My experience at Pista ng Mapa 2023, from November 21-23, was an exhilarating adventure as eleven Viscan YouthMappers (VYM) and I delved into a three-day conference at the University of the Philippines Tacloban College. The event seamlessly blended intellectual engagement, skill-building workshops, and a celebration of our dedication to open mapping.

The Summit Hotel in Tacloban City hosted the kick-off, featuring plenary sessions with insightful presentations by Mr. Mikko Tamura of Open Mapping Hub – Asia Pacific and Dr. Alfredo Mahar Francisco Lagmay of UP Resilience Institute. The day concluded with parallel sessions, providing a diverse look into mapping’s facets. The highlight of my Day 1 was presenting our VYM project, ‘Mapping of Fire Hydrants as Baseline Data for Fire Emergency Response in Leyte Province, Philippines.’ This was very memorable for me as this transitioned me from a participant last year at PNM2022 to a speaker this year.

Day 2 immersed us in hands-on workshops led by industry experts, from Geoladies’ Ms. Leigh Lunas’ “When Women Maps” to Action for Economic Reform’s Mr. Mark Aimon Pangan’s insights on Digital Data Collection to BNHR’s Mr. Ben Hur Pintor sharing knowledge about beyond shapefiles and file-based data management and “Getting started with Developing Geospatial Applications” by Mr. Luiz Caezar Ian Panganiban of Ausome Maps. These sessions not only enhanced my mapping skills but also fueled my inspiration for geospatial applications.

Day 3 centered on community connections, with meet-ups led by Mr. Mikko Tamura for the OSM Philippines, Mr. Ben Hur Pintor for the OSGeo, and Ms. Feye Andal for the YouthMappers. The YouthMappers Meet-up allowed us in Viscan Youthmappers to reflect on our achievements, identify challenges, and envision our future aspirations. Moreover, the afternoon featured an immersive field trip through Tacloban City and Palo, Leyte, connecting us with local culture and history.

The icing on the cake of my PNM2023 adventure was receiving the Mabiskugon Award for myself and accepting the Pinaka Awesome (OSM) Award for my very own Viscan YouthMappers, acknowledging our dedication to OpenStreetMap and fueling my passion for meaningful contributions.

As I bid farewell to Pista ng Mapa 2023, I left with enhanced mapping skills, cherished memories, and a reinforced commitment to open mapping. I am very grateful to all the sponsors of Pista ng Mapa especially to Open Mapping Hub – Asia Pacific and to my Visayas State University for making this experience for me and my fellow Viscan YouthMappers possible. I eagerly anticipate future opportunities to contribute positively to the mapping community.