Mikko Tamura
Mikko Tamura is a community builder, humanitarian mapper, and advocate for inclusive geospatial leadership across the Global South. Based in the Philippines, Mikko leads community engagement for the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) in the Asia-Pacific, where he supports grassroots mappers, youth leaders, and civil society partners to use open mapping for climate action, disaster response, and community development.
He is the founder of MapBeks, an award-winning volunteer mapping group that champions LGBTQIA+ visibility and public health through data. Under his leadership, MapBeks launched the Philippines' first crowdsourced maps of HIV facilities and LGBTQIA+ safe spaces—putting historically excluded communities on the map. Mikko was recognized as the Gender Equity and Inclusion Champion at the World Geospatial Awards in 2022, and is the first Filipino to win the Distinction Award at the ASEAN Geospatial Challenge.
Mikko currently coordinates the Open Mapping Gurus, a regional network of emerging leaders across Asia-Pacific trained to support local mapping initiatives, lead community outreach, and respond to urgent mapping needs. In 2024, he helped initiate the expansion of the Guru model into Africa, building cross-regional connections and mentorship opportunities between African and Asian mappers.
Passionate about youth empowerment and sustainability, Mikko designs programs like the Climate Resilience Fellowship, a training and seed grant program that brings together young people from informal settlements to tackle local climate issues using open data.
At SOTM Africa, Mikko is eager to listen, learn, and co-create with African mappers, and to share practical insights on growing resilient, inclusive, and leader-driven mapping communities. His vision: a future where local mappers are not just participants in open data ecosystems, but recognized strategists, storytellers, and system-changers.
Session
The Open Mapping Gurus are more than just skilled mappers—they are trusted local leaders, mentors, and catalysts for community resilience through open data. They are the ones we activate in times of disaster, who rally communities for climate action, and who champion inclusive mapping where it's needed most. As we move from short-term project engagements to long-term, sustainable community impact, we must also grow this powerful network—starting with identifying and supporting the next generation of Gurus.
This workshop invites participants to take part in the next chapter of the Open Mapping Guru movement: expanding the model beyond Asia-Pacific and growing a vibrant network in Africa. The session draws from the Asia-Pacific Open Mapping Hub’s 2025–2030 Community Building Strategy, while exploring how its principles—local leadership, inclusive participation, and data for community action—can be adapted to African contexts and realities.
With early interest from mappers in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, and growing momentum for cross-regional mentorship, this is the moment to scale the Guru model. The session will explore:
What makes a strong Open Mapping Guru?
How can we recruit, train, and support new Gurus in Africa?
What regional or global challenges can Gurus help address together?
How do we sustain Gurus beyond projects—through leadership development, recognition, and peer networks?
Participants will use interactive frameworks, reflection tools, and community stories to:
Identify opportunities to recruit and grow Guru circles in their countries
Align their community needs with the regional strategy goals
Explore ways to collaborate across borders and continents
Build a roadmap to support locally driven, globally connected Guru communities
This session is not just a training—it’s a recruitment rally, a movement-building moment, and an invitation to help shape the future of the Open Mapping Guru project in Africa and beyond. Join us if you're ready to lead, grow, and bring others with you.