Mapping for a better world: How YouthMappers helps in crisis and development
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Imagine the impact of a massive flood on a built-up city, homes and roads are destroyed, places become unrecognizable after the destruction. In such a disaster, having detailed maps of the affected area is crucial.
Maps help rescue teams find damaged roads and locate people in need of assistance. Government agencies also use these maps to distribute resources where they are most needed.Now think of indigenous communities, living in remote parts of the world, that might not be well connected. They might not have precise maps of their land, but these communities could benefit massively from accurate maps, using them to protect their environment, plan their villages, make important decisions about land use and gain rightful autonomy of their region.
Ten years ago, Patricia Solis, now Executive Director of the Knowledge Exchange for Resilience at Arizona State University, and Brent McCusker, Department Chair of Geography at West Virginia University, co-founded YouthMappers. Their goal? To empower communities of students worldwide with open geographic data.
How YouthMappers makes a difference
YouthMappers teaches students geographic information system (GIS) skills, enabling them to create up-to-date maps for areas that are most important to them. Over the years, this initiative has grown into a global community of students and scholars who tackle local development and environmental challenges by creating new, high-quality data.Through one of its programs, Everywhere She Maps, women student mappers collect data to support gender equality by boosting women's security, livelihoods and economic participation. For example, volunteer Sabina Abuga uses this tech to improve food security and prosperity for women in Ghana's farming communities. Her team identifies factors affecting land use, degradation, and tenure loss impacting food distribution by conducting interviews, focus groups, and natural resource mapping. Sabina also gathers data from the Soy Innovation Lab on the soybean value chain in Kumasi, recognizing its role in local livelihoods and jobs. This approach highlights the value of local knowledge in empowering women.
A global network for local impact
Founded in November 2014, YouthMappers now involves over 400 universities across 70 countries. The group monthly makes over 1 million map changes, including the addition of approximately 120,000 new buildings. With over 380 student-led chapters worldwide, YouthMappers plays a crucial role in humanitarian crises, disaster management, flood resilience, and food security. The collaboration within this movement enables young leaders to learn by doing and make a tangible difference in their communities. Students have various opportunities to participate, from university programs to the YouthMappers Academy, where they can learn to use OSM tools, interpret aerial imagery, and even manage mapping projects. They can also apply for research and leadership fellowships to further develop their skills. YouthMappers has a strong presence in West Africa (22%) and East Africa (20%) and is growing in Asia and Latin America, regions that are significantly under-mapped compared to others. By teaching people how to map and use GIS technologies, YouthMappers is helping make a lasting and locally impactful contribution to these communities. Their projects often focus on underprivileged areas, mapping essential infrastructure like clean drinking water access points. They also use drones and 360-degree cameras to map informal settlements, which are unplanned communities outside cities, typically constructed from scavenged materials like corrugated iron. These settlements lack basic services such as clean water, sanitation, waste disposal, and electricity. As a result, residents must gather water and firewood from communal areas daily and often resort to illegal electrical connections. Additionally, informal settlements lack formal addressing systems, with multiple addresses found in a single dwelling.Learning and growing through mapping
One of the notable aspects of YouthMappers is that the data they collect is freely accessible on OpenStreetMap, a global platform where anyone can contribute to or use the data. So far, YouthMappers has contributed over 511,000 kilometers (about 318,000 miles) of roads, more than 144,000 amenities and 24 million buildings to the platform.
YouthMappers has a wide range of supporters, including USAID, the American Geographical Society, and private donations, which have helped expand the program through initiatives like the Regional Ambassadors program. Private sector partners like TomTom also play a key role in supporting YouthMappers’ growth and impact.
TomTom Community and Partnerships Manager Salim A Baidoun and Asia Pacific Community Manager Kiran Ahire at the YouthMappers event in Bangkok in June 2024.TomTom’s support for YouthMappers
TomTom supports YouthMappers in various ways, from providing financial donations to contributing laptops to chapters in need. It has also helped build OSM teams by providing access to its high-quality map data and tools, empowering YouthMappers to use these resources to contribute to OSM projects, especially those aimed at improving pedestrian and cyclist safety by mapping sidewalks, cycle lanes, zebra crossings and more.TomTom supports different chapters of YouthMappers in mapping events and ‘mapathons’ as well. TomTom is also developing a mentorship program where the network’s students will be matched with TomTom employees to share knowledge and learn from industry experts. Also, this partnership aligns with TomTom’s commitment to UN sustainable development goals like Zero Hunger and Climate Action.
For example, accurate maps of water sources and agricultural land can help address food scarcity. Mapping areas vulnerable to flooding or drought can support climate change adaptation. Maps of renewable energy facilities or public transport routes can promote clean energy use and eco-friendly transport. At the recent YouthMappers Leadership Summit in Bangkok, students and leaders from 16 countries came together to explore how mapping can support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. TomTom is the first private company to participate in a YouthMappers Leadership summit, where it introduced their upcoming mentorship program, set to launch in late 2024.Looking to the future
YouthMappers has an exciting future ahead. As it continues to grow, building partnerships and expanding its impact globally, it’s bringing important mapping strategies to historically underrepresented regions.
By bringing together students, scholars, and private companies, the initiative is shaping the future of mapping for social good, for the global good.* Required field. By submitting your contact details to TomTom, you agree that we can contact you about marketing offers, newsletters, or to invite you to webinars and events. We could further personalize the content that you receive via cookies. You can unsubscribe at any time by the link included in our emails. Review our privacy policy.