Written by Engelbert Modo
Introduction
The CityMapper Externship is a structured, hands-on immersion in open urban cartography — designed to produce quality geospatial data while training a new generation of mappers who understand both the tools and the why behind participatory mapping.
This first edition — the first Open Data / Crowdsourcing / OSM / UN Maps externship ever implemented in Cameroon — was led by the UN Maps Ambassador for Cameroon, Engelbert Modo, under the UN Mappers Community Ambassador Pilot Initiative.
Yaoundé was selected as the pilot zone for this inaugural cohort. Data was produced both through remote mapping tasks on the HOT Tasking Manager — linked to peacekeeping and humanitarian missions — and through direct field collection in a defined zone in Yaoundé. This programme is not an official UN internship; it is a transparent community initiative, built to be replicated and scaled by any UN Mappers chapter.
Full programme documentation (co-authored with TomTom) is available on the OSM Wiki: wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Urban_street_Mapping_Level This wiki serves as an open deployment guide for any community wishing to run a CityMapper Externship in their city. |
Programme Structure
The externship ran over one month in five progressive phases, combining in-person sessions in Yaoundé with open online participation across four countries.
Phase 0 — Mobilisation (Before April 9)
Digital outreach, registration via Google Forms, partner confirmation, selection of 15 in-person participants from 55 applications across 4 countries.
Phase 1 — Initial Training (April 10–11, in-person, Yaoundé)
Two days of hands-on training covering OpenStreetMap fundamentals, JOSM, HOT Tasking Manager, Mapillary, and EveryDoor. Training venue and internet access were provided free of charge by a local partner.
Phase 2 — Remote Mapping Sprints (April 12 – May 2, online)
Three weeks of coordinated remote mapping via the HOT Tasking Manager, with two live online sessions per week. Each weekly session combined new training content with progress review and support.
Weekly training topics: Week 1 — Building footprints | Week 2 — Road networks | Week 3 — Bridges, culverts & terrain preparation
HOT Tasking Manager Projects worked on:
Project #46272
Project #18553
Project #48384
Project #17247
Project #17248
Project #17244
Project #48846
Project #46437
Phase 3 — Field Mapping (May 5–6, Yaoundé)
Two days of field data collection across a defined zone in Yaoundé:
May 5 — University of Yaoundé I campus: ~200 points collected with EveryDoor
May 6 — City zone: ~350 points with EveryDoor, 1,265 Mapillary images, 4 km covered, TomTom mobility data collected
Phase 4 — Closing & Documentation (May 5–10)
Closing ceremony with certificate presentation (two certificates per participant: Training + Field Immersion, signed by the UN Maps Ambassador and partner organisations), Wiki writing, and transmission of the final report to UN Maps.
Outputs and Mapping Results
The externship produced significant, measurable contributions to OpenStreetMap — data that is open, permanent, and already accessible to humanitarian actors, UN agencies, and local municipalities.
~30 Participants trained 4 countries · in-person & online | 86,119 Total OSM edits All contributions combined | 70,633 Buildings Added or improved |
1,832 km Roads mapped Network validated | 1,265 Mapillary images 955 + 310 · 4 km coverage | ~550 Field POIs EveryDoor (2 terrain days) |
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Real-world Impact: Urbansanity
One of the most concrete demonstrations of the programme's impact is the integration of participant-collected data with UrbanSanity — a geospatial optimisation platform for waste collection planning in sub-Saharan African cities.
UrbanSanity uses OSM data to identify under-served areas, optimise bin placement, and plan collection routes (truck, tricycle, on-foot). The buildings, roads, and POIs mapped by participants directly feed this analysis. A pilot run on the zone mapped by the cohort returned:
60 waste bins optimally positioned
11,495 residents within serviceable coverage
4,828 kg of waste per day incorporated into collection planning
Platform: urbangeo-solution-production.up.railway.app
"The data collected by ~30 young people in a single month is already being used to improve waste collection planning for nearly 12,000 residents in Yaoundé." — CityMapper Externship Impact Summary, May 2026 |
Participants and Partners
Participants
55 applications received from Cameroon, Togo, Senegal, and France. 15 selected for in-person training; 20 joined online. ~30 active participants engaged across the full programme.
Online training session /Every week
Partner Organisations
This programme was made possible by the engagement of the following partners:
IVIDES DATA · HOT — Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team · TomTom Inc · Geospatial Girls & Kids · GEOSM Family · OSM Zambia
Our Partners
Testimonials
Participant Quotes AFTER THE FEEDBACK FORMS
"A high-quality programme. I learned how to contribute to open data and understand its real impact on my city." — Participant, Cameroon |
"I particularly appreciated the energy of the trainers and the fact that every tool is free and usable anywhere in Africa." — Participant, Togo |
"The field mapping day was the most impactful part — seeing the data appear live on the map while walking through the streets changes how you see your city." — Participant, Cameroon |
"This externship opened a door I did not know existed. I now see cartography as a real professional path." — Participant, Senegal |
LinkedIn Posts from Participants and Partners
in LinkedIn Post | in LinkedIn Post | in LinkedIn Post |
The Vision: A global pipeline of young geospatial professionals
The CityMapper Externship was never designed to be a one-time event. From its first day, it was conceived as a replicable, scalable model — a proof of concept for what the UN Mappers Chapters initiative can become globally.
One of the most persistent barriers facing young people in the Global South is access to institutional experience. UN agencies and international NGOs offer enormous learning opportunities — but formal internship slots are scarce, competitive, and often inaccessible to students outside major capitals. The CityMapper Externship provides a structured, certified alternative: real work, real data, real impact — with credentials recognised by the UN M community.
The goal is clear: build a generation of young professionals who are not just OSM contributors, but geospatial specialists capable of supporting any organisation's data needs — from field collection to validation, analysis, and decision support. |
The Pathway: Learner to Professional
01 LEARN OSM tools, methodology, open data standards | 02 MAP Remote & field data production on real HOT projects | 03 VALIDATE Quality review, OSM validation — expert-level skills | 04 INNOVATE Build solutions, services and products on open data | 05 DEPLOY Lead UN Mappers hubs, scale impact across Africa |
Next Steps — Roadmap
Cohort 2 (2026): 30+ participants, 4+ countries, with partners NASA, MSF, World Bank, OCHA, HEIGIT …
Create UN MAPS CAMEROON HUB /REGIONAL HUB to support UN agencies in the country / sub-region
UN Mappers Incubator: space where cohort alumni propose and build solutions addressing local challenges (waste, water, health, gender)
Chapter replication: Douala, Bafoussam, Bamenda (Cameroon), then Kenya, India, Argentina pilot chapters, across Africa continent
Open deployment kit: a turnkey guide so any organisation can launch their own CityMapper Externship
Acknowledgements
This programme would not have been possible without the support and generosity of our partners. We thank UN Maps / UNGSC for the framework and mandate; HOT for the Tasking Manager platform; TomTom Inc and Mapillary for tools and field support; Geospatial Girls & Kids and GEOSM Family for mobilisation and community engagement; OSM Zambia for the post-programme mapathon collaboration.
Above all, we thank the ~30 participants who gave their time, curiosity, and energy to this inaugural cohort — and who are now part of a growing network of mappers building the open geospatial commons, one city at a time.
OSM Wiki documentation: wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Urban_street_Mapping_Level Photo album: photos.app.goo.gl/Ur7AKFKsAdkqkd5s6 |