2022
I started to use geolocation applications 8 years ago.
At that time, finding the right information about what café was the closest, where I could go to work as a student, what kind of transportation was the fastest yet the cheapest..Informations were quite difficult to find in France. So I started adding pictures and edit places so I can help others students like me. Since then, I never stopped. I started travelling and exploring new countries and cultures, meeting new people, and discovered that the need to be well informed when you’re moving around, from the other side of your street to the other side of the planet, is a universal need.
I definitely focused on Google Maps and the Local Guides Community 3 years and half ago, combining the enjoyment of the exploration of the world, the ability to give recognition to the amazing hidden gems of my city Amsterdam and the responsibility of helping people to move, travel and explore also more easily. I was also passionate about the ability of technology to actually solve problems in our society, and I saw the contribution as a Local Guide to Google Maps as a way to work with technology hand by hand. It was like contributing locally but for a more global purpose.
I attended Connect Live 2018, and it radically changed my perspective. Meeting people from all over the world, people I’ve met on the forum, reunited around the same values and passions, it was obviously a one-time experience. It definitely changed the way I contributed and why I was sharing. I’ve met @EmekaUlor in the taxi from the airport, and he made me discover the accessibility issues in his country and his commitment to Google Maps. From that moment, I started contributing differently. I went to Japan right after, spending time with Linnea and Osca, discovering all the treasurable knowledge and care that a Local Guide can have.
@EmekaUlor invited me to represent the One Accessibility team in Europe, and it was an honour for me. I host a meet-up in the context of the Worldwide Accessibility Meetup in December 2018. Some Local Guides across the globe joined to host meetups in their cities.
Finally, we started the One Accessibility initiative on Connect Forum, with @Kashifmisidia, @MarineSergent, @PennyChristie, @ChinonsoOnukwugha, and @Kwiksatik, including the Accessibility Uncovered ♿, a weekly enlightening series of posts to share information about people with disabilities and how accessibility can improve lives across the world. We also profile accessible buildings and public places identified during #accessibility meetups. We are planning on creating soon a website for the initiative.
Everything I am seeing, editing, sharing on Google Maps, is now through the mirror of accessibility and diversity. If there is one thing to know about this community, it is how much they care about people, how passionate and dedicated they are for our cause, and the mountains they can move just for us to move around the world more freely, independently, and in the respect of each other. I’m very honoured to be part of that movement.
The #Accessibility team is the main reason for me to share today. I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished and I can’t wait to see what we will achieve.
