First confession: I was supposed to write this weeks ago.

I had the perfect writing set-up on my rented Airbnb apartment: a cozy roof deck where I could be alone with my thoughts for hours and with an astonishing view of the world’s most perfect cone-shaped volcano: Mt. Mayon. And then, as with all other things, life happened and I am just publishing this one now. Even so, I believe that my attendance during the State of the Map Asia x Pista ng Mapa 2022 held last November 21-25, 2022 at Bicol University East Campus (fondly called by the locals as Buceng) in the lovely city of Legazpi, Albay still bears lessons and experiences worth sharing up until now.

Second confession: My knees were shaking the whole time I delivered my lightning talk.

My presentation on Mapping for Cultural Sustainability, a project I am pursuing with another She Leads and She Inspires (SLSI)^ champion from Nepal, was selected as one of the lightning talks for Day 1 of Pista ng Mapa. No matter how much I looked forward to all the things the conference was about to offer, the first day was nerve-wracking for a person like me who wasn’t that used to speaking in public, more so in front of 300 people who all have left their marks in the mapping community. There I was, a lone participant from Davao City (at least, that’s what I first thought) and a neophyte in the OSM community about to deliver her first public speech in years. Nevertheless, the purpose of my attendance pushed me to brave the stage and share my SLSI experience and the community project, a product of our six months of SLSI training, that I am working on.

What made the entire ordeal worthwhile - and I know I am speaking on behalf of the other speakers who were there to present their respective talks - was the applause and pride in the eyes of the audience as members of the mapping community shared their mapping journey with them. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by people who knew what it was like to be new in the field and the amount of support and encouragement I was showered during the program was more than enough to motivate me to not only finish my project but also ponder about future projects I am going to pursue and how I could grow more as a mapper.

Third confession: The passion of the open mapping community - both local and international - was inspiring to witness first-hand.

After that challenging day, the rest of the week flew by in a blur. Talk after talk, the community exchanged ideas that were all interesting to hear. I, for one, am very glad about the variety of topics included in the program. Not only did we see and hear from experts, novice mappers like me were also given a platform to share their own ideas and projects with the audience. Moreover, as an Applied Maths graduate, I was giddy whenever I saw equations on the screen or whenever someone discussed spatial analysis or machine learning in mapping. And for those who weren’t really keen on the technical stuff, there were talks for them too. Applications of mapping in diverse areas such as mapping out ukay-ukay (secondhand/thrift clothes store) locations, making trail maps for the hiking community (credits and shoutout to Bahaghari Maps), mapping for community action and policy-making, and Youthmappers and other mapping organizations sharing their progress and achievements were just some of the topics discussed during the 5-day conference. It’s easy to get overwhelmed (in a good way!) by the multitude of ideas shared during the week, but it was one memorable and educational journey.

Fourth confession: Meeting my map-py idols and making friends in the mapping community was one of the most valuable experience I had during the conference.

As much as I avoid speaking in public, I also may or may not have a slight apprehension of making the first move in approaching people. But this was not the time for timidness! I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of meeting my map-py idols who I only saw online before. Meeting them was surreal and although I wasn’t able to shake the hands of everyone (as was my goal), seeing them in person and hearing them talk about their advocacies was definitely inspiring. To Mikko, our ever-supportive guide during the entire SLSI program, even though we only met on the last day, our brief interaction definitely left an imprint on my conference experience. To Ms. Leigh, thank you for your warm welcome on the first day and for constantly checking up on me during the conference. To my fellow SLSI champions who atteded the conference, it was nice to finally meet you and to also hear from you! To all the speakers and trainers, thank you for your hard work. You all have definitely inspired me to great lengths!

And to the organizers, my deepest gratitude to all of you for selecting me as one of the local travel grantees and for deeming my talk worthy of being included in the program.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank some people who made that week in Legazpi City exceptionally special (and who may or may not see this post): to Sir Efren, Ma’am Jan, and Ciara for being my temporary family/squad during the conference. I did not feel alone because of you three - especially during lunch times when it was difficult to find a table and definitely during socials. Also, to the various Youthmappers all over the Philippines, thank you very much for sharing your experience - they are very much helpful in my goal to organize a local mapping organization here in my region (fingers crossed). And lastly, to everyone who, in one way or another, shared their thoughts and space with me, my sincerest appreciation to you all!

Fifth confession: I’m already looking forward to the next open mapping conference I will be joining!

I think I’ve already said enough to explain this one :)

Once again, my huge congratulations and appreciation to everyone for the successful conduct of the State of the Map Asia x Pista ng Mapa 2022!

^The She Leads and She Inspires Program is a leadership and mapping training organized by the Open Mapping Hub - Asia Pacific designed with, by, and for women in leadership roles within their communities. Throughout the program, the participants participated in a series of webinars hosted by a range of professionals in leadership positions in the humanitarian mapping sector and beyond. (from: SLSI Welcome Packet)