I talked about Java community events at JJUG CCC Spring 2018

Last month, I talked about a Java community for first time attendees at JJUG CCC 2018 Spring.

JJUG CCC is a Java community conference organized by Japan Java User Group (Usually, the group is called JJUG).

This is the presentation slide of my session but it is only in Japanese.

www.slideshare.net

I explained why the community activities are important for Java. And I recommended that if they want to increase their knowledge of Java, they should join in our community activities.

In addition, I talked about my experiences with some international Java conferences.

The Oracle Code One (the original name is JavaOne) is the most important Java conference organized by Oracle. The first time I participated in the JavaOne conference was 13 years ago. At that time, I didn't speak English well. However, I was still very much enjoyed the experience.

I remember that John Gage, a startup member of Sun Microsystems, said "Don't be shy!" on the stage of the keynote session. It was an important rule of the JavaOne conference. A lot of Java developer come from all over the world. It is a golden opportunity to discuss, share some know-how, communicate and make friends.

His saying "Don't be shy!" echoes still in my mind.

Last year, I participated in the JBCNConf 2017. It is annual Java community conference in Barcelona, Spain. I was the only one Japanese attendee. I tried to communicate with other participants in my broken English. It required courage. However, John Gage's words whispered in my ear: "Don't be shy!".

About 10 months later, I got a message from a developer who lives in London. We had met in Barcelona. He said that he was comming to Japan to have a session at the JJUG CCC. He remembered JJUG because I introduced him to it. I succeeded in making a friend.

I also introduced JOnsen. JOnsen is an unconference of Java in Japan. There were about 30 participants. Half were Japanese, Half were foreigners. So, the common language was English.

However, an organizer said "JOnsen is the most relaxed unconference". In fact, we were so relaxed. We discussed about not only Java technology but also culture, diversity, education and community. In addition, we also enjoyed some leisure activities such as hiking, drinking and karaoke.

About JOnsen, there is a good entry written by Matthew Gilliard.

Matthew Gilliard's blog || JOnsen 2018

At the end of my session, I called on all attendees to participate in these international conferences. Of course, English is important. But it is just a tool. The most important thing is the mind. We must accross borders and share our knowledge around the world.