Woah, where do I begin?
2022 has gone by like a flash (and although it's the first of October as I start to write this blog post, I know that I am going to forget about it and probably finish it sometime in December just before 2022 comes to a close .. well sorry past Ayeisha but it's actually the last day of February and you still haven't posted this).
I had this idea of putting my key things that I have done, and achieved professionally and maybe a few personal ones here. It's nice to reflect and look back at the year and see what I've done, because I feel like it was a fair bit.
1. Biggest achievement in 2022
I was named one of Geospatial World's #50 Top Rising Stars!
When I got the news that I was going to be one of the 50 Geospatial World 50 Rising Stars I was very excited. It's great to be recognised within the industry for the work and the community I have contributed to! And of course, it's great to be a rising start with so many other amazing people in the industry. I feel that the geospatial community is a very close nit group, even internationally so it's been great connecting with each other.
2. Speaking events 🗺️
I was lucky enough to be involved in several different online and in-person events, where I could present different work/ networks and talk about women in geospatial and geospatial in development.
GIS for a Sustainable World (May) https://www.esri.com/en-us/about/events/gis-sustainable-world/save-date?date=2022-05-10
Royal Queensland Geographers Society (September) https://www.facebook.com/events/442274754600491?ref=newsfeed
AOGEO Symposium (September)
GEO Week (October)
https://www.earthobservations.org/geoweek2022.php
3. Women in Geospatial (W+G)
In 2022, I moved onto a new position and took on the role as Regional Ambassador co-lead with my fellow friend and W+G collegue, Daria. This has been a new experience for me and I am super happy to be volunteering agin this year.
Mentorship Programme
From Mid 2021 - May 2022 I was apart of the W+G Mentorship Programme where we had a peer mentorship group with 3 other likeminded women. We met on several occasions and formed great friendships together. https://womeningeospatial.org/legacy-gallery/
https://gis-portfolio-101-women-in-geo.hub.arcgis.com/
4. Twitter/ social media
Cartography Projection Cards
I was lucky enough to be involved in Daniel's twitter project, creating different geospatial projection cards! It was super fun to be apart of the cartographers who designed a card, and also then to purchase the cards and get a few different designs from other people.
I really loved this project and it was another show of the geospatial community coming together to create something fun and light hearted!
#30DayMapChallenge
Of course November 2022 was the month of the #30DayMapChallenge2022! I did participate again this year, but my contributions were smaller than I had hoped. I was very busy with work and didn't have enough time to make so many maps. You can see all the maps here.
5. Personal Achievements
Personally 2022 was a very fun, busy and extremely exhausting year to put it lightly. The removal of COVID-19 restrictions meant that I could travel more, in Europe, and finally go back to my homeland (Australia) to see my family. I am so so very privileged and grateful for the life I live, but it doesn't mean that it's not tough at times.
In June 2022 we received the decision that my Swedish Residents Permit got approved, so I made the decision to move from Geneva, Switzerland to Lund, Sweden to continue my job/ work remotely. This helped me to keep a stable part of my life work, but also then I needed to adjust to a new environment, new language and new life - as soon after we got a puppy!
Winter in Sweden is another hurdle that I have been getting through the last months, as someone who grew up in the tropics winter darkness and cold isn't something I always enjoy!