After months of community co-creation discussions and administrative processes, we are pleased to launch the UN Maps Community Ambassadors Pilot Initiative. Through the Online UN Volunteers, we recruited four (4) UN Mappers and community leaders to take part in our exploration for twelve (12) weeks.
The UN Maps Community Ambassadors will support mapping and community outreach activities of UN Maps. They will lead and coordinate local community engagement through capacity building and training opportunities. Through this pilot, we hope to gain insights on how we can strengthen a community-owned and sustainable open data, and to explore the feasibility of establishing local UN Mappers chapters and/or communities.
Get to know our Community Ambassadors and what they are looking forward to doing in this pilot initiative.
LUCY KAGO
My name is Lucy, a GIS Analyst/cartographer based in Kenya. I am a volunteer humanitarian mapper with 2 years of experience on OpenStreetMap and have led several community mapping projects. Currently, I serve as a UN Mappers Ambassador, mobilizing volunteers for global humanitarian initiatives.
What is one thing you are excited to do as a UN Mappers Ambassador?
One thing I am excited to do as UN mappers Ambassador is to develop a strong UN Mappers presence in my region, training students from universities and TVET institutions in humanitarian mapping, raising awareness on its role in disaster preparedness, and building a skilled volunteer network that can support UN missions globally and contribute to geospatial projects for UN agencies and partner NGOs.
PAWAN MUDDU
I am based in Hyderabad, India having lived in Pune, India and the Netherlands. I am a geospatial analyst, humanitarian mapper, and drone/GIS professional known for my contributions to OpenStreetMap and UN Mappers humanitarian mapping projects. I hold a master's degree in Geography from Savitribai Phule Pune University (SP College) and have worked before in organizations such as EXL, TomTom, and CSS Corp (Apple Maps) and GREd Foundation in geospatial mapping roles and mentoring roles. Currently I am working for Drogo Drones, Hyderabad.
What is one thing you are excited to do as a UN Mappers Ambassador?
I am excited to contribute to the benefit for society and using mapping technology that can help in communities across India and at a local level in Hyderabad. There are communities that work benefiting humanitarian missions but need Open access Maps to aid their missions, and that is where I would like to contribute. I wish to help these communities in training and enable them to use open street maps for the benefit of their missions. Missions that would include access to Education, Access to healthcare, Waste Management and Disaster preparedness.
SILVINA MERITANO
My name is Silvina Meritano. I am a sociologist, social worker, and teacher from Argentina working at the intersection of urban studies, violence, and spatial analysis. For the past six years, I have been an active member of the OpenStreetMap community, organizing workshops, mapathons, and training activities on open mapping tools and geospatial data in collaboration with organizations, universities, TomTom and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team.
What is one thing you are excited to do as a UN Mappers Ambassador?
I am excited to be part of the UN Mappers Ambassador because it allows me to support the work of the United Nations in my country by building networks with organizations, universities, and local groups to improve the quality of maps and implement mapping tools that help address local challenges. At the same time, this initiative helps strengthen the open mapping ecosystem by bringing together people from different backgrounds and experiences, contributing to greater diversity within the community.
MODO ENGELBERT
I am an engineering student in Cameroon studying geomatics and land surveying, and I will be defending my master's thesis in the coming months. I have been an OSM contributor since 2023. I have participated in several projects and activities in the OpenStreetMap ecosystem (field mapping, remote mapping, community engagement, leadership, etc.) and in open data in general. I am very happy to be part of this adventure and hope to learn a lot from your experiences and achieve the objectives of this project.
What is one thing you are excited to do as a UN Mappers Ambassador?
To build a real, sustainable UN Mappers Hub in Cameroon—with active Chapters that can contribute to UN missions globally through crowdsourced mapping, while also serving as a local talent pipeline for UN agencies and partners in Cameroon across the geospatial ecosystem (data production, validation, analysis, and visualisation).
[Past Event] Launch the Pilot Initiative through the March Mappy Hour
We organized an online event for the community launch of the UN Maps Community Ambassador Pilot Initiative. Through this, we shared about the pilot, met with our ambassadors and learned about their plans, and how to reach them!
Watch the recording via Youtube: https://youtu.be/23W40P8h1Do
For any questions, join our Discord or email us via un.mappers@un.org.