Nick Allen
United Kingdom
I've spent many years involved in training people in one way or another, including being a lecturer in First Aid, and IT. Very useful to me now as I help to train mappers at Missing Maps Mapathons in London - although I've also trained many in other parts of the country.
In May 2016 I was part of a Missing Maps Team that visited Sierra Leone, and I was involved in training volunteers in ground survey techniques involving smart phones, together with Aid Workers in using OpenStreetMap data.
I've picked up any computer skills I may have, in my own way, but long term involvement with OpenStreetMap has led me to research more, and hence kept my interest.
Although IT is extremely important in what we do, I think the people and their dedication is much more important. The skills can be learnt, especially if we can find a way of making the learning easier. I've done lots of mapping for HOT, and then lots of validating.
I like the idea that HOT is able to produce training guides that are relevant to the work that is needed. In particular I like the idea that language should not be a barrier, so I'm keen to promote the translation of LearnOSM, as well as producing guides that anyone can understand. I enjoy updating LearnOSM, and look forward to being part of the team that improves it, to keep it the best guide for learning 'how to' for HOT.
