This text, part of the #ODDStories series, tells a story of Open Data Day‘s grassroots impact directly from the community’s voices.
The Philippines, located in the tropical region of Asia, experiences an annual shift of season, namely La Niña and El Niño. From July 2023 to May 2024, El Niño conditions were observed in the tropical Pacific Ocean, particularly in the Philippines. The effects of El Niño led to agricultural damages and water shortages reported in various regions. While the La Niña brought increased rainfall and a high risk of floods and landslides, especially in the vulnerable areas, and impacted agriculture and fisheries. Thus, disaster preparedness is a key component to reduce risks, protect lives, and ensure economic stability.
That is why, for this year’s Open Data Day 2025, the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines – USTP YouthMappers conducted a workshop seminar named “Mapping Resilience – Using QGIS to Analyze La Niña and El Niño Impacts in the Philippines.” We taught student mappers how to utilize QGIS as a spatial analysis and visualization tool for El Niño and La Niña, which would contribute to disaster preparedness and response through data-driven decision-making.
Held last March 5, 2025, at the University Cafeteria Hall in USTP Cagayan de Oro City Campus, it was led by Mr. Lanz Sim S. Bartolome and Mr. Mekaell M. Felonia, both students and mapping enthusiasts. They shared their knowledge on Land Surface Temperature (LST) and its role in climate analysis and Precipitation Analysis, and its importance in understanding the impacts of La Niña and El Niño. A total of 76 atendees were engaged in a mapping activity as they created their individual maps on LST and Precipitation Analysis.
About Open Data Day
Open Data Day (ODD) is an annual celebration of open data all over the world. Groups from many countries create local events on the day where they will use open data in their communities. ODD is led by the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) and the Open Knowledge Network.
As a way to increase the representation of different cultures, since 2023 we offer the opportunity for organisations to host an Open Data Day event on the best date over one week. In 2025, a total of 189 events happened all over the world between March 1st and 7th, in 57 countries using 15+ different languages. All outputs are open for everyone to use and re-use.
For more information, you can reach out to the Open Knowledge Foundation team by emailing opendataday@okfn.org. You can also join the Open Data Day Google Group or join the Open Data Day Slack channel to ask for advice, share tips and get connected with others.
