Being selected for the 2024 YouthMappers Leadership Fellowship Program was a life-changing experience that allowed me to develop my skills, knowledge, and network with professionals in the field of mapping and spatial analysis.
After opening the application form for the 2024 YouthMappers Leadership Fellowship, I took several days reviewing the information I provided to ensure its accuracy before submitting the form. I ensured that I had included all the necessary details required in the form and avoided any errors. I knew that there would be so many people from all over the world also submitting their applications hoping to be selected for this opportunity. I submitted my responses and hoped for the best! Following my application submission, I focused on my academic activities and my duties as a YouthMappers chapter member at Gombe State University, in Gombe, Nigeria.
I was overjoyed after seeing an email from the Managing Director of YouthMappers congratulating me on my selection as one of the 27 students chosen from a pool of over 600 applicants. Together we represented 16 countries in the 2024 Leadership Fellowship cohort and we would meet in Thailand. At that moment, I was overwhelmed with joy and couldn't find the words to express my happiness, as I was thinking about the incredible journey I was about to embark on. Additionally, I was overjoyed as this will be the first time flying on an airplane from my country to another country, all thanks to YouthMappers.
I shared the message with my mom, dad, and other family members and also showed the notification to my chapter coordinator at school, but I respected the confidentiality of the message and didn't share it until the formal group announcement was made public in March 2024.
I was shocked when I saw my flight reservation from Nigeria to Thailand, as I realized I would be spending a significant amount of time on the plane. Before this program, I had never traveled by airplane, but I was thrilled to spend so many hours in the air. I began my journey by boarding a flight from Nmandi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on June 8th heading to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I began making connections with my YouthMappers colleagues from different countries in the airport in Addis Ababa and I met four colleagues, Bapaalo Zuliatu Alhassan and Samuel Ackon from Ghana, Joy Unene from Zambia, and Alvin Matemba from Malawi. We boarded our next flight to Bangkok, and we had a lot of discussions about YouthMappers program and our respective activities at the airport.
ARRIVING IN BANGKOK, THAILAND!
After we all arrived at the hotel, I received a welcome from the Director and Co-founder of YouthMappers, Dr. Patricia Solis. She was delighted to meet us all in person and we were so happy to finally meet each other in person! We stayed in Bangkok for two days and then transferred to Bang Saen in Chonburi Province for the remaining days of the program.
After the arrival of all cohort members, we began the program that same evening with a welcoming address, followed by introductions from each and every one of us. The next day, after our first day of sessions, we went on a special city tour, which took us to the iconic Buddha Building in the city. Then, we went on a trip through the waterways, circling around the city. Afterwards, we had a group dinner at a restaurant in the city.
TRANSFERRING TO OUR NEXT SITE!
From Bangkok, we spent at least 2 hours on the road, making our way before arriving in Chon Buri Province. We arrived safely and checked in successfully, and the next day, we began our program as planned, which was also successful.
As a member of the SDG 13 - Climate Action team, all my lectures centered around climate change, and youth action in response to climate change. The team leaders and members of the YouthMappers steering committee had a great time sharing their knowledge with us. My favorite sessions were:
Introduction to climate action for heat resilience
Understanding risk analysis and indices
Exposure methodology and remote sensing interpretation
Vulnerability approaches and the YouthMappers project request workflow
Adaptive capacity framework and OSM
Social cohesion and inclusion concept
On Thursday June 13th, we spent the day conducting field data collection exercises at Nong Mon market, where we used Mapillary, OSmAnd, and Kobo Collect to collect data from the area.
The following days, we continued to learn so much about:
Generating solutions with optimization analysis
Communicating results through story mapping
The principles of participating GIS and tracking impact
Advanced project preparation
OSM teams
interesting initiatives led by HeiGIT and TomTom
On Saturday June 15th, we received training on OSM Teams. Each chapter learned how to use it effectively, so that when we return to our chapters, we knew how to engage with the platform. The following day, Sunday, was our team presentation day, and it was special because we achieved a lot of things that made us proud of our work, our journey throughout the fellowship and this made us happy. I presented my skills and experience working with my chapter in Nigeria, as well as the education I gained during this program alongside my SDG team - Climate Action. I appreciated our hard work and collaboration and I want to thank my team members for making this experience so memorable: Jahin from Bangladesh, Maria from Jamaica, Lochan from Nepal, Joyce from Philippines, Sajeevini from Sri Lanka, Julia from Brazil, Salazar from Mozambique, and Joana from Brazil.
At the end of the day, after the closing statement, we all received a certificate of recognition from YouthMappers, and afterwards, went on a special tour of the Sanctuary of Truth. We are thrilled about this tour because we gained a wealth of knowledge and learned so much about the history of the Sanctuary of Truth. Each and everyone of us enjoyed this program, and some of us even teared up because we knew we would be saying goodbye soon. I was in the first group of people that departed for the airport. After spending so many days together, my colleagues and I arrived at the airport and started boarding our respective flights to out various countries.
About the Author:
My name is Adamu Muhammad Adamu, and I am a 3rd-year student at Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria. Currently, I am a student in the Faculty of Science studying Geography.
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