When words turn into actions, they create history. My months of planning and a four-month-long process culminated in a historic event in Sri Lanka. It all began in the first week of April with a pivotal meeting involving YouthMappers Faculty Advisors and Chapter officers, where we set the date for the YouthMappers Summit Sri Lanka 2024 for July 31st, 2024. On April 12th, we made the official announcement for our highly anticipated summit.
In April, we also called for logo designs to give our summit a visually distinctive identity. Among many submissions, Rilan Rizwan from the YouthMappers Chapter at Southeastern University of Sri Lanka (SEUSL) won the logo design contest. We made a public announcement regarding the venue, which was finalized at SEUSL, our hosting partner.
May marked an important phase as we called for participants and proposals, with our student volunteers and organizing team starting to put plans into action. By June, we had more than 150 participants, including students and academic personnel. We also launched the "Mini-Grant Proposal" to encourage YouthMappers activities in Sri Lanka. Simultaneously, we invited keynote speakers and resource persons while I was participating in the YouthMappers Leadership Fellowship in Thailand. From numerous proposals, we selected six lightning talks, eight presentations, four keynote speakers, two valuable workshops, and four guest speakers, including a VIP speaker.
The summit day was vibrant, filled with dynamic interactions and a strong sense of community. The inauguration, which I led, featured esteemed guests and keynote speakers. The guest speakers included Ms. Nuskiya Hassan, Student Advisor, YouthMappers Chapter SEUSL; Mr. K. Nijamir, Head of the Department of Geography; Prof. M.M. Fazil, Dean of the Faculty; and Prof. A. Rameez, Vice-Chancellor of SEUSL. Keynote speeches were delivered by Kiran Ahire, Community Manager for Asia Pacific at TomTom, and Solita MuthuKrishna, Development Program Assistant at USAID, Sri Lanka & Maldives. They shared valuable insights into mapping's complexities, significance, and challenges.
The summit, divided into two tracks, featured international keynote speakers, student presentations, and lightning talks. Notable speakers included A.P.J. Dilshani (USJ), Harshani Madhumali (USJ), M.A.F. Amal (SEUSL), V. Pushpakumar (EUSL), and G. Vinusha (EUSL). Presentations were given by A.D.L.B. Aluthge (USJ), K.P. Munipura (USJ), J.A.B. Mahendran (SEUSL), J.B.L. De Soysa (USJ), M.F. Minha (SEUSL), M.A.F. Amal (SEUSL), and M. F. Zainab (SEUSL).
The highlight of the summit was the keynote speeches and workshops. Arnalie Vicario, Board Member of the OpenStreetMap Foundation and Volunteer, shared insights about OSMF, while Kiran Ahire discussed TomTom's operations. Although some keynote speakers were unable to attend, the sessions remained enriching. Workshops included "Validating OSM Data" by Severin Menard, a member of the Crowdsource team at UN Mappers, and "QGIS: An Introduction" by Richard Hinton, Spatial Analysis Lab Manager and Adjunct Professor of Cartography and GIS at George Washington University. Guest Eranda Rathnadiwakara, MEL & GIS Specialist, also joined us.
The summit concluded with an awarding ceremony honoring all speakers, volunteers, and participants with certificates and gifts. Special thanks to YouthMappers, our hosting partner SEUSL, supporting chapters, and participants for making the summit a resounding success. I extend my sincere gratitude to Mr. Sawan Sharir for his motivation and support. With more than 150 participants, four guest speakers, one VIP speaker, four keynote speakers, two resource persons, and twelve chapter speakers for lightning talks, the summit set a benchmark for collaborative success.
I am grateful for the generous support and look forward to continuing our work together on future projects. My heartfelt thanks to Marcela Zeballos, Managing Director of YouthMappers, and Dr. Patricia Solis, Director of YouthMappers, for their invaluable support and encouragement. Being part of this amazing network is an honor, and the YouthMappers Summit Sri Lanka 2024 has truly made history, setting a benchmark for our global network. I hope to have paved a meaningful path for future YouthMappers leaders in Sri Lanka and provided an enriching international conference experience.
About the Author
Sajeevini Sivajothy is from Sri Lanka and serves as the Regional Ambassador for Asia Pacific (Community Build Support) at YouthMappers. She is the Lead Organizer for the YouthMappers Summit Sri Lanka and a 2024 YouthMappers Leadership Summit Fellow. Additionally, she is an alumnus of the YouthMappers Chapter at Eastern University, Sri Lanka.
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