Hosting State of the Map 2025 in Manila: What a journey it has been! 🌏🇵🇭

Thank you to everyone who came all the way to Quezon City, Philippines for State of the Map (SotM) 2025! It was such a joy to see people from all over the world -- long-time contributors, local mappers, first-timers, and friends who make OpenStreetMap what it is today. While I expected to see more familiar faces, I was equally happy to meet new ones and exchange stories that remind us why this community is special.

Two years ago, when we first had this ambition to host SotM, I was hesitant. I knew it would take a lot of time, coordination, and energy to pull off something of this scale. When we bid for 2024 and didn’t get it, I told myself maybe it wasn’t meant to be yet. But when 2025 came, we tried again — and this time, we won. Against Paris! We knew it would be tough, but that victory gave us a sense of pride and motivation to make it happen no matter what.

As the one representing the university, I braced myself for a heavy mental and physical load. Whether it would be held in the University of the Philippines (UP) or De La Salle University (DLSU), I knew coordination would fall largely on my shoulders. When UP was finally chosen, I felt relief — because this is home. I had strong networks here through the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI), and our UPRI YouthMappers became the core volunteer group handling logistics, documentation, and everything in between.

Along the way, challenges came — including when our supposed local co-chair got sick — and I had to step up to support Arnalie (the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee) more closely. It was a lot of work, but I’m grateful I didn’t have to do it alone. We had an amazing team that carried this event together, through every late night and last-minute adjustment.

"Feye and Faye" through and through 😂

I’ll admit — I didn’t get to hang out with as many people as I hoped. Most of the time, I was running around making sure things were okay. It was tiring, but seeing everything go smoothly, hearing people’s positive stories, and witnessing our local community shine made it all worth it.

The SotM 2025 delegates during the first day of the conference

No major issues, lots of smiles, and so many memories — that’s more than I could have asked for. Hosting SotM in Manila wasn’t just about organizing a conference. It was about showing the world the heart, creativity, and resilience of the Filipino mapping community. 💛