The recently concluded GEOdaysIT conference that was held from June 12th to June 17th at the Politecnico di Bari and the University of Bari showcased the potential of Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) and open geospatial information.

From June 7th to June 9th 2023, we organized a three-day mapathon aimed at mapping disconnected roads from the main network in Eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), as a challenge in MapRoulette, a microtask platform for collaborative contribution in OpenStreetMap.

Our Mapper of the Month of July is Pedro André Faria, based in Portugal.  Pedro distinguished himself during the MapRoulette challenge held from June 7th to June 9th, emerging as the winner. His mapping skills were also showcased in 2021 when he secured first place in the UN Map Marathon. Pedro is a highly active member of the community. We asked him some questions about his contributions to the mapping community.

On 30 May, UNGSC Brindisi marked the 75th anniversary of Peacekeeping.

João Pedro de Andrade Eduardo, from Brazil, is our mapper of the month of June 2023. João is a geographer with a master’s degree from the State University of Rio de Janeiro. He has distinguished himself during the “OSM and Humanitarian Mapping” training that was conducted in Portuguese.  Read his story!

Our mapper of the month of May 2023 is Sango Bishiri Narcisse, based in Chad he lives in N'Djamena. He has distinguished himself during the global training that was conducted in French. He mostly maps during his free time; we asked him to tell us his story.

A group of students enrolled in the Erasmus Mundus Master’s program in Geospatial Technologies at the University of Jaume I (UJI) in Castellón de la Plana, Spain, as part of their final class exercises for the course “Spatial Data Services,Sources,Standards and Infrastructures” analysed campus safety and identified vulnerabilities mapping campus streetlights, utilizing open data and GIS software.

Located in the heart of Yaounde, Cameroon, is the ENSTP (National Advanced School of Public Works). This school provides training for engineers in different fields such as Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Town Planning, Architecture and Land Surveys. The students here are introduced to concepts like topography, geodesy, projections, cartography, GIS and sustainable development. These make the student community in this school a target of high potential as concerns initiation to participative mapping.

The United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC) is at the forefront of adopting state-of-the-art geospatial technology to address UN operational needs. UN Maps was established in 2019 to support the mandates of UN peacekeeping missions and Agencies, Funds and Programmes based on a suite of geospatial solutions and by leveraging both UN-managed and open data sources.

Ingrid Reine Fotso Tuedjo is our mapper of the month for April 2023. Ingrid is a student in surveying and topography at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Travaux Publics in Yaoundé. She is enthusiast in all aspects related to GIS. She recently co-organized a training course for the students at her school to introduce OpenStreetMap and approach it with great dedication.