News — 16 December, 2022
Announcement of HOT and Caribbean School of Data Partnership: Open Mapping Technical Training in the Caribbean Region
We are partnering with the Mona School of Business and Management's (MSBM) Caribbean School of Data (CSOD) project to launch an Open Mapping Technical Training program in the Caribbean.
The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is partnering with the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM), through its Caribbean School of Data (CSOD) project, to launch an Open Mapping Technical Training program in the Caribbean region. Furthering HOT’s aim to develop an open mapping hub in the Latin America and Caribbean region, the partnership will pilot the project in Jamaica and Guyana in the first phase and then expand to other countries/territories within the region.
The Open Mapping Technical Training will capitalize on CSOD’s digital education program and online platform. Implemented through MSBM, CSOD seeks to develop a comprehensive and sustainable “digital/data literacy” program aimed at underserved populations within the Caribbean, with the goal of building a stronger data culture across the region. We will recruit and train students, community members, and interested persons on open and participatory mapping. Participants will then have the opportunity to receive a microgrant for a community-based project informed by open mapping data.
The Open Mapping Technical Training Program in the Caribbean will help HOT achieve its objective to grow and sustain the open mapping movement in the region. This can be the launchpad to enable locally led initiatives around open mapping that are centered on people’s needs and can lead to tangible impact that can deliver transformative change in people’s lives. -Geoffrey Kateregga, Community project lead at HOT
MSBM is delighted to collaborate with HOT on this strategic initiative to develop mapping capabilities and a vibrant mapping community in the Caribbean. Digital interactive maps provide incredible application opportunities in community development, commercial applications and entrepreneurial ventures for our young people in particular. We look forward to expanding the CSOD’s portfolio of training and capacity-building to support this partnership. -Dr. Maurice McNaughton, Director, Center for Innovation, MSBM
The project got underway in November 2022, with the first phase expected to wrap up in August 2023.
Get involved and become a member of the OSM community in Jamaica and Guyana. Open mapping data, as in the case of Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, provides meaningful inputs to address a number of the issues we face in the Caribbean today.
To join our first cohort or to get more information, contact us at mapping@coi-csod.org.
The photo above is from a prior partnership between the Mona School of Business and Management and HOT for training and capacity building with OSM.