She Leads, We Map: Nepal’s First Inclusive Mapping Week 2025

A Woman’s Vision for Nepal’s Geospatial Future

Leadership is about vision, resilience, and inspiring lasting change. In Nepal, where geospatial science and open mapping are still growing, leading a nationwide movement that combines education, technology, and humanitarian response was a challenge I embraced wholeheartedly.

As the sole lead of Mapping Week 2025, my mission was clear—to empower students, professionals, and communities through the transformative power of geospatial technology. This event was not just about training sessions; it was about collaboration, impact, and building Nepal’s open mapping ecosystem for the future.

This journey was strengthened by my mentor and motivator, Kiran Ahire, Asia Pacific Community Manager at TomTom. Her unwavering support and encouragement pushed me to redefine possibilities, foster international collaborations, and elevate Nepal’s presence in global geospatial networks. Her belief in community-driven open mapping became the foundation upon which Mapping Week 2025 was built, ensuring every participant embraced the true value of geospatial data for development and disaster resilience.

Of course, no movement is complete without the passionate dedication of volunteers, and I am incredibly grateful to the remarkable individuals who stood beside me: Usha Dhakal, Prince Kumar Singh, Lokendra Yadav, and Samikshya Ghimire all contributed tirelessly to organizing sessions, coordinating logistics, and mentoring participants. Their dedication ensured that Mapping Week 2025 was not only successful but impactful, directly reaching over 400 attendees and setting a new benchmark in Nepal’s open mapping initiatives. With generous sponsorship from TomTom, this event became a turning point in Nepal’s geospatial history, inspiring future innovators and humanitarian mapping efforts.

A Week of Learning, Mapping, and Humanitarian Impact

Day 1: OpenStreetMap (OSM) Training & Humanitarian Mapathon for Earthquake Response

We began with OSM training, led by Miss Aachal Dhungana and Mr. Suraj Thapa, equipping participants with essential skills in iD Editor, JOSM, and mapping workflows.Immediately after, we launched a seven-day humanitarian mapathon focused on earthquake-affected regions in Myanmar and Koshi Rural Municipality of Nepal. Volunteers mapped critical infrastructure—roads, buildings, and affected zones—contributing vital geospatial data for disaster recovery efforts.Later that evening, Kiran Ahire led an exclusive session on MapRoulette, guiding participants on how microtasking enhances OSM data for humanitarian use, reinforcing the power of collaborative mapping.

Day 2: Remote Sensing – Google Earth Engine for Disaster Response

Led by Er. Yogesh Regmi, participants explored Google Earth Engine (GEE) for satellite imagery analysis, NDVI detection, and change tracking, gaining essential tools for environmental monitoring and disaster preparedness.

Day 3: The Lifecycle of Spatial Data – From Collection to Application

Mr. Nishan Kumar Aryal, YouthMappers Regional Ambassador for Asia Pacific 2024, guided participants through the entire spatial data workflow, showcasing how mapping plays a crucial role in urban planning and crisis response.

Day 4: Mapping Biodiversity – Species Distribution Modeling with R

Led by Mr. Lalit BC, Co-founder of Map Mentors, participants explored Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) using R, learning how geospatial analytics supports biodiversity conservation and ecological research.

Day 5: Crowdsourced Crisis Mapping – MapSwipe Training

Participants learned how to validate satellite imagery using MapSwipe, a crowdsourced mapping tool for detecting earthquake-damaged areas. Trainers Er. Arun Kumar Bhomi and Er. Rabina Poudyal emphasized the global significance of citizen-driven crisis mapping.

Day 6: Advanced Mapping – uMap & Overpass Turbo

Attendees worked with two powerful OSM tools:

• uMap, led by Er. Vivek Dumre, for creating customized interactive maps used in urban planning and disaster visualization.

• Overpass Turbo, introduced by Er. Gorakh Nath Pandey, enabling participants to query and extract OSM data for advanced geospatial analysis.This session empowered participants to not only consume spatial data but also analyze and visualize it for impactful applications.

Day 7: Ground-Truth Mapping – Organic Maps, OSM Tracker & Mapillary

On the final day, trainers Er. Ashok Thakulla, Er. Rabi Shrestha, and Mr. Lochan Pant introduced essential field mapping tools, focusing on offline mapping, mobility tracking, and street-level imagery collection.

Participants engaged in:

• Organic Maps & OSM Tracker – Useful for mapping in internet-limited areas.

• Mapillary – A street-level imagery platform for enhancing map accuracy and infrastructure data updates.

Response Through Weekly Mapathons

Recognizing the urgent need for geospatial data in disaster response, Mapping Week 2025 actively supported the task of Nepal and Myanmar through weekly mapathons.

Nepal’s Response

With Nepal’s ongoing challenges in Koshi Rural Municipality, our mapping teams focused on identifying damaged infrastructure, evacuation routes, and essential services. Using open-source mapping tools, we helped humanitarian responders deploy aid more efficiently.

Myanmar’s Earthquake Recovery

Following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar on March 28, 2025, mapping teams contributed critical spatial data that supported emergency relief efforts. Volunteers worked to update maps of affected regions, assisting organizations with logistics planning and resource allocation.

These community-driven mapping initiatives have demonstrated how open geospatial technology can play a transformative role in disaster resilience.

Breaking Barriers: Women Leading Nepal’s Geospatial Future

Leading Nepal’s first large-scale geospatial initiative as a woman was both a challenge and an exhilarating experience. With the guidance of Er. Ashok Thakulla and mentorship from Kiran Ahire, this journey proved that leadership thrives on expertise, innovation, and impact—not gender.

What made this initiative truly groundbreaking was the strong presence of women mappers, making up 57% of participants, stepping up to redefine Nepal’s geospatial landscape. With a powerful mix of determined female mappers and their male counterparts, we created an inclusive, dynamic mapping movement that showcased collaboration at its best.

Fig: Attendees pie chart

To celebrate the incredible dedication of mappers, the top 10 contributors were rewarded with exciting prizes, adding an extra spark of motivation. These prizes not only recognized their hard work but also encouraged future mappers.

Together, we mobilized volunteers, built global collaborations, and positioned Nepal as an emerging geospatial leader. This is more than just mapping—it’s a statement that women are shaping the future of geospatial technology, one map at a time.

A Call to Action: Nepal’s Future in Open Geospatial Science

Mapping Week 2025 was not just an event—it was a movement. By bridging knowledge gaps, fostering inclusivity, and strengthening Nepal’s global contributions in geospatial science, we laid the foundation for a future shaped by open mapping and data-driven solutions.

I extend my deepest gratitude to every trainer, speaker, volunteer, participant, and TomTom for their unwavering belief in Nepal’s geospatial potential.Together, we are shaping Nepal’s geospatial future—one map at a time.

Final Thoughts: A Movement That Goes Beyond Borders

This is more than a blog—it is the story of transformation, leadership, and global impact.This is Nepal’s first geospatial movement—led by a woman, powered by collaboration, and built on the foundation of open mapping.And this is just the beginning.

“We don’t just build maps. We build mappers.”

Inspired by YouthMappers, this philosophy is about empowering people, fostering knowledge, and creating a global network of changemakers. Maps are tools, but mappers drive transformative solutions—building resilience, strengthening communities, and shaping the future, one contribution at a time.Because maps don’t change the world—mappers do.

About the Author

Prativa Thapa, a third-year Geomatics Engineering student at Kathmandu University, has transformed into a leader in geospatial mapping through passion and dedication. In 2023, she made her mark by winning multiple mapathons, showcasing her skills. By 2024, she earned the prestigious OM Guru Advanced Mapper title and became a trainer, championing inclusive and interdisciplinary mapping across Nepal. Now, in 2025, as the sole Mapping Lead for GES and President of KU YouthMappers, she leads Nepal’s first-ever Mapping Week, pioneering nationwide campaigns that foster collaboration and innovation in mapping. From an aspiring mapper to a visionary leader, Prativa continues to shape Nepal’s geospatial future with enthusiasm and heart.