Hello fellow mappers.

My name is Ayame Otsuki, and I am honored to be nominated as a 2025 voting member of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT).

I’m based in Japan, and I’ve been engaging in mapping activities as a member of NPO Crisis Mappers Japan since 2015, and I set up a youth team within this community.This February, I gave a presentation about “20years Journey of OpenStreetMap” at State of the Map Japan. Sorry for it’s Japanese

I currently work as a data scientist and analyst at a Japanese telecom company.

What does HOT mean to me?

To me, HOT is a community of people who believe in the power of open data and try to provide humanitarian support across borders. HOT is the one that taught me that a single computer can help some people all over the world.

How did I become involved in HOT?

I first became involved with HOT when I participated in a crisis mapping activity for the 2015 Nepal earthquake, which was organized by Professor Taichi Furuhashi at university. I got to engage in mapping activities since then, and developed an efficient tool (BCr.map) for drawing buildings (rectangles) as my university graduation research project in 2019.

Why do I want to be a voting member?

I would like to be more actively involved in HOT community by becoming a voting member. And also, I want to serve a statistical and objective perspective in HOT’s strategy and governance as a data analysis expert.

My involvement in HOT, mapping, and/or humanitarian response:

I’ve been engaging in mapping activities by using HOT’s tool for 10 years and expand the Crisis Mappers Japan community. I’m also a drone pilot of a Japanese disaster drone rescue team and taught how to operate a drone to local kids.

My most important responsibility as a voting member:

To collaborate with other voting members to maintain HOT as a diverse and sustainable organization. And to support decision-making that strengthens the relationships between local communities and global humanitarian organizations.

How I plan to get involved:

I would love to participate in Community and Training working groups. I’m especially interested in community engagement. Mapping can sometimes be a lonely job, so I want to support mappers and learn how to increase their engagement.

HOT’s greatest challenge and my contribution:

I think one of the greatest challenges HOT faces is ensuring equity in data volume and long-term sustainability as a global movement. I will contribute to sustaining a global, volunteer-based movement, especially in Asian region.

Thank you for this opportunity, and I look forward to connecting with you!

Warm regards,
Ayame Otsuki

Twitter/X: https://x.com/ayame_o_13
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayameo