A mapathon is a great opportunity for volunteers to digitally connect and create urgently needed data for communities around the world so that local and international decision-makers can use these maps and data to better respond to crises affecting these areas. Up-to-date maps are important for the success of many humanitarian initiatives around the world in responding to disasters. Through Missing Maps, you can volunteer your time to help inform these maps, and have a real impact on the delivery of healthcare and other services in these communities. Check out the video below to learn more about what a mapathon is, and check out our resources on how to host one below.
Thinking of hosting a large event?
We love to welcome new mappers to Missing Maps, but it is important to remember we are part of a much larger OpenStreetMap (OSM) community. The data produced in OSM, whether by us or other mappers, is used in real time. Therefore, it is important that we properly support these new mappers. Without proper training, supervision and data clean-up, new mappers can have a lot of fun but leave a huge mess behind in OSM! Because of this, we highly recommend you start with smaller events and build your capacity before holding big mapathons. We suggest a first time mapathon host to start by organizing an event for 20 -25 participants. If you are considering a larger event (for 50+ participants) and do not have time to build your training capacity, please consider hosting a MapSwipe event instead. These events can more easily involve larger groups responsibly.