Community Engagement

GIS Day: Missing Maps Project

Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - 10:00am to 4:00pm

Location:
Jack & Florence Ferman Presentation Room
Cost:
Free
gis
For GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Day on Wednesday, November 14th, students can learn how to transform satellite imagery into open maps as part of the Missing Maps Project. We will be mapping areas along the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, showing the location of roads, buildings, and paths, to help with the delivery of aid to refugees and epidemiological work with diseases like Ebola. The maps we make will be validated by refugee workers in place, and then used by local organizations in collaboration with international groups like the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Participants will get free pizza, learn new tech skills, and help some of the world’s neediest people.

 

Schedule of Event

10:00am – 10:30am

Welcome & Orientation to the Missing Maps project.

Free coffee and pastries.

If you have a laptop computer, please bring it with you to use for the mapping.  If you don’t have one, you can use a library laptop.

10:30am – 12:00pm

Mapping Session, Part 1 – Make a hands-on contribution to mapping buildings, roads, and informal pathways along the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These maps will be used by UN agencies and local organizations to deliver aid to refugees and help track and prevent the spread of contagious diseases.

12:00pm – 1:00pm

"So we all have markers: An exploration into other strange ways of making maps" - Keynote Address by Omar Ureta

Omar Ureta is a design technologist revealing the complexities of land use planning and development. As an urban design consultant, he advocates for architecture in support of the public realm by improving on public outreach and public process.

As a civic hacker, Omar experiments with new ways to interactively communicate land-use issues through the use of open source tools and open data.

He is part of an emerging community of civic hackers and leads maptimeLA, a volunteer group open to anyone interested in collaborative learning, exploration and map creation.

Free pizza lunch

1:00pm – 1:30pm

Orientation to the Missing Maps Project (for anyone who didn’t attend the morning session)

If you have a laptop computer, please bring it with you to use for the mapping.  If you don’t have one, you can use a library laptop.

1:30pm – 3:00pm

Mapping Session, Part 2 – Make a hands-on contribution to mapping buildings, roads, and informal pathways along the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These maps will be used by UN agencies and local organizations to deliver aid to refugees and help track and prevent the spread of contagious diseases.