The dictionaries we use to understand the world can be limiting. Sometimes, the definitions are so vague as to make you wonder—what does that actually mean? At other times, the definitions are dangerously outdated, inadvertently promoting discriminatory views that are harmful to others. For example, in Japanese dictionaries, the word for “marriage” is still defined as “a union between man and woman.” In a connected world where we have access to the experiences of so many different people, perhaps words are no longer enough to convey the breadth of a concept or idea.

TikTionary is the world's first video-based dictionary, curated from 45,900 videos uploaded by actual users on the TikTok social media platform. Every day, users of many different races, genders, and religions from around the world upload video snippets of their lives. Each video is labeled with a hashtag, which is sometimes what you would except—a video of somebody’s mother labeled #mom—and sometimes not—a fireworks display labeled #art. The idea behind TikTionary is to compile videos by word—or rather, hashtag—and demonstrate how the same word can mean so many different things based on the user's cultural and social background. We hoped the project would help spread a more diverse range of definitions for the words and ideas we use in our daily lives.

We targeted young people—young Japanese people in particular—whose views of the world are still developing and are not yet set in stone. Japan is generally culturally conservative—for example, 60% of companies do not have any support systems for LGBTQ employees—and we hoped that TikTionary would offer young Japanese an attractive platform for expanding their views on a variety of concepts and ideas. TikTok is very popular with young Japanese, and we felt they would be more receptive to learning from people their age.

TikTionary was announced on Nov. 16—the International Day of Tolerance. TikTok promoted the project around the world and, even after the project's launch, continued to refine the content and help it reach a wider audience. They also actively encouraged influencers to upload videos tailored to the project's objectives. Schools in Japan incorporated TikTionary into their curriculum to create discussions about diversity and tolerance. Meanwhile, companies and organizations who supported the project's objectives organized events revolving around TikTionary.

The project enjoyed the support of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, as well as 11 companies and nonprofit organizations. TikTionary videos were viewed over

4.5 million times (includes views on TikTok). In the end, 4.9 million people learned about the project, 77% of whom said the project helped them develop a more diverse view of the world.