News — 25 January, 2024
Catalyzing Impact: Inaugural Micro-Grants by HOT and Caribbean School of Data
Uncover the impact of transformative geospatial initiatives with HOT and the Caribbean School of Data (CSOD)'s Micro-Grants success story. Explore diverse projects addressing critical community issues in Guyana and Jamaica, and celebrate the innovation as it propels sustainable change, from rice cultivation to climate resilience.
Blog written by Cherika Wilson, Project Manager of the Caribbean School of Data.
The joint initiative between the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM), through its Caribbean School of Data (CSOD) project, and the Latin American and the Caribbean Hub from HOT, wrapped up its Open Mapping training, with the Capstone presentations marking a significant milestone.
80 individuals from Guyana and Jamaica were introduced to geospatial data and open mapping concepts, having completed at least one of the training modules. On September 30, 2023, teams from both countries presented their interactive open mapping community projects before a panel of reviewers from HOT, with three groups ultimately being awarded as microgrant recipients.
The distinction was granted to two teams from Guyana and one from Jamaica. The Capstone projects are the culmination of the Introduction to Open Geospatial Data course, covering essential modules such as:
- Understanding the (Humanitarian) Value of Geospatial Data
- Geospatial Data and Mapping Concepts
- Creating your Geodata - Contributing to OpenStreetMap
- Interactive Community Mapping - Tools and Techniques
- Visualising Geospatial Data Using Maps
The Capstone ideas explored a spectrum of topics, ranging from the impact of sustainable rice cultivation (and the converse) on surrounding communities, to mapping and displaying alternate routes in the case of emergencies, and addressing to mitigating the challenges of drought on a particular community.
The Farm Data project team from Guyana provides insight into the significance of their involvement in this initiative and its impact on the communities they are collaborating with.
Team Farm Data encapsulates the essence of their FARMDATA project.
On the other hand, the Jamaican awardees, Team Climate Resilience, shed light on the impactful nature of their mapping project in aiding road users during flooding and natural disasters.
On the other hand, the Jamaican awardees, Team Climate Resilience, shed light on the impactful nature of their mapping project in aiding road users during flooding and natural disasters.
The use of open mapping data, exemplified by its impact in post-earthquake Haiti in 2010, and as highlighted by the projects above, provides meaningful inputs to address several contemporary challenges we face in the Caribbean today.
The HOT and MSBM/CSOD teams continue their partnership with programming in Haiti. To learn more about our work and/or to become a member of the OSM Caribbean community, contact us at mapping@coi-csod.org.
About Cherika Wilson: Born and raised in Saint Andrew, Jamaica, Cherika has spent much of her career in the public sector working in youth development/youth-supporting roles. A passion for equitable access to education brought her to the Caribbean School of Data (CSOD) where she currently serves as the Project Manager. In her role at CSOD, Cherika oversees the implementation of the digital and data skills training programmes, and all of CSOD’s strategic partnerships, including HOT.