One of the key themes of the MySQL Community over the past year has been increasing transparency, participation, and collaboration. 

Through Public Discussions, Design Proposals, the MySQL Developer Guide, GitHub collaboration, and the MySQL Contributor Summit, we have been working to create more opportunities for the community to engage with the future direction of MySQL. 

But community engagement is not limited to online discussions. 

This summer, Heather VanCura, Vice President of External Standards & Community Engagement at Oracle, will join MySQL User Group communities across Japan, Korea, and Taiwan to continue these conversations in person. 

Bringing Community Conversations to JAPAC 

The MySQL Contributor Summit and Public Discussion series generated valuable feedback and many thoughtful conversations about MySQL Community Edition, contributor participation, roadmap transparency, and future feature development. 

The upcoming JAPAC events provide an opportunity to continue those discussions with local communities, hear directly from users and contributors, and better understand regional priorities and perspectives. 

The goal is simple: listen, learn, and collaborate. 

A Broader Community Engagement Tour 

Beyond the MySQL User Group events, the JAPAC visit includes meetings with community leaders, open-source organizations, customers, universities, media, and developer groups across the region. 

The schedule includes community meetups, customer discussions, media interviews, university outreach, User Group events, and a MySQL Community Roundtable focused on gathering feedback on MySQL Community Engagement initiatives and future contribution opportunities. 

The goal is not only to share updates, but also to listen, learn, and better understand the priorities, challenges, and ideas of the broader MySQL and open-source communities across JAPAC. 

MySQL JAPAC Tour

Japan: MySQL User Group Japan 

The JAPAC visit begins in Tokyo, where MyNA / MySQL User Group Japan will host a community meetup on June 30. 

The event will feature updates on MySQL community engagement initiatives, feedback from MySQL Contributor Summit participants, and presentations from community leaders and MySQL Rockstar candidates Tomoaki Otsuka and Kento Takeuchi. 

Community discussion and feedback will be a key part of the program, providing attendees with an opportunity to share ideas, questions, and suggestions directly with the MySQL Community team. 

  • Date & Time: June 30th, 6:30-8:30pm (GMT+9) 
  • Venue: Seminar room at Oracle Aoyama Center, 2-5-8 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 

Korea: MySQL User Group Korea 

In Seoul, the focus will be on both the future of MySQL community engagement and the latest capabilities available in MySQL 9.7 LTS. 

Attendees will hear updates on contributor initiatives, community collaboration, roadmap transparency, and opportunities to participate in future MySQL programs. A technical session covering MySQL 9.7 LTS features and practical use cases will also be included. 

  • Date & Time: July 7th, 3:00-5:00pm (GMT+9) 
  • Venue: Oracle office, Level 15, 16 & 36 ASEM Tower 517 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, KR  

Taiwan: MySQL Joint User Group Event 

The JAPAC tour concludes in Taipei with a joint user group event bringing together members of the local MySQL and developer communities. 

The program will include updates on MySQL community initiatives, MySQL 9.7 LTS, and opportunities for future collaboration and participation. 

  • Date & Time: July 10th, 2:00-4:00pm (GMT+8) 
  • Venue: Oracle office, 28F, No. 68, Sec. 5, Cathay Landmark Square, Zhongxiao East Road, Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan 

Building the Next Chapter Together 

One of the most important lessons from the MySQL Contributor Summit was that meaningful contributions come in many forms. Contributors help shape MySQL through code, feature proposals, testing, documentation, tooling, benchmarking, education, and community advocacy. 

The JAPAC community events continue that philosophy by creating opportunities for open discussion and direct feedback. Whether you are a developer, DBA, architect, community leader, or contributor, your perspective helps shape the future of MySQL. 

We look forward to meeting community members across Japan, Korea, and Taiwan and continuing the conversation together. 

Additional Resources 

  • Governance Document