Juan Arellano Valdivia
Communications and Community Specialist - Latin America and Caribbean Hub / Latin America and the Caribbean
Juan is a former mainframe programmer who worked for 12 years in systems development in COBOL and RPGII. Later he served in various positions in the Peruvian public administration, reaching the managerial level. After several years dedicated to a family business, some friends created Blogsperu.com, the first blogs directory in Peru. He then becomes part of Global Voices, an international community of bloggers, journalists, and activists, where he was in charge of the Spanish version of the web, for which he built a team of volunteer translators and made various strategic alliances with other organizations.
Besides this, he has collaborated with orgs such as Bertelsmann Stiftung, Open Society Foundations, The Engine Room, and projects such as Tactical Tech and Periodismo Ciudadano.
For more than a year now he has been running the @esopenstreetmap Twitter account and translates the official OSM blog posts into Spanish in a volunteer capacity. In the Hub, he is in permanent search of people and orgs interested in open mapping and with the capacity of being new actors of the OSM ecosystem in the region. He also writes blog posts and manages the Hub’s social networks.
On the Web
Posts
Aug. 30, 2022
Canoa de Tolda: Representing the social dynamics of the São Francisco River through mapping
Early results of HOT's collaboration with Canoa de Tolda to make the social dynamics of the São Francisco River visible through open mapping and the use of drones and other technologies.
Oct. 23, 2022
Cayambe: Gestión de riesgo en áreas volcánicas
La Gestión de riesgos en areas volcánicas en Ecuador es una actividad necesaria en la cual el mapeo abierto tiene un papel importante. Desde el Hub dimos un primer paso para lograr dicho objetivo.
Oct. 24, 2022
Cayambe: Gestão de risco em áreas vulcânicas
A gestão de risco em áreas vulcânicas no Equador é uma atividade necessária na qual o mapeamento aberto desempenha um papel importante. A partir do Hub demos um primeiro passo para atingir esse objetivo.
Oct. 24, 2022
Cayambe: Risk management in volcanic areas
Risk management in volcanic areas in Ecuador is a necessary activity in which open mapping plays an important role. From the LATAM Hub we took a first step to achieve this goal.
Nov. 7, 2022
América Abierta 2022, o desafio dos dados abertos
O América Abierta, anteriormente conhecido como AbreLatam/ConDatos, é o evento regional sobre dados abertos e governo aberto, que reúne organizações e indivíduos que trabalham nessas questões.
Nov. 7, 2022
América Abierta 2022, the challenge of open data
América Abierta, formerly known as AbreLatam/ConDatos, is the regional event on open data and open government, which brings together organizations and individuals working on these issues.
Dec. 27, 2022
GIRD+OSM Lima 2022: Creating a community around Risk Management and Open Mapping
Last November, the Grassroots Management of Disaster Risks and OpenStreetMap LATAM 2022 event was held in Lima, Peru. Let's learn a little more about what happened these days in Lima around open and community mapping.
March 10, 2023
Women, maps and data: a conversation for International Women's Day
A group of brilliant Latin American women expose us to various projects and tell us about various experiences in the use of maps and data, and also about their absence.
July 7, 2023
HOT and CDEMA sign agreement to enhance disaster management in the Caribbean with collaborative mapping
HOT and CDEMA -the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency- have signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen CDEMA's geospatial technological capabilities. Learn the details.
July 13, 2023
RightsCon 2023: Looking for the intersection of human rights and maps
RightsCon, the global event that brings together activists and organizations working for human rights, took place last June, and the LAC Hub was present in search of maps and mappers!
July 25, 2023
Mapping as a response to the disaster in Esmeraldas, Ecuador
The LAC Open Mapping Hub supported the response efforts to the disaster caused by the floods in Esmeraldas, Ecuador in coordination with the Ecuadorian Risk Management Secretariat.
Aug. 8, 2023
A partnership to complete the free map of Medellín, Colombia
The Open Mapping Hub of Latin America and the Caribbean partnered with the Center for Studies with Populations, Mobilizations and Territories (POMOTE) to train civil society organizations in Medellín, Colombia in open mapping.
Sept. 18, 2023
Hub-LAC series of humanitarian and cartographic talks
The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Open Mapping Hub has organized a series of monthly talks that show the contribution that open and collaborative mapping can make to humanitarian work and sustainable development.
Oct. 13, 2023
Participatory waste mapping: a continuing effort for sustainable development
Mapping waste in your neighborhood can be a simple activity that is both useful and beneficial for our urban environment.Let's see how various teams of mappers in Latin America and the Caribbean have been doing it.
Nov. 29, 2023
Canoa de Tolda at the Paris Peace Forum 2023
Canoa de Tolda and the LAC Open Mapping Hub were at the Paris Peace Forum 2023. Find out how our participation was.
Dec. 15, 2023
Data for sustainable development: The Data Festival 2023
The Data Festival recently held in Uruguay was the opportunity for the Open Mapping Hub to introduce to organizations and institutions open cartography applications and its humanitarian approach.
Feb. 22, 2024
Data sovereignty, open mapping and indigenous territories
Explore how open cartography is transforming the relationship between indigenous communities and their territories in Latin America. Projects discussed at the ABRE LATAM Data Sovereignty, Open Mapping and Indigenous Territories table address challenges such as cultural preservation and the defense of rights. Reflections from experts and concrete experiences highlight the importance of recognizing the diversity and autonomy of these communities.
Sept. 25, 2024
South America in Flames: Fighting Fires with Open Mapping
Wildfires in South America are consuming thousands of hectares of crops and forests in conservation areas in countries such as Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and others. Let's learn about the relief efforts emerging from open mapping communities.
Nov. 10, 2024
Training Local Governments in the Use of Collaborative Mapping: HOT - OGP Local Partnership
The "Open Resilient Cities" project trained six governments in open data and geographic tools, promoting resilient and collaborative solutions to urban and climate challenges.
March 26, 2025
Can low-cost drones contribute to mangrove monitoring and conservation? Testing Drone Tasking Manager in La Paz, Mexico
June 13, 2025
Participatory mapping for a sustainable Amazon: technology and local knowledge to defend the territory
"Participatory Mapping for a Sustainable Amazon" is advancing in Bolivia, Colombia, and Guatemala, bringing together knowledge exchange and open technologies to strengthen the territorial autonomy of Indigenous communities in the Amazon and Mesoamerica.
July 27, 2025
Mapping Cholets, or how to build a mapping community in El Alto, Bolivia
Explore how mapping cholets in El Alto brought together community, culture, and open data—using ChatMap, to showcase a unique urban identity.
