October 3–5, 2025 – The atmosphere at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Metro Manila felt livelier than usual during the past few days. As showers of light rain fell from the October sky, more than 200 people from over 50 countries gathered at the campus, filling rooms with excitement and conversation – all celebrating the largest annual global open mapping community event: State of the Map (SotM) 2025.

Organized by the OpenStreetMap Foundation and OSM Philippines, together with a dedicated committee of volunteers, the event brought together mappers, practitioners, and organizations from around the world to connect, share knowledge, and explore the real-world impact of open mapping.

SotM 2025 was more than just a conference – it was a constellation of diverse ideas, backgrounds, and expertise. Across three days, participants exchanged insights, built meaningful connections, and gained valuable knowledge and renewed motivation – ready to return home and further strengthen their local mapping communities. For some, attending the event can even be transformative.

Recognizing this potential and the importance of expanding participation and representation, HOT's Open Mapping Hub - Asia-Pacific (AP Hub) launched the Open Mapping Guru SotM 2025 Scholarship. The initiative supported 13 in-person and over 50 online scholars with SotM 2025 event access tickets, broadening access to the global conference.

Stories from the Ground: In-Person Scholars' Journeys

From the Philippines to as far north as Japan and as far west as India, the in-person scholars consisted of Gurus from the Open Mapping Guru (OM Guru) Network alongside long-time and emerging contributors from the wider open mapping community.

Among them was Mohamed Haniffa Fathima Hasna from Sri Lanka. Attending her first-ever State of the Map, Hasna marvelled at the collaboration she saw everywhere. Listening to diverse perspectives from people across different sectors felt like opening doors that kept leading to bigger rooms, reminding her of just how vast open mapping truly is.

"The stories from the villages, the stories from the corners of the world have a global stage here. Knowing this, I understand that I should always keep learning about open mapping, teaching open mapping, and also use it as a tool for justice, governance, and inclusivity."

Beyond learning from others, Hasna also shared her knowledge and experience through two sessions: a beginner workshop on QGIS and a presentation about her work with the Vriddhi Project under UNOPS Sri Lanka, through which she and her team delivered open mapping trainings for over 100 civil society organizations across Sri Lanka.

By embedding open geospatial data and tools into their grassroots workflows, supported by ongoing mentorship, these organizations now use open mapping to strengthen their advocacy, planning, and community engagement. Speaking from her firsthand experience facilitating trainings on the ground, Hasna emphasized:

"Whether we are part of an organization or not, we can do these things as an individual with limited resources and create a big change in society. So, as an individual, let’s contribute to that."

Hasna was not the only scholar who presented at the conference. Across workshops and talk sessions, other scholars also shared their work and insights, covering diverse topics and highlighting the many ways open mapping was applied within their communities.

On disaster risk reduction, scholar Mark Joseph William Ducusin showcased his team’s work during one of the “Lightning Talks” – a short-format, open stage session unique to State of the Map. In the Philippines, where communities frequently face natural hazards, his team is developing an online tool to help define evacuation center service areas and estimate the population they are expected to serve.

Reflecting on his SotM experience, Mark shared:

"Through the workshops and sessions, I was able to deepen my understanding and appreciation of different mapping tools and was honored to connect with mappers from around the world. My favorite takeaway from the conference is that each polygon, line, and point on the map tells a profound and impactful story of even the smallest communities."

Building upon Mark’s takeaway, just as each polygon, line, and point represents a story, every person – including our scholars – also carries their own unique story. Regardless of background or where they are in their mapping journey, there is a place for everyone in the open mapping community, and each person plays a part in shaping it.

"[SotM 2025] is the beginning of my new journey about studying GIS. I just started studying GIS in university. This conference is very practical compared to the class." – Shota, scholar from Japan

"I feel refreshed when I meet new people with the same interest: open mapping and contributing to open data. This moves me to do something new or contribute more." – Pham Minh Tam, scholar from Viet Nam

"I feel proud and happy to attend SotM 2025 Manila as an OM Guru scholar. It gave me new inspiration and extended my leadership and networking." – Noman Bin Hossain, scholar from Bangladesh

The Power of Collective Action: Mapathon for Northern Cebu

One highlight session from the conference, in which scholars and other SotM attendees participated in, was a solidarity mapathon held in response to the 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Northern Cebu, Philippines, which struck just a few days before the event.

For about an hour, participants used MapSwipe to collaboratively identify buildings and structures in the affected areas, significantly improving baseline mapping data and the effectiveness of future mapping efforts.

In practice, the activity was simple: check and mark tiles on your screen based on whether buildings were visible or not in the provided satellite imagery. But in spirit, it echoed the familiar energy of the online mapathons often held by the community: the feeling that you are part of this larger collective working to support critical humanitarian response.

From Mappers to Movement Builders

The Open Mapping Guru SotM 2025 scholars' journeys showed why it is important for different voices, perspectives, and lived experiences to be present in spaces and conversations that are shaping the future of open mapping.

The title of the Open Mapping Guru talk session in the event, "From Mappers to Movement Builders", beautifully captured the vision of the scholarship and other initiatives within the program: a future where contributors grow into community builders and leaders.

Led by AP Hub Community Manager, Mikko Tamura, the session invited scholars, Gurus, and other participants to reflect on their mapping journey:

"When did you first feel like you're a mapper? And when did you feel that you were a part of something bigger?"

As they wrote their answers down, participants looked back on key moments in their journey – from their first mapping contribution to the moment when they felt truly connected and recognized their place within the wider, global open mapping community.

From there, they began charting where they wanted to go next: what causes they would map and advocate for – and what kind of leaders they wanted to be.

In her reflection, scholar Louise Yvonne Paje shared how SotM 2025 became an unexpectedly magical chapter in her mapping journey. From her early involvement in youth engagement initiatives as a chapter leader of the Southern Leyte State U YouthMappers from 2022–2023 to her continued work within the open mapping space, Yvonne’s path as a growing movement builder has been shaped by purpose, connections, and impact.

Thanks to the hard work of the organizers and the passion that every speaker and participant brought to the event, she found SotM 2025 to be a space where ideas could grow, voices could be heard, and communities could connect. In Yvonne’s words:

"SotM 2025 reminded me that even small contributions can create big ripples. Mapping is no longer just about roads and buildings; it's about people, stories, and making sure everyone is seen. It’s about resilience, unity, and creating a shared vision for a better, safer, and more inclusive world.

Every story that we put into the maps results in something that speaks of hope, of belonging, and of the quiet power of communities coming together – a reminder that we are mapping not just for today, but for the future we believe in."

Although the conference lasted only three days, its impact continues to resonate long after it ended. As scholars return to their communities, they carry with them not just new knowledge, but a renewed sense of purpose: to map, to connect, and to build movements that ensure everyone has a place on the map.

Thank you to the OM Guru SotM 2025 scholars for the insights, voices, and experiences (shared through interviews, social media posts, and OSM diaries) that made this article possible: Louise Yvonne Paje, Mark Joseph William Ducusin, Mohamed Haniffa Fathima Hasna, Pham Minh Tam, Shota, Noman Bin Hossain.

We’d also like to thank scholar Ivy Perez and Mohamed Haniffa Fathima Hasna for coordinating, collecting, and capturing some of the insights through interviews during the conference.