Resilience Live Episode 18 – Mapping Pride and Resilience: How LGBTQ+ Communities Contribute to Disaster Risk Reduction
Air Date: June 26, 2025
LGBTQ+ communities are often seen as vulnerable groups in disaster contexts—but rarely as active agents of resilience. This presentation challenges that narrative by highlighting how queer individuals and collectives are contributing to disaster risk reduction (DRR) through open mapping and data advocacy. Drawing from the work of MapBeks—a volunteer-driven LGBTQ+ mapping community in the Philippines—the talk explores how queer mappers are making invisible communities visible, documenting safe spaces, and supporting critical response efforts during crises such as typhoons, pandemics, and displacement.
Through stories of lived experience, field-based mapping, and digital interventions, the session demonstrates how open data tools like OpenStreetMap are being used not just to fill geospatial gaps, but to empower LGBTQ+ communities to take part in shaping safer, more inclusive environments. From mapping HIV facilities and evacuation risks to mentoring the next generation of “mother-mappers,” this presentation shows how pride and preparedness go hand in hand—and why DRR systems must center equity and visibility to build truly resilient societies.
About the Speaker:
Mikko Tamura is a Filipino open mapping leader, community strategist, queer activist, and geospatial advocate dedicated to inclusive, data-driven development in the Asia-Pacific region. He currently serves as the Community Manager for the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) Asia-Pacific Hub, where he strengthens grassroots leadership and supports local organizations to use open mapping for climate resilience, disaster response, and community empowerment in 25 countries in the region
Mikko brings over a decade of experience across the humanitarian, private, and civil society sectors. He previously worked with the Philippine Red Cross, where he supported disaster preparedness and response initiatives in grass roots communities, and with Grab, a leading tech platform in Southeast Asia, where he contributed to geospatial operations and digital map data improvement.
He is the founder of MapBeks, a volunteer-driven mapping community that advances LGBTQ+ inclusion through digital maps such as the LGBT Safe Spaces Map and the HIV Facilities Map. For his intersectional advocacy, Mikko was named the 2022 Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Champion at the World Geospatial Awards and became the first Filipino recipient of the Distinction Award at the 2021 ASEAN Geospatial Challenge in Singapore.
With a strong focus on youth development, queer inclusion, and local leadership, Mikko continues to lead training programs, design learning modules, and shape regional strategies to help communities tell their stories and drive change through open mapping.