Hello World!

Not a new word to you right?, so do the contents…

In the past few years I have been organizing and conducting Mapathons or Mapping Parties as known to many of you, through that experience I have been able to develop this guideline to help individuals and organizations towards organizing successful Mapathons, I know it is not easy and always an overwhelming process but exciting when it goes right, HahaH, recently at Ardhi University, Dar es salaam, Tanzania I conducted a Mapathon, It was no joke, 60+ alumni, students, and OSM community members joined forces to learn the ropes of mapping and networking, facilitated by @rootgis

We couldn't have done it without the amazing support from HOT ESA HUB and the Spatial People Network program , thank you so much for the funds and resources to make it all possible!

During the mapathon Buildings, Roads , Land Use and Point of Interests were mapped and all data generated were added to OpenStreetMap (OSM).

Wow, talk about a productive day! >>Fast Forward

Therefore...

A mapathon is an event where brothers and sisters come together to map a particular area for a given purpose few of them being Refugee Response, Disaster response, Transportation, Disaster Preparedness, Public Health, Water & Sanitation, Sustainable Cities, Agriculture, Poverty Elimination, Environment, Gender Equality, Clean Energy, OSM Community, Disaster Recovery, you mention it.

The goal of a mapathon is to create accurate data and maps that can be used for humanitarian, development, Refugee Response, Disaster response, Transportation, Disaster Preparedness, Public Health, Water & Sanitation, Sustainable Cities, Agriculture, Poverty Elimination, Environment, Gender Equality, Clean Energy, OSM Community, Disaster Recovery

So what to do when planning for a successful mapathon ?:

• Set a goal: Define the purpose of the mapathon. Are you mapping a specific region for disaster relief, conservation, or urban planning purposes? Knowing the purpose will help guide the mapping efforts and motivate volunteers.
• Choose a mapping place or area: Depending on the goal you have set, select an appropriate area to map that fits your goal. Make sure you select an area that you and your team will manage to map throughout the mapathon, area should not be too small or too large, Mapathon should be fun and entertaining.
• Choose a date and time: Choose a date and time that works best for the volunteers and the purpose of the mapathon. Consider the time zone if you will have people joining from other parts of the world or online, availability of volunteers, and the time required to complete the mapping task.
• Recruit volunteers: “More hands works better” right ? So, Reach out to individuals and organizations interested in mapping and the purpose of the mapathon, a good example is the spatial people network program that provides funds, resources and any means to make your mapathon successful , Utilize social media and community groups to have a wider reach
• Provide ToT: Provide training sessions to familiarize volunteers with the mapping platform, mapping techniques, and the purpose of the mapathon. There are different online tutorials and resources for volunteers to learn at their own pace, one of them being LearnOSM.
• Organize Mapathon Roles: Successful Mapathon is not a one man army job, you will need help from the team and have clear roles as one helping with the registration desk, If you will have online mapathon, you will have a person allowing in participants, someone to control slides and so alike.
• Review Mapathon Contents: Before the day of the mapathon, you should actually test out the mapping tasks, make sure logos and presentations are in line as well as the program is ready and every volunteer has the program and clearly stated roles.
• SNACKS: Most Mapathons run for over +3 hours, for mapathons that are conducted in person, you can prepare pizza, soft drinks and bites. But if the mapathon will be online then you are a lucky person! Snacks are better for a networking session
• Host the mapathon: On the day of the mapathon, provide a virtual space for volunteers to work together, collaborate, and communicate. Monitor the progress of the mapping task and provide support and guidance as needed.Make sure everything is fun.
• Geo Challenges: This is one the techniques that I always use to spice up my mapathons,always have something in mind to bring fun apart from mapping, this could be a sort of quizzes and games to keep the participants entertained and energetic throughout the session
• Celebrate the success: After the mapathon, celebrate the success of the event and recognize the efforts of the volunteers. Share the results of the mapping task with the volunteers and the community. You can share swagbucks if any and take some pictures while announcing some important news about where can they hear next sessions, sharing social media handles and closing

Oh! We are at the bottom line now, by following these steps, you can conduct a successful mapathon that can make a positive impact on the community and the environment.

Did I miss anything ? Welcome.