At first, I was filled with doubt about successfully navigating the tricky and lengthy visa process, as my friends had warned me. However, determined to seize this opportunity, I mustered the courage to apply for the visa after confirming my availability for attendance to the travel grants committee. Surprisingly, the visa process was completed within a mere 12 working days, much to my delight. Without wasting any time, I promptly informed Jess of this exciting development. However, when I managed to obtain a Visa, I was uncertain about my future travels. I am incredibly grateful for the support provided by the organizers of the State of the Map US and OpenStreetMap Uganda. Their assistance was invaluable throughout the entire event. This being my very first visit to the US, attending the event was an absolutely incredible experience. As the sole traveler from Uganda, I arrived one day prior to the start of the event. After landing at Washington Dulles Airport, I embarked on a delightful train journey to Richmond, which lasted approximately 3 hours. This gave me ample time to explore the charming city of Richmond before the event commenced. This was my first time to the US and I must say it was a truly incredible experience. The sessions I attended were absolutely phenomenal and highly informative. What made them even more captivating were the interactive panel discussions I had with Annalee and the team regarding community engagement and involvement. Additionally, I had the opportunity to have some insightful conversations about the OpenStreetMap Uganda application with the open Cinema Foundation. Overall, it was an absolutely amazing experience. Also, I had the pleasure of being involved in the bird of the same feathers. Furthermore, I received an invitation to present about the status of the youth mappers chapters in Uganda with the YouthMappers. This experience provided a wonderful opportunity to reunite with some long-time friends whom we had previously met at various events over the years. It was truly a delight to reconnect with amazing individuals like Macela. Additionally, it was a pleasure to meet friends like Stella, Said Turksever From Meta and Mappilary and new friends like Zola and Max. I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer for about 3 hours at the event, where I worked alongside Catherine at the registration desk. Together, we welcomed the event attendees and handed out t-shirts, creating a chance for me to connect with new people like Alberto and make new friends along the way. Some of the incredible sessions that I had the privilege to attend were: 1. Participatory and Open GIS for Action-Oriented International Development: Exploring the Impact of YouthMappers 2. Unveiling Movement and Transport through Telecoms Data with OSM 3. YouthMappers in Action: Turkey and Syria Disaster Response utilizing OSM 4. Mapping sidewalks and street furniture using computer vision and artificial intelligence 5. Reviewing Mapillary Traffic Sign Data Quality and OpenStreetMap Coverage 6. A Thought-provoking Discussion at the Education Roundtable 7. About Overture developments And many more fascinating sessions!

My Presentations

I had the privilege of presenting three sessions during the weekend of June 9th and 11th, 2023. On Friday, I presented about the OpenStreetMap in Local Government. Then, I presented about the State of Youthmapper in Uganda with the YouthMappers. Finally, on Sunday, I delved into the challenges and best practices of dealing with field data for upload to OSM. In conclusion, I would like to thank OpenStreetMap US, Maggie and Jess and OpenStreetMap Uganda for every single support before, during and after the event. Thank you so much and I’m looking forward to more endeavors and above, I thank the Lord God for the journey mercies.