My name is Balla Dondo Koroma, and I am the Former President of YouthMappers, Njala University – Njala Chapter. During my tenure, I provided strategic leadership and coordination for youth-led geospatial mapping initiatives focused on sustainable development, disaster risk reduction, environmental management, and community-based planning. I played a central role in strengthening the chapter’s institutional capacity by promoting the effective use of GIS, remote sensing, and open-source mapping platforms, particularly OpenStreetMap.

As President, I was responsible for organizing and facilitating training workshops, field data collection exercises, and mapathons, while mentoring student members in geospatial data collection, analysis, and visualization. I also led collaborative engagements with academic staff, local communities, and development partners to ensure that mapping outputs addressed practical development challenges, especially in rural and underserved areas.

In my representative capacity, I served as a liaison between the Njala University chapter and the broader YouthMappers global network, advocating for increased youth participation in data-driven decision-making and innovation. My leadership experience with YouthMappers contributed to the empowerment of young people through technical skill development, teamwork, and civic engagement, while generating reliable geospatial data to support evidence-based planning and sustainable development initiatives in Sierra Leone.