?”, I thought to myself.
2. Not great at English, but joining a panel discussion that requires improvisation!
Actually, I’m not a good English speaker at all.
Last year, a native English speaker joined our company, so I have been trying to use English as much as possible on a regular basis and taking English lesson once a week.
Still, within the two months between when I got the offer the panel discussion to the actual event, my level was not at where I am confident enough to join the discussion.
Yet, I still have to get myself together to try to communicate with all the other panelists and moderator because I am representing my community in Japan. I don’t want to disappoint or embarrassed them. So indeed, this was a big pressure for me.
Thanks to everyone’s support and assistance, I made it!
I was feeling very anxious about this panel discussion, but I received a lot of support both before and on the day of the event that surpassed my anxiety. Therefore, it was really thanks to everyone that I was able to make it work.
- People who reviewed my draft in advance
- Since the beginning, I was asking myself whether I was qualified enough to join this panel discussion. And so, I asked support from some people to review my answers to some of the questions that will be in the discussion.
- People who helped me to practice English
- Those who patiently helped me in correcting my phrases and mistakes in English.
- Everyone who supported me at the session on the day of the event.
- Those who were at the venue, those who were watching over me, those who were helping me, and so on.
During the session, there was a part where I said “I recommend WordSlack“, but WordSlack is unique to the Japanese community, and rather there is a Global WordPress Slack (Making WordPress). So, people in the audience were helping me by pointing that out in a loud voice directly to the stage. After the session, many people who were cheering me in the audience said, “I was as nervous as when I watched my child’s piano recital”. I felt like we were such a great team that had worked so hard together.
Thank you again to everyone who helped me in every step of the way! You have no idea how reassuring your assistance had helped me!
I’m glad I took the challenge – It was the best WordCamp Asia 2023 experience
I am so glad that WordCamp Asia 2020 was cancelled due to Corona so that three years later, WordCamp Asia 2023 could be held without any problems. I was truly happy to be able to participate in the Contributor Day, the Session Day, as a sponsor, and as a speaker throughout the entire event. I am glad I tried all of them, and WordCamp Asia 2023 is one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had.
Finally, I would like to thank all the organizers and volunteers for organizing this event. I was especially moved when Nao-san, who has been leading the Japanese community for a long time, when she gave the closing speech as the Global lead of WordCamp Asia 2023. There are no words that can express my gratitude.
Looking forward to seeing you all again next year! Once again, thank you so much!