I’m honored to begin my journey as a 2025 Fellow with the Open Mapping Advocacy Network (OMAN) under the HOT Open Mapping Hub – West and Northern Africa (WNAH). Over the years, I have actively contributed to the open mapping ecosystem through OpenStreetMap Sierra Leone and YouthMappers, as a 2023 YouthMappers Leadership Summit Fellow and 2023–2024 YouthMappers Regional Ambassador for West Africa and a Trainer, OSM Sierra Leone. These experiences have shaped my passion for leveraging geospatial technology as a tool for sustainable development, data-driven decision-making, and youth empowerment.

I applied to join the OMA Fellowship because I deeply believe in the transformative power of open data and participatory mapping to promote inclusion, community actions, and resilience. The OMAN Learning Initiative provides a meaningful opportunity to expand my skills in course design, open mapping advocacy, and community engagement, while collaborating with my co-fellow to co-create impactful learning resources that empower local mappers and communities across West Africa. Together with my co-fellow Jimerveille Thierry-Ngouama, we’ll be co-developing the course “Open Mapping for City Management and Planning.” This learning initiative explores vital and practical themes such as: -Open Data for Sustainable Cities -Informal Settlement Mapping -Disaster Preparedness and Resilience -Disability Assessment and Accessibility Mapping -Revenue Generation and Urban Innovation These themes strongly resonate with challenges faced across West African cities, where limited access to reliable geospatial data often hinders effective governance and urban development. Open mapping offers a powerful and practical pathway to strengthen urban planning, disaster risk management, and inclusive infrastructure design ensuring that no community is left behind.

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First, I want to thank God, the almighty for His blessings and grace always. It’s indeed an honor to represent my beloved country, Sierra Leone and my unique university, Central University SL at the 2023 YouthMappers Leadership Fellowship Summit in Jamaica(Jan 5-12,2023)

Being certified as 2023 YouthMappers Leadership Fellow is something that has inspired me more. The 2023 YouthMappers summit helped me explore in different important areas. I was opportuned to learn about leadership, equity and inclusion and climate change and resilience and geospatial mapping tools and softwares.

Special thanks to YouthMappers,the organizers and our sponsors USAID, Texas Tech University, Arizona University, George Washington University and West Virginia University. We are grateful for the support and knowledge impacted.

Special thanks also to the Openstreet Map Team,Sierra Leone and the YouthMappers Regional Ambassador Sierra Leone for the guidance and mentoring.

A big thank you to Central University Management and my hardworking team, Central University YouthMappers. I am proud to be a Centralist. Thanks to my family and friends for the support. I am blessed to have you all. I am always grateful to you all.

YouthMappers

#ymsummit2023 #Openstreetmap #EverywhereSheMap #centraluniversityyouthmappers