It’s been a week since the State of the Map (SOTM) 2025 and this edition of State of the Map actually had a lot of firsts, it’s the first to be held in Asia and it was actually the first that I’m attending. I’ve been to a fair share of conventions and conferences but this is really my first time going to a one specifically about mapping and OpenStreetMap.

It was a rainy first day for SOTM in Metro Manila but that didn’t stop the conference from pushing through. The venue was packed with mappers and enthusiasts from around the globe. It was great to chat with other mapping folks on common interests such as FOSS apps or QGIS. I also had the chance to talk with local Philippine mappers and enthusiasts to discuss about local issues or things that we are currently working on.

The venue featured sponsors displaying their products, along with several informative posters. One poster that caught my attention was about the public transportation in Malaysia.

The rest of the day and the next two days were a whirlwind of presentations and discussions which covered a wide-range of topics from disaster response and recovery mapping, experiences in building mapping communities and even the use of AI in mapping. It was tough deciding which talk to attend but the standout for me was Taichi Furuhasi’s impressive journey in mapping Japan’s buildings. Hearing about some of the complex inner workings of the OpenStreetMap website itself from Minh Nguyễn was also fascinating.

Kudos to the State of the Map organizers and volunteers for all their hard work. I’m also grateful to Kaart for giving me the opportunity to attend this year’s State of the Map.

And to cap this diary off here are some sleepy cats at UP Diliman.