Are We Properly Supporting Overseas Participants?
This is a daily report published personally by @nishimotz, chair of PyCon JP 2025.
PyCon JP 2025 will be held from September 26-28 at Hiroshima International Conference Center. The final day is for development sprints.
Introduction
Today’s topic is about supporting overseas participants.
First, let me explain the barriers that overseas participants face when attending international conferences in Japan, for those who might not be familiar with these challenges.
Barriers Faced by Overseas Participants
With about a month and a half until PyCon JP 2025, overseas participants are likely busy with concrete preparations at this time. However, this is when they often encounter several significant barriers.
First, there’s the information barrier. Since much of our communication happens in Japanese, important deadlines and updates may not reach English-speaking participants at the right time. Time zone differences can also cause them to miss critical announcements made during Japanese business hours.
Then there’s the administrative barrier. For those who need invitation letters for visa applications, an unclear process can create significant anxiety. Securing accommodation is another challenge, as determining English support availability and choosing appropriate locations requires more effort than one might imagine.
What makes this even more complex is that many overseas participants make their attendance decisions based on proposal acceptance. They wait for acceptance results before booking flights and accommodation, leaving them with limited time to arrange everything.
Particularly stressful from a mental health perspective are payment issues for flights and event registration. Even when attempting to pay with credit cards, international transactions can fail unexpectedly. When payment errors occur, participants must scramble to find alternative payment methods while deadlines loom, creating significant stress.
Finally, unclear contact points for help create substantial stress. When English inquiries receive delayed or inadequate responses, it can undermine participants’ enthusiasm for attending altogether.
Understanding these barriers, I’ve had some realizations recently.
First, publishing in English on our official blog isn’t enough. Especially for important information with deadlines, we need to ensure it reaches people through multiple channels like email and social media. I’ve painfully realized that thinking “we posted it on the blog, so we’re good” just doesn’t work for overseas participants.
Moreover, I’ve discovered that we have issues with responding to English inquiries. There have been multiple cases where we didn’t respond appropriately. I truly feel sorry about this. I recognize that there are people who have already faced difficulties because of these issues, and I sincerely want to apologize from the bottom of my heart.
When I shared this situation on our organizing team’s Slack, despite it being a holiday weekend in Japan, team members immediately jumped into action. Right now, they’re investigating exactly what inquiries we’ve received and how we’ve responded to them. They’re also considering what we can do to improve the situation.
We’re not just looking at improvements within existing departmental responsibilities, but also exploring cross-departmental solutions that go beyond individual roles. I believe that fundamental resolution of these issues requires organization-wide collaboration.
Actually, when I became chair, I was prepared for the fact that “doing things not covered by the manual is the chair’s job.” I think now is exactly that time.
Having set “Pieces of Python, Coming Together” as our theme, we cannot allow anyone to be left behind due to language or regional barriers. It’s a basic principle, but it’s not easy to implement. However, that’s exactly what makes it worthwhile.
To those considering participating from overseas: if you encounter any difficulties, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We’re still in the process of improving, but we will sincerely listen to your voices and work to create a better conference.
I believe now is the time for me to step up as chair.
Update History
- 2025-08-10: Initial draft created