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Ayubowan from Sri Lanka,

My name is Hasna from Sri Lanka, and I bring over 3.8 years of experience in OpenStreetMap (OSM) and humanitarian geospatial work. I began as a self-learner with limited engagement, but my journey has evolved into sustained, impact-driven contribution at both national and global levels.

In 2022, I joined UNOPS Sri Lanka, where I worked within capacity-building initiatives for civil society organizations. In this role, I actively promoted OpenStreetMap, open-source GIS, and humanitarian mapping through HOT. Through the UNOPS Vriddhi Project, I directly trained over 100 civil society partners, strengthening local mapping capacity and enabling wider adoption of geospatial tools in development work. This experience grounded my understanding of how open mapping translates into real-world community impact.

A defining milestone in my journey was attending State of the Map 2025 in Manila. This experience significantly reshaped my perspective on the global humanitarian mapping ecosystem. It allowed me to connect with experienced mappers, mentors, and contributors, and establish a strong professional network. Since then, my engagement with HOT has become more structured, consistent, and purpose-driven.

Currently, I serve as the Country Lead for Sri Lanka under WOM Asia Navigators, where I support community engagement and capacity development in open mapping. Over the past seven months, I have completed more than 190 HOT tasks across disaster preparedness, disaster response, and recovery operations, demonstrating sustained technical contribution in humanitarian contexts.

What does HOT mean to you? HOT represents a global humanitarian ecosystem that transforms geospatial data into life-saving action. To me, it is not just a platform, but a collaborative force of mappers, organizations, and communities working to ensure that vulnerable populations are visible, supported, and included in disaster preparedness and response systems.

How did you become involved with HOT? My deeper involvement began after State of the Map 2025, where I witnessed the real-world scale and impact of HOT’s work. This motivated me to move beyond passive learning into active contribution. Since then, I have consistently engaged with HOT learning resources, mapping projects, and working group discussions, steadily increasing my contributions to over 190 tasks within seven months.

Why do you want to become a voting member? I am seeking to become a HOT voting member because I am committed to moving from contributor to active decision-support within the organization. I strongly align with HOT’s mission and believe my experience in training, community engagement, and field-level mapping can contribute to its strategic direction. Becoming a voting member will allow me to: -Strengthen my engagement in governance and community representation -Contribute more intentionally to HOT’s sustainability and growth -Support inclusive participation from the Global South, particularly Sri Lanka and similar contexts

Can you share your involvement in HOT, mapping, and humanitarian response? I have contributed to multiple humanitarian mapping initiatives focused on disaster preparedness, resilience, and response, including: Mozambique TC GEZANI 26 Massinga 1 Priority Mapping Initiative, Ngwata Missing Buildings and Road Mapping for resilience and smart city development, United Nations for Somalia - CEEL GADDE: villages and barriers, Missing Maps: Buildings in Aweil Counties, South Sudan, Disaster Response in North Sumatera Indonesia, Building Mapping. These experiences have strengthened my technical consistency, attention to detail, and understanding of crisis-informed mapping workflows.

As a voting member, what do you see as your most important responsibility? My primary responsibility as a voting member would be to actively safeguard and strengthen the quality, integrity, and sustainability of HOT’s humanitarian mapping ecosystem. This includes ensuring that community contributions remain both scalable and reliable, while continuing to serve real-world humanitarian needs.

How do you plan to engage with HOT as a voting member? Are there specific working groups you’re interested in joining? As a voting member, I plan to engage through consistent contribution, mentorship, and active participation in community and technical discussions. I am particularly interested in the Community, Technology & Innovation, and Training Working Groups, as they align with my experience in capacity building, geospatial learning, and community empowerment.

What do you see as HOT’s greatest challenge, and how would you help address it? One of HOT’s most critical challenges is maintaining a balance between the scale of mapping contributions and the sustained quality and reliability of data, while ensuring long-term community engagement. I would contribute to addressing this by: -Strengthening structured training and mentorship for new mappers -Supporting community-led capacity building, especially in underrepresented regions -Promoting best practices in humanitarian mapping workflows -Encouraging sustained engagement rather than short-term participation Through these approaches, I aim to help strengthen both the quality and sustainability of HOT’s global mapping ecosystem.

Thanks for reading, Cheers