YouthMappers Regional Ambassadors help the network grow and thrive
Selected for their demonstrated leadership, YouthMappers Regional Ambassadors recruit highly motivated students to organize, create, and formally establish university-based YouthMappers chapters around the world. They provide local support to chapters through in-person, technical training to ensure data quality in OSM data creation and directly contribute to the growth and sustainability of the YouthMappers network. As regional facilitators, they carry the unique opportunity and responsibility to elevate students' voices and contributions to open mapping for enhancing community resilience.
Read their blog posts and follow them on social media to connect with them and other YouthMappers in your region!
Africa
Akintola Mercy Onaopemipo, 2021-2022
NIGERIA
Once a former vice president of YouthMappers FUTA and currently the chapter president of YouthMappers FUTA, he is an undergraduate student working towards a Bachelor of Technology in Remote sensing and GIS. Currently, he works with the HOT OSM Training Working Group, OSM Africa validators, and supports the OSM Africa monthly mapathon committee. Over the years, he has developed expertise in remote sensing, field data collection, data management, and geospatial analysis. He is an enthusiastic, energetic, passionate and ambitious person. Also a great team worker who loves to contribute and volunteer for several humanitarian initiatives. His dream is to help people who are willing and interested to learn, grow and improve in mapping activities over time, and help their communities. He hopes to give voices to people, particularly the underrepresented, through mapping which is a means of communicating problems and providing solutions. He supports and encourages active participation of young women in mapping. Reach him at @Mercixs20.
Binyam Dele, 2021-2022
ETHIOPIA
Binyam is a multi-talented geo-enthusiast software engineer responsible for developing and maintaining the exciting technological advances that happen every day at Miler LLC. He graduated from Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU) with a B.Sc, specializing in software engineering. While he was on campus, for his contribution to a gender-based violence prevention system that includes a mobile and web application, he received an award from the Ministry of Innovation. The need to answer "where?" on his software projects, his passion for open-source technologies and geospatial sciences led him to join the OpenStreetMap community in Ethiopia. He is also the founder of the AASTU YouthMappers chapter. Binyam loves to support people and strongly believes giving back to the community is the right thing to do. Likewise, he prefers to share what he knows and is happy to learn.
Chomba Chishala, 2019-2021
ZAMBIA
Chomba Chishala is currently an undergraduate student at The University of Zambia. He is a former President for the YouthMappers chapter at the University of Zambia (UNZA), the former chairperson for astudent-led environmental network at the UNiversity of Zambia called Umodzi, and a 2018 YouthMappers Research fellow. Chomba Chishala is a purposeful and goal-driven, empathetic, creative, hardworking and honest person with great social and communication skills. His dream is to lead people; more especially the youth who have the power and energy to change the world. He desires to see more youth take a keen interest in what is happening in their community, voice out their opinions, and effect change through their mapping. Follow Chomba @chombacc
Read Chomba's blog posts Three Years of Being Part of YouthMappers; How YouthMappers are Contributing to 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (co-written with Yusuf Suleiman); Three years of being a YouthMapper
Christian Weah, 2021-2022
LIBERIA
Christian is a self-motivated and energetic young man who is extremely passionate about leadership and positive influential change. He is a founding member and the immediate past President of the University of Liberia YouthMappers chapter, former President of the GEMCESA – Geology, Electrical, Mining and Civil Engineering Student Association at the College of Engineering, University of Liberia, and is an EHELD (Excellence In Higher Education for Liberia’s Development) Scholar. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Liberia and a Certificate in Computer Applications from Comprehensive Computer Institute. Christian participated in the Open Cities Monrovia Mapping project, 4-County OSM Digitization, Social Registry Data Collection, Machine Learning, Monrovia Market Project and COVID-19 Rapid Response Project which helped to significantly improve his knowledge of several tools such ODK Collect, Kobo Toolbox, JOSM, and ID Editor. He is passionate about contributing data to the Open Streat Map and wants to ensure YouthMappers visibility is increased across his region by establishing new chapters and providing support to existing chapters. His unflinching commitment and his outstanding leadership abilities made him a recipient of the 2021 YouthMappers Alumni Award. Connect with Chrisitan @smart9xdiamond and on LinkedIn.
Confidence Kpodo, 2021-2022
GHANA
Confidence Kpodo recently graduated from the University of Cape Coast with a Bsc in Geography and Regional Planning. Being a geospatial enthusiast, she joined UCC YouthMappers in 2016 and before graduating, served as the chapter Vice-President in 2018 the Chapter President in 2019. That same year, she was selected as one of the HOT OSM Global YouthMappers Women Connect Challenge Winners to represent YouthMappers at the 2019 State of the Map Conference and HOT Summit in Heidelberg, Germany. As a member of UCC YouthMappers, she had the opportunity to support innovative projects where she was able to put her knowledge to use in mapping farmlands on the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture's FLA programme Africa RISING. She believes the exposure to certain skills that are not gained in the classroom, such as developing ones capacity in the field of GIS, impact personal growth positively. Confidence loves to have an adventure and try new tech, you can find her @Aku_Sedodo.
Read Confidence's blog Mappers Under One Roof: An Experience Story From YouthMappers
(co-written with the winners of the YouthMappers Women Connect Challenge)
Dennis Irorere, 2019-2020
NIGERIA
Dennis is a final year student at the Federal University of Technology Akure, with a major in Meteorology. He has a passion for open data, open mapping, and technology with a specific focus on building sustainable architecture for interoperability and efficient data use toward building solutions to problems across sectors - Human, Social, and Environmental. He believes that when access to knowledge is democratized, we see meaningful social development because it takes a brilliant mind from a disadvantaged background to create transformational solutions that solve problems within their community. This is why he believes so much in the YouthMappers slogan “We don’t just make maps, we build mappers” and the opportunities YouthMappers is providing Youths across the world. Follow Dennis @Denironyx
Read Dennis' blog post #ThrowbackThursday: SOTMUS 2019
Erick Tamba Mnyali, 2021-2022
TANZANIA
Erick is a recent graduate with BSc. Environmental sciences and management from Sokoine University of Agriculture. He is an environmental scientist, researcher, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) specialist with three years of experience in spatial and non-spatial data mapping, modeling, analysis, and visualization. He is also a YouthMappers alumnus (2020) and founder of Geospatial Technology and Environment (GeoTE), which is a nonprofit organization aiming to impact the community by achieving sustainable development goals through the use of Geospatial Technology skills. He strives to share his skills on the use of open-source GIS tools which have proven to be reliable to the local community in supporting data-based decisions and solving community challenges. He is a champion in coaching youth in their mapping careers within SMCoSE Youthmappers chapter as well as university students in Tanzania during their final research projects. His dream is to see a network of team players among youth who are focused on finding solutions to their communities by giving out insights, mapping, and educating their local community, especially marginalized groups. Recently, Erik published the article titled Analysis of the Current and Future Land Use/Land Cover Changes in Peri-Urban Areas of Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques in the Tanzania Journal of Science, read it here. Connect with Erick @Erick_tambah.
Read Erick's blog Once a YouthMappers Member Always a YouthMappers Member
Erneste Ntakobangize, 2020-2021
RWANDA
Erneste Ntakobangize a Rwandan Geographer working as a GIS Specialist at Charis UAS ltd. He is the student-representative of the Rwanda YouthMappers chapter at the University of Rwanda and a representative of OSM Rwanda. Erneste is currently pursing a Masters at the University of Rwanda's faculty of Geographic Information Science for Environment and Sustainable Development. Erneste is 2019 YouthMappers Leadership Fellow, an OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) Member and an advanced mapper who won the YouthMappers Women Connect Challenge in collaboration with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT). He is passionate about geospatial technology and an open source enthusiast.
Read Erneste's blog Mappers Under One Roof: An Experience Story From YouthMappers
(co-written with the winners of the YouthMappers Women Connect Challenge); The process of making Rwanda YouthMappers more gender inclusive; Rwanda Radient Earth Foundation Geospatial Training; Choose To Grow Up With YouthMappers To Become a Mapper You Dreamed To Be
Esaie Dufitimana, 2021-2022
RWANDA
Esaie is a Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation enthusiast with skills in Land Informatics, Geoinformation Science, Remote Sensing, Land Administration, Spatial Data Science, Photogrammetry, Spatial databases and Computational Environmental and urban science. he holds a Master of Science degree in Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation from the University of Twente, the Netherlands. Esaie is a 2019 YouthMappers Leadership Fellow. He is the co-founder of YouthMappers at INES-Ruhengeri chapter. Moreover, he teaches GIS, Remote Sensing and other courses related to the application of Geo-information technology to the undergraduate students at INES-Ruhengeri. Connect with Esaie on LinkedIn.
Read Easie’s blog post Alumni Reflections: Esaie Dufitimana
Guy Pacome Adingra, 2020-2021
IVORY COAST
Guy Pacome Adingra is the founder of YouthMappers CURAT at University Felix Houphouët Boigny and a 2019 YouthMappers Leadership Fellows. His passion for geospatial sciences led him to join the Openstreetmap community in Côte d'Ivoire. His engagement for the community has made him the president of the organizing committee of the second edition of SOTM Africa, which was held in Grand-Bassam. For his PhD thesis or his work as Data Manager, Guy never stopped supporting the opening of geospatial data and encouraging the emulation of a strong and dynamic community around this subject. It is therefore an honour for him to join the 2021 cohort of YouthMappers Regional Ambassador.
Read Guy's blog YouthMappers CURAT and OpenDCH
Ibrahima Sory Diallo, 2021-2022
SENEGAL
Ibrahima Sory Diallo is a student in his final year of a Master's degree in Geography: Specialist in Urban Spaces and Societies, at the Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis. This young geospatial technology enthusiast and collaborative cartographer is co-founder and president of the YouthMappers UGB chapter and a YouthMappers 2020 Research Fellow. A member of the OpenStreetMap Senegal community, Ibrahima's goal is to educate youth on leadership and mapping. He is convinced that youth have the energy to solve problems. Mapping is a very effective tool in almost any field to solve problems. It is a great pleasure for him to join the 2021-2022 cohort of YouthMappers Regional Ambassadors. He strongly believes in the YouthMappers code of ethics. Connect with Ibrahima @Ibrahim55688664!
Read Ibrahima’s post : Unforgettable outing of a YouthMapper - AGDIC 2019, Accra - Ghana
Ingrid Kintu, 2019-2021
UGANDA
Ingrid Martha Kintu is a YouthMapper from Makerere University in Uganda and currently a YouthMappers Regional Ambassador aiming at recruiting students to establish new university-based YouthMappers chapters in Eastern Africa. Her professional background is in land management and geomatics with specific interest in remote sensing and leveraging earth observation to inform sustainable development. She was honored to receive a YouthMappers Research Fellowship in 2018, during which she assessed the resilience of refugees in Kyaka II Refugee Settlement using open data. She is currently a Research Assistant on a joint research project between Makerere University and the University of Dundee using geospatial technologies to quantify the extent of environmental degradation in two refugee settlements in Uganda. An industry thought leader and technological evangelist, Ingrid intends to create awareness about the power of open geospatial technology and the myriad of obstacles it can overcome especially in low and middle-income countries. Follow Ingrid @IngridKintu
Read Ingrid's blog post Silent Disasters; Community Flood Mapping Activity in Bwaise and Kalerwe, Uganda
Jariatou Jallow, 2020-2021
GAMBIA
My name is Jariatou Jallow. I am a Third Year Computer Science student in the University of The Gambia. Growing up as a child, I have been opportune to travel across 3 African countries before turning 6. This early exposure has made me quite an inquisitive person, especially in areas of exploration and technological innovations. In fact, this was the cornerstone through which the foundation of both my academics and future career prospects would be laid upon.
I am fueled and fulfilled by projects that solve challenges in my community and better the lives of individuals especially solutions that positively impact the lives of women and youth.
I love Mapping and generally, I love making things easier for people. Given that in The Gambia about 70% of streets and buildings remain unmapped, in March 2018 I registered the first OpenStreetMap Chapter in the University of the Gambia called “Connected Youth Mappers” in collaboration with The Gambia YMCA Computer Training Center and Digital Studio. We have since collaborated with government agencies, International technology bodies to map important buildings, streets and locations around the country - including places of importance to women, hospitals & clinics, schools, computer centers.
Read Jaria's blog Map 2020 Gambia - KomboYon
Kwame Odame, 2019-2020
GHANA
Hello! My name is Kwame Odame and I am with the UCC YouthMappers chapter at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. Apart from being a Ph.D. student in Geography and Regional Planning, I also work with the National Disaster Management Organization. The opportunity to deploy simple tools in my pursuit to make a difference is a responsibility I have embraced. In addition to improving visibility of the unmapped, this community has offered me the platform to engage local leaders in solving some challenges confronting local farmers and agro-processors in Ghana. I am excited to be a YouthMapper and can’t wait to extend our footprint to other parts of Ghana. Let's connect and see how we can collectively harness the power of the youth and technology. My handle on Twitter and OSM ID is @pkodame. Let's talk!
Read Kwame's blog Diary of a Regional Ambassador: Travel and Work Flow; Feeding Ghana through the eyes of female farmers
Laura Mugeha, 2019-2022
KENYA
Laura is a Geospatial engineer, a YouthMappers alumni, and is a 2019 YouthMappers Leadership Fellow. She is passionate about achieving sustainable development, both locally and regionally, and is keen on redefining the use of open data and open source technology to solve challenges faced on a day to day basis. She has previously presented on the use of Geospatial technologies in achieving sustainable development at the State of the Map Tanzania (2017), the global State of the Map 2018, FOSS4G 2018, and Geoweek 2018. With an interest in leadership and elevating youth voices, Laura has worked and volunteered with YouthMappers and the African Union's Office of the Youth envoy, where she has been able to support work that is mainly focused on these topics. Laura is also passionate about diversity and inclusivity of all, especially women and girls, and has previously organized for LetGirlsMap campaigns to address these challenges. Through this work, her blog was one of the 2018 Best YouthMappers blogs. Annually, she helps manage the African Women In Tech and Women in Analytics conferences that aim to connect, empower, and educate women in STEM. Follow Laura @laura_mugeha
Read Laura's blog post 3 years, 3 Stories, 3 Lessons Learnt
Ndapile Mkuwu, 2020-2022
MALAWI
Ndapile is a certified drone pilot, geospatial analyst, and technology enthusiast who is currently employed at the African Drone and Data Academy, where she is responsible for a large portion of the work that involves the use of geospatial data and open source platforms. She was one of the 2019 YouthMappers Leadership Fellows, and she served as a member of the Chancellor College YouthMappers chapter for a period of two years. She is interested in the use of drones for good and the application of geographical information to lessen the effects of natural disasters. In 2020, she co-founded an organization called MapMalawi and co-lead on a project that incorporated OpenStreetMap (OSM), drone technology, PGIS, and other geospatial technologies to map the country's largest refugee camp in order to assess the extent to which the population has access to basic needs services. She is a believer in the importance of female inclusion in STEM fields, and she is working hard to make this a reality in her community. Ndapile believes that when geographical data is exploited to its maximum capacity, it provides critical information to decision-makers. Her objective is to inspire and empower young people to take the initiative in creating and disseminating this vital information. Follow Ndapile @Ndapile_M
Read Ndapile's blog post If you can't see it, you can't be it
Raya Idrissa Ahmada, 2020-2022
TANZANIA
Raya Idrissa Ahmada is a graduate of Msc. In Telecommunication at the Technical University of Denmark. She is an Assistant Lecturer at the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA). She is very passionate about data science and is researching in the areas of open source GIS tools and data analysis. She is also keen in mentoring the students to come up with innovative ideas to solve existing problems in the community. She has worked with students in several development projects such as the STEM for Success Project Zanzibar, as a technical assistant with Kiokit (a digital classroom technology), and with the Resilience Academy as an internship coordinator to help equip the youths with the tools, knowledge and skills to ensure resilient urban development. She is also the faculty mentor for the SUZA YouthMapper’s chapter. She has also proposed to initiate Mshauri STEM Initiative with the aim of helping young girls to be willing to take STEM careers. Connect with Raya on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook.
Read Raya's blog post State University of Zanzibar inaugural YouthMappers training
Sharon Omoja, 2022
KENYA
Sharon is a GIS Analyst and a drone pilot who has a strong passion in geospatial applications in humanitarian actions with a keen focus on open data and in building inclusive and diverse spaces in the Open Mapping community.
She volunteers as a trainer at OSM Kenya and the HOT Training working group, organizing, consolidating training materials and training the global OpenStreetMap community on OpenStreetMap and data validation. She is also part of the HOT Community working group, working to improve the global HOT Community and part of OSM Africa Community where she volunteers in the coordination and organization of State of the Map Africa conferences and in planning and training on the OSM Africa Monthly Mapathons.
Her passion for gender equality and women empowerment led her to Women in Geospatial + (WiG+) https://www.womeningeospatial.org/ , where she serves on the executive board and leads the Inspire portfolio. She has also served on the communications team, leading the Women in Geospatial + Profile of the week features, promoting women’s self-promotion and challenging societal perceptions around women celebrating their achievements. Sharon was a mentorship coordinator during the second cohort of the WiG+ Mentorship Programme.
Stellamaris Nakacwa, 2019-2021
UGANDA
Stellamaris (W) Nakacwa is geomatics graduate, and a 2017 YouthMappers Leadership Fellow. She is extremely enthusiastic about geospatial technology and how it can be used to benefit development. She has aligned herself to understanding the integrity and quality requirements towards proper data management. She has expedited growth and inclusion of fellow youths into open and humanitarian mapping through her team leading roles and is continuously supporting this cause. Currently, she is a Regional Ambassador which is extremely exciting to grow as well as link people to the geospatial resource. On the side, Stella does hold a deep interest in the fundamental aspects of spatial data and database management as well as leadership to engage in the mobilization for community participation. She is determined to bring to the exploitation of geospatial technology apt for land management because land is at the center of any country’s development especially in Africa. Follow Stella @Stella_Wava
Read Stella's blog SHARING IS CARING – How to ensure diversity inclusion among YouthMappers: Post-COVID-19; Mapping a bridge across the Atlantic Ocean (co-written blog post)
Tigidanke Fofana, 2022
SIERRA LEONE
Tigidanke Fofana is a Geologist/Environmentalist at the CEMMATS GROUP LTD, a leading mining, engineering, and project management consultancy firm in Sierra Leone. She is a skilled professional with experience in carrying out environmental impact assessments for mining, engineering, and other relevant projects. She holds a Bachelor of Science with honors in Geology from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.
As a tech and geospatial enthusiast, she joined the OpenStreetMap community in 2016 and co-founded her country’s first university chapter. Serving in the capacity of coordinator, she helped establish three other university chapters in her country. She supervised the power grid mapping project in her country that provided data for the energy sector to support the design of electricity distribution networks in rural areas.
Tigidanke is a certified graduate member of the Sierra Leone Institution of Geoscientists (SLIG). As a mid-career professional, she is particularly interested in the research, development, innovation, and use of analytical geospatial technologies relevant to formulating and implementing sustainable solutions based on concepts of natural processes to create a more sustainable and viable environment.
Tommy Charles, 2020-2022
SIERRA LEONE
Tommy Charles is a Geography graduate from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He is a mapping enthusiast and has interests in data science. In 2017, he was a scholar at the global State of the Map conference where he made a presentation about the inclusion of small and new OpenStreetMap communities. Since then, he has been helping to build the OpenStreetMap community in Sierra Leone by training students, establishing YouthMappers Chapters and establishing ties with humanitarian organizations. He is also a member of the OpenStreetMap Africa community and a voting member of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team.
Read Tommy's blog The Journey of A YouthMapper; The Path of Reviving YouthMappers Chapters in Sierra Leone and Liberia
Yusuf Suleiman, 2019-2021
NIGERIA
Yusuf is a human-centered designer and Geo enthusiast who is very passionate about the environment, climate change, and public policy. He was a YouthMappers Leadership Fellow and he has gained extensive experience in research and data analysis. He has lead several advocacy campaigns that leverages on open data and technology to raise awareness about environmental and sustainability issues. There’s a huge difference between people talking about change, transition and sustainability and people doing it. Yusuf fits the last description. What describes him best is an innovative catalyst in each part of the process. He lives and breathes sustainability, instead of talking about it. And he’ll make it happen, whatever is required. Currently a UN Sustainable Development Solution network fellow, Yusuf is helping to localize the SDG 9a agenda in his city. His project is helping to rethink data as infrastructure, and bringing key stakeholders into the open data revolution; building and embedding a data culture in his city, and empowering citizens to make a difference. Tweet at him @el_useful
Read Yusuf's blog How YouthMappers Are Contributing to 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (co-written with Chomba Chishala); Learning from State of the Map Africa
Asia
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Airin Akter, 2020-2022
BANGLADESH
Airin Akter has been serving as an Everywhere She Maps Regional Ambassador since 2021. She is continuing her role for the year 2022 as well. She is a geography graduate who wants to work in disaster risk reduction, and the role of regional ambassador in YouthMappers complements her career goals. She has worked with YouthMappers and was selected for the YouthMappers Research Fellowship Program, 2018. Her research topic was “Making evacuation plans and raising awareness among women to lessen their vulnerabilities during Cyclone disaster”. Her experience in disaster risk reduction, women’s participation in technology, disaster preparedness, raising awareness and mapping for creating resilience, data collection, community leadership, and engaging in local community development work has grown since 2016 as a leading role in YouthMappers, and work for the OSM community in Bangladesh as a volunteer. In addition, in 2017 and 2018, she presented YouthMappers and her research work at the State of Map Asia. She is eager to remain a part of YouthMappers in order to encourage more women to pursue careers in technology. She wants to send a message to all women: “Come out, speak for yourself, and success will follow you.” Follow her @Airinnila.
Ataur Rahman Shaheen, 2019-2021
BANGLADESH
Ataur Rahman Shaheen has been volunteering OSM community and engaged with YouthMappers since 2016. He is one of YouthMappers Regional Ambassador from 1st cohort and also 2019 YouthMappers Leadership Fellow. He has completed his Bachelor’s on Statistics from Dhaka College and served as President of YouthMappers Dhaka College chapter for 2019 session. Under his leadership, YouthMappers Dhaka College chapter was awarded with ‘YouthMappers Mapping Metrics Award’ and won ‘HOT Microgrant 2019’ for ‘Map the Dumps’ project. He was nominated for HOT Volunteer Recognition 2019. He has completed HOT Data Quality Internship and now serves as HOT voting member. In his journey with OSM, he has contributed to several local and international mapping projects and has developed expertise in remote sensing, field data collection, team coordination, data level QC, data management & geospatial analysis. In 2017, he was ranked as the top Mapper in the HOT World Malaria Day Mapping Competition and is currently ranked 17 in the Missing Maps global leaderboard. He loves to explore new places and taste the local food. Follow Ataur @A_R_Shaheen
Read Ataur's blog Inspiring New Ways
Bruce Maldy Pratama, 2019-2020
INDONESIA
Bruce Maldy Pratama is a map activist. He completed his bachelor of science in the Faculty of Geography, Muhammadiyah University, Surakarta. He is also the head of the SpaceTime Team who won the Uni Battle Mapping competition organized by HOT Indonesia. Bruce also founded the YouthMappers Chapter at his University. Currently, he works at the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency. He has been involved with OSM from 2017 to the present. In his journey, Bruce learned a lot about participatory mapping and spatial data quality assurance and its use in various fields. Making maps has been a hobby of him since childhood. He believes that maps can help us to overcome various problems. So he wants to invite all people to be more active in building spatial data together and for the common good.
Dinnah Feye Andal, 2020-2022
PHILIPPINES
Dinnah Feye Andal is a Senior Project Officer in NOAH Center - WebGIS component under the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute (UPRI) and is also a Transport Information Manager at By Implication Inc. (popularly known as Sakay.PH). She also worked as HOT Philippines’ country Technical and GIS Specialist.
She earned her master’s degree in Geography from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She co-founded the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute YouthMappers (UPRI YM), the 2nd local YouthMappers chapter in the Philippines. She is a strong advocate of open data and free and open-source software for geospatial applications (FOSS4G). She has also been doing volunteer mapping for OpenStreetMap Philippines since 2013 and has been to different provinces across the Philippines to train students, local government offices, non-government organizations, and other stakeholders on how to use OpenStreetMap and other free and open-source geospatial applications. She believes that youths are a powerful force to create social change through open mapping.
As a Regional Ambassador of YouthMappers, she is determined to invest her efforts in building and strengthening the skills of the students and chapters not only in mapping, but also their interpersonal skills, which are also significant for communicating and working with people and various groups, expanding their reach to the local communities, and developing and fostering strong working relationships with the people.
Follow her at @dfeyeandal and check her website at feyeandal.me
Khusna Furoida, 2021-2022
INDONESIA
Khusna Furoida is a GIS and research enthusiast. In 2020, she became most outstanding student at Faculty of Geography, University of Muhammadiyah Surakarta. In 2021, she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Geography. Now, she works as a research assistant in her faculty. During his lectures, she publisshed 7 national publications, most of them is about how mapping can be useful for risk management and prevention. Apart from his research, she is also active in the social world through volunteering activities. She has participated in volunteer activities several times, such as Civic Engagement International Forum 4.0, Earth Hour Solo, and Solo Youth Edutech Festival. Khusna loves and wants to develop not only sherself but also her circle. She likes to influence and share about tips and other things that might be useful. That's why she became Youthmapper's Regional Ambassador for Indonesia. She is also passionate about Urban Development where mapping can also be involved to make a better development. Connect with Khusna on LinkedIn.
Maliha Binte Mohiuddin, 2019-2021
BANGLADESH
Maliha Binte Mohiuddin is continuing her role as a Regional Ambassador and her regional focus on Asia. She has engaged with YouthMappers as a leadership fellow from 2017. She was also worked as a 2020 YouthLead Ambassador under YouthPower Learning, a project funded by the USAID.She has represented YouthMappers to the 2019 Prosper.Net Leadership Program on "Engineering Approaches to Disaster Risk Reduction and Management towards Sustainable Development in the Asia Pacific” organized by the United Nations University.
In 2019, Maliha also presented her paper,” Elevating the Skills of Youth Through the Humanitarian Remote Mapping with the Growth of YouthMappers Network”, as one of the keynote speakers at the 3rd International Conference on Natural Hazards and Disaster Management, held in Japan. Previously, she has represented YouthMappers in the National NGO Programme on Humanitarian Leadership (NNPHL) and Building Better Response (BBR) workshop organized by Concern Worldwide, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and International Medical Corps in 2018. Follow her @MohiuddinMaliha
Read Maliha's blog post Unwavering Passion Towards YouthMappers Network
Nowshin Binte Jamal, 2022
BANGLADESH
Nowshin is pursuing her bachelor's degree in Statistics at the University of Chittagong. She served as a General Secretary in Chittagong University Scientific Society (CUSS), a science club at the University of Chittagong. She is an enthusiastic, energetic, purposeful and ambitious multi-tasker with excellent social and communication skills.
As a statistics student, she understands the power of open-source data for development-related problems. Moreover, she finds that OpenStreetMap (OSM) ensures open data access to everyone, including her! She currently serves as the Chapter Secretary for the CUSS YouthMappers chapter.
Being a woman, she has realized that women in her country are left out of opportunities to contribute to society. Therefore, she aims to make a place for women through the Everywhere She Maps platform where they can confidently contribute to the community. Furthermore, her dream is to connect young girls with the Everywhere She Maps network to show them what this network has to offer to reveal their leadership potential nationally and internationally. Nowshin believes, “Every Woman is a QUEEN, and she can make her own CROWN.”
Saurav Gautam, 2019-2021
NEPAL
Saurav is currently working as Deputy Head of the Department of Civil and Geomatics Engineering at the Institute of Engineering, Pashchimanchal Campus in Pokhara, Nepal. In 2017, he completed his Bachelor's Degree in Geomatics Engineering and, as a student, served as President of GESAN, one of the inaugural YouthMappers chapters. That same year, he was one of the YouthMappers Leadership Fellows and facilitated YouthMappers at SOTM Asia 2017. In 2018, he received the YouthMappers Best Alumni blog award. He is currently a member of FIG Young Surveyors Network and ISPRS Student Consortium. He likes to leverage open geospatial technologies for sustainability. As a YouthMappers Regional Ambassador, he is determined to increase the awareness of youths in his region towards open mapping tools and technologies. He believes youths throughout the world need to act together mindfully and sees Youthmappers progressively acting on that path. Follow Saurav @zillionaaire
Read Saurav's blog The Joy of Sharing
Sawan Shariar, 2020-2022
BANGLADESH
Sawan Shariar is currently working as deputy coordinator & validation lead of Bangladesh Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Operational Team; known to all as Team BHOOT, as well as deputy volunteer coordinators for OpenStreetMap Bangladesh Foundation. He is one of the voting members of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) and a member of OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF). He has been involved with OSM activities for over 6 years, which starts with the Data4Action project initiated by American Red Cross in 2015. He was the founding president of YouthMapper Dhaka College Chapter. He has been very instrumental in community & volunteer coordination for OpenStreetMap Bangladesh Community. He is currently listed as the top contributor on MissingMaps Global Leaderboard. He is one of the champions of the 2019 Global YouthMappers Challenge and one of the visiting fellows of HOT Summit and SotM 2019 in Heidelberg, Germany. He was the administrative associate and volunteer coordinator of SotM Asia 2019 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Since the very early stage, He has been involved in strengthening local capacity and supporting mapping initiatives. In the journey with OSM, He has developed expertise in community engagement, team coordination, project management, remote sensing, field data collection, and local volunteer organization. He has conducted around 50 OSM training and facilitated youth engagement in several educational institutes, local communities, NGOs, and The Bangladesh Red Cross/Crescent Society. He believes, with proper support & Guidance the local enthusiastic OSM communities have the capacity to catalyze the development and growth of OSM around the world. Follow him @sshariar1991
Read Sawan’s blog posts I Want It That Way ; Bridging the Map: A tale of Diversity (co-written with the winners of the YouthMappers Women Connect Challenge); Dhaka College; The Statistical Team; Red Crescent Youth train for disaster mapping with OSM
Latin America
Jasson Mora, 2020-2021
COSTA RICA
Jasson Mora graduated from the Geography School at the University of Costa Rica with a specialization in Hydrogeomorphology. He is currently pursuing a Master Degree in Coastal Geosciences and Geophysics at La Rochelle University, France. Founder and president of YouthMappers de la Universidad de Costa Rica, Jasson was empowering students and communities using the Open Geographical Information Systems in the principles of citizen science in water topics and environmental governance and with international research support with the YouthMappers chapters network. In addition, Jasson was part of the 2019 Leader Fellowship Program wihich took place at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. His dream is the community appropriation of the Open Sources GIS and databases for improve monitoring, validation and their consequential management of community spaces using the interdisciplinary geographical interpretation. Jasson is open to the world to speak with the communities and, specially, with the younger community with his same ambitions to make this world more equitable.
Read Jasson's blog post ¿YouthMappers y micro robótica? Aproximaciones y futuro de los geodatos abiertos; Geodatos Abiertos y Una Nueva Alcaldía, YouthMappers UCR y el Caso Rio Cuarto
Karen Martinez, 2019-2020
PANAMA
Karen is in her final year at the University of Panama pursuing a degree in Alternative Tourism. She started as a YouthMappers volunteer in 2016, where she learned about the use of geospatial technologies, awakening her interest in maps. She is the president of the YouthMappers Panama chapter and was selected for the 2019 YouthMappers Leadership Fellowship. She was part of the digital transformation of the University of Panama with the Smart University project. Through this project, she gained experience with new technologies and methods that she hopes to share with young people in Panama with the goal of generating culture and knowledge so that everyone, collectively, can help the world, through the use of maps to better decisions and protect our communities. She is very grateful for the contribution that YouthMappers has made in her life because it has allowed her to grow personally and professionally. Connect with Karen @karenmartinez_m
Read Karen's blog post La Geografía está de moda
Maria Fernanda Peña Valencia, 2019-2021
COLOMBIA
Maria Fernanda recently graduated as a biologist at the University of Antioquia in Medellín - Colombia. In 2015, she joined the ELICE research group in her university's biology institute, where she started working with ecology of coastal marine ecosystems and GIS applied to biology. While working in the research group she stressed the importance of working together with the different communities that inhabit a natural area, and this is how in 2017 she started volunteering for the YouthMappers chapter of the University of Antioquia called GeoLab UdeA. Then, in 2018 she was selected as one of the 2018 YouthMappers Research Fellows. Her interests include social-ecological systems, resilience, ecosystemic and conservation ecology, sustainability and humanitarian mapping. Connect with Maria @MariaFernandaP4
Read Maria Fernanda's blog post El mundo es un pañuelo/The World is a handkerchief;
Mariela Centeno, 2020-2022
ECUADOR
Mariela is a fourth year student at the University of the Armed Forces - ESPE Ecuador studying Geographical and Environmental Engineering and is one of the founders and current president of the first chapter in Ecuador: GeoMap ESPE- YouthMappers at the ESPE University. She is skilled in the management of Geographic Information Systems and its use to address environmental issues. Her interest in creating Open Data comes from a desire to help contribute to the entire community, especially ones with limited access. This led her to become a part of the YouthMappers network in Latin America. Her objective is to encourage resilience mapping throughout the university community in her country, creating leaders in this space. Connect with her @mariiela_centeno!
Mishell Catucuamba, 2022
ECUADOR
Mishell is an engineering student in Geospatial Technologies at the University of the Armed Forces ESPE, where she is currently Vice-President of the GeoMap ESPE YouthMappers chapter. She enjoys teamwork and collaborates with different youth-led civil society organizations in her country, including Youth Coalition for the Ecuador 2030 ODS and University Feminist Coalition. She has participated in different projects focused on rural development, natural resources, community mapping and the use of GIS. She is focused on promoting action from the territories to contribute to the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda and, in the process, linking people in the geospatial field. She promotes gender equality and increasing the participation of girls and women in STEM. Her last participation was in the Global People's Assembly, an assembly prior to COP26, where she spoke about her experience in the participation of young people and her actions in times of pandemic.
Maya Lovo, 2021-2022
MEXICO
Maya Lovo, raised in El Salvador, developed an interest in environmental and social issues happening in the territory. Currently, as an undergrad student of Socio Spatial Analysis in Mexico City, she with other peers from the bachelor’s program, founded the UAMaps chapter. Even though the project is new, they have already transferred knowledge of open-source programs to local communities through a series of workshops and are working on mapping services for women that face violence. Additionally, Maya participated in the Third Women’s Parliament of Mexico City and worked closely with legislation of the state. Through these activities, she wants to improve her personal skills, communicate, and engage others in open-source mapping and improve access to data and platforms in her region. Connect with Maya @MayaLovo and on LinkedIn.
Natalia da Silveira Arruda, 2019-2021
BRAZIL; COLOMBIA
Natalia da Silveira Arruda is from Porto Alegre, Brazil, and lives in Medellin, Colombia since 2014. Graduated in Architecture and Urbanism at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS - Porto Alegre, Brazil), with practical experiences in architectural and urban planning offices, an academic exchange at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture Paris La Villette (ENSAPLV - Paris, France), and a Master of Science in Territorial, Urban, Environmental and Landscape Planning at Politecnico di Torino (Turin, Italy). Natalia got involved with HOT in 2014, when she started to develop and coordinate a mapping pilot project of an informal community in the city of Cartagena de Indias. She works as Professor at Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA), where she helped found, in 2016, the UdeA YouthMappers’ chapter, which since then coordinates, that evolved into a research group called GeoLab. Her interests include urban planning, sustainable mobility, collaborative and humanitarian mapping. Follow Natalia @NataliaSArruda
Régia Estevam Alves, 2020-2022
BRAZIL
Régia holds a PhD in Geography and Territory Planning with specialization in Environment and Natural Resources from the New University of Lisbon, Portugal and a master's degree from the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) in Brazil. Her studies mainly focus on the following themes: land degradation, desertification and soil erosion. Connect with Régia @EstevamRegia
Read Régia's blog The Soybean, the Environmental Degradation and the Importance of Collaborative Mapping
Yéssica De los Ríos, 2021-2022
COLOMBIA
My name is Yéssica De los ríos, I am from Colombia, Medellín. I studied Biology and I am recently graduated from University of Antioquia. Within my areas of interest are the social-ecological systems, it means the relationship between the people (culture, activities, way to live) and the ecosystems. Therefore, I was participating in the chapter GeoLab in different projects related with contributing the resilience in coastal communities considering the coastal ecosystems as mangroves. Approximately since 2017 these projects have been developed using open data and maps as element to improve the planning in these areas. In 2019, I proposed the project entitled Coast Map Connectivity to the YouthMappers research fellowship to contribute to another coastal community vulnerable to flooding and it was elected. This project is still being developed because of the Covid pandemic 19. Now, I want to be a regional ambassador to support and promote the use of the open data and maps to improve life conditions.