Sketch Map Tool (SMT) - An easy-to-use way to create and digitalize paper maps for offline data collection in the field The HeiGIT (Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology) team recently launched a new version of the https://sketch-map-tool.heigit.org/ - an easy-to-use tool for participatory sketch mapping through offline data collection, digitization and georeferencing of local spatial knowledge. Thanks to the support of the German Red Cross and funding from the German Federal Foreign Office, a more stable and user-friendly version of the HeiGIT/GIScience tool has now been develope ..read more

Geodata guiding health interventions in IDP camps around Goma Amidst the ongoing conflict and displacement crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, utilizing geodata contributes to an effective evaluation of the situation, understanding the extent of displacement in a setting where estimating the number and spread of population is never an easy task. Since March 2022, around one million of people have fled the upsurge of heavy fighting between the Congolese army and militant groups, including the M23, in North Kivu. This is adding to the already high number of internally displaced people (I ..read more

Introduction Cameroon is often called “Africa in miniature” because of the country’s diversity in landscapes and how the various geographic landscapes adorning the African continent can almost all be found in Cameroon. The country is such an interesting case for mapping landcover and who else is better to do so than its OSM Community? The OpenStreetMap Cameroon team has been hard at work over the past years, improving the map of their country through data collection and the collaboration with local partners, notably the vocational training Centre Eurêka Geo, which supported the team with train ..read more

Introduction Le Cameroun est souvent appelé « l’Afrique en miniature », en raison de la diversité des paysages du pays et du fait que la plupart des paysages géographiques qui ornent le continent africain se retrouvent presque tous au Cameroun. Le pays est un cas très intéressant pour la cartographie de l’occupation du sol et qui d’autre est mieux placé que sa communauté OSM pour le faire? L’équipe d’OpenStreetMap Cameroun a travaillé dur ces dernières années, améliorant la carte de leur pays par la collecte de données et la collaboration avec des partenaires locaux, notamment le Centre de for ..read more

The “sweet spot” for research and Missing Maps collaborations In the past years several examples highlighted how universities and research institutions can complement Missing Maps’ work. Here we want to share some lessons learned and dig into the things that can be done beyond organizing mapathons. One of the key issues when collaborating with humanitarian organizations is that researchers tend not to be able to give quick answers while on the humanitarian side there are pressing priorities. As such, the timeline of research projects are often much more prolonged and need upfront time investme ..read more

Le « sweet spot » pour les collaborations entre recherche et Missing Maps Au cours des dernières années, plusieurs exemples ont mis en évidence la manière dont les universités et les instituts de recherche peuvent complémenter le travail de Missing Maps. Ainsi, nous voulons partager quelques leçons apprises et approfondir ce qui peut être fait au-delà de l’organisation de mapathons. L’un des problèmes clefs lors de la collaboration avec des organisations humanitaires est que les chercheurs ont tendance à ne pas être en mesure de donner des réponses rapides alors que, du côté humanitaire, il y ..read more

Détection des changements avec MapSwipe en réponse au cyclone Batsirai Madagascar 2022 Pour répondre à cette urgence cyclonique à Madagascar, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) a utilisé une nouvelle méthode MapSwipe développée par l’Institut de Technologie de la Géo-Information de Heidelberg (HeiGIT) et Laurent Savaete, un ingénieur en logiciel de longue date chez MapSwipe. Cette fonction innovante a vu le jour grâce au soutien financier de Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) et à l’aide de bénévoles extraordinaires pour les traductions. Introduction Entre le 5 et le 22 février 2022, les cyclon ..read more

MapSwipe change detection analysis in response to Cyclone Batsirai Madagascar 2022 To respond to this cyclone emergency in Madagascar, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) used a new innovative MapSwipe method developed by the Heidelberg University. <img src=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MissingMaps/img/main/images/missingmaps-blog_20220815_MapSwipe-banner.png> Introduction Between 5 and 22 February 2022, tropical cyclones Batsirai and Emnati hit Madagascar’s east coast, destroying, and flooding numerous medical and non-medical sites. It is estimated more than 300,000 people have been affe ..read more

Hasta el momento, los mapeadores de Missing Maps han creado una gran cantidad de datos en términos cuantitativos, pero ahora debemos centrarnos en una mayor calidad. Y esta calidad vendrá de los mapeadores locales porque son ellos los que conocen los lugares específicos y son los que pueden mantener actualizado el mapa. Para mí, como asesor de eHealth, desde el punto de vista de la salud pública, las ubicaciones de los centros de salud y los nombres de lugares, como las aldeas, son los más importantes para mapear. Para otros dentro de MSF, como los equipos de divulgación a la comunidad o los ..read more

Read about the inspirations, passions and wisdom behind three all star OSM mappers Interviews from International Women’s Day 2022 Missing Maps is sustained by a wonderful community of volunteer mappers. These mappers have unique and powerful stories to share about how and why they map that inspire others to follow suit. To celebrate International Women’s Day, 2022, we interviewed three amazing women to highlight their accomplishments in Missing Maps and OpenStreetMap. Jana Trtíková, Czechia, Czech Republic How did you join the Missing Maps local community? It’s easy: I started mapping thanks ..read more