At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many parts of the world came to a standstill. Workplaces and schools were forced to shut down in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. In Mexico schools were closed in March 2020 and as with many countries, students moved from time in the classroom to […]
Blog
Anne Kemp’s long walk back to normality
Anne Kemp is a previous trustee of MapAction. She has taken on walking the length of the South West Coastal Path and is raising funds for MapAction. Here she writes about why she is doing it and how you can sponsor her. In March 2020, I started walking the Pennine Way (270 miles), motivated by […]
MapAction in 2021
2021 was quite a year for both the world and MapAction. There were many humanitarian crises to support and beyond that we had to adapt as an organisation. See how we did in this StoryMap summary of our year (please click the link to get the best experience of this StoryMap).
Welcoming the new Head of GeoSpatial services
As well as many other things, MapAction provides UN and other international and regional agencies with the information and data they need, in the most useful visual formats, to enable them to be as effective as possible. We are actively working to apply fast developing geospatial expertise to tackle some of today’s biggest humanitarian challenges, […]
Receiving an MBE for my ‘Services to International Development’
A year ago this month, I was informed I had been put forward to receive an MBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours list for ‘Services to International Development’, for my work with MapAction. Trying to keep the secret quiet over the Christmas holiday, even under lockdown, was a challenge but the outburst of congratulations […]
Volunteering with MapAction
One of our volunteers, Steve Hurst, shares his experience… When I went travelling back in 1996 with my now wife, I had the realisation I wanted to somehow be involved in humanitarian work. For many years, this never came to fruition as I liked my hometown in Dorset and was enjoying (and continue to enjoy!) […]
How maps helped the response to the Haiti earthquake
MapAction has been involved in the response to the earthquake that took place in Haiti on 14 August, helping our partners with data processing, analysis and mapping. This has helped those coordinating operational teams to understand what types of aid are needed in different locations and what other organisations are already doing to help. At […]
My London Marathon venture
By Ian Davis, MapAction’s Fundraising & Marketing Director I’m 56, unfit and with the build of the wrong kind of Chippendale (short-legged wooden furniture, not under dressed male dancer). So why on earth am I running the London Marathon? Because I’m raising money for MapAction, an organisation that enables mapping, GIS and data experts to […]
Using data engineering to save lives
By Egor ZverevEgor is working with us temporarily through Google’s Summer of Code programme. How could I apply my programming and data science skills to make the world a better and safer place? I’ve been struggling to figure that out for quite some time, and finally after three years of studying computer science at MIPT […]
Responding to the Volcanic Eruption in St Vincent and the Grenadines
By Lavern Ryan, MapAction volunteer. “Alert Check: Volcanic Eruption St Vincent and the Grenadines, please sign up your availability.” Those were the words which greeted me as I checked my MapAction email. Simple words, but so profound for me. They really hit hard, and hit home! I could not ignore that call for action. I […]
Moonshot part 2: the slow data scramble
By Juan Duarte, MapAction Technical Director When MapAction triggers an emergency response, the first step is for a team of staff and volunteers to begin what is known as a “data scramble”. This is the process of gathering, organising, checking, and preparing the data required to make the first core maps that emergency response teams […]
A year of collaboration with the Centre for Humanitarian Data
By Hannah Ker, Data Scientist at MapAction In March 2020, MapAction and the UN OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Centre for Humanitarian Data embarked on a new level of collaboration by sharing a Data Scientist’s time between the two organisations. Both teams had a lot to offer and learn from each other, […]
MapAction’s 2020
This has been our busiest ever year. We asked people from across our team what their 2020 was like at MapAction. This is what they told us:
Mapping people who are moving
December 18 marks The United Nations (UN) International Migrants Day, recognising the efforts, contributions, and rights of migrants worldwide. In light of this, we decided to share some of the work we did this year during the Syria crisis to highlight some of the challenges of meeting the needs of migrant populations, and also explore […]
Guatemala – video report from the airport
In this video, MapAction volunteer Emerson Tan gives a report from the airport on his way home from Guatemala. MapAction was mobilised to help the international response to the catastrophic impacts of Hurricanes Eta and Iota which have caused tremendous suffering across Central America, on top of the COVID pandemic.
Hurricanes Eta & Iota – how maps are helping
by Jon Hanson, Head of Grants Income at MapAtion This StoryMap explains how some of the over 100 maps MapAction created following Hurricanes Eta and Iota in Central America in November 2020 are being used to help get aid to people that need it. Click here to view it in full screen.
What does ‘Data’ mean to MapAction?
What is MapAction’s ‘humanitarian data landscape?’ At MapAction, we’re working to put data at the centre of how we provide products and services to the humanitarian sector. MapAction’s data scientist, Monica Turner, recently posted about the work she does in this new role. However, data is a big (and sometimes loaded) term. So what does […]
Not the normal London Marathon, but certainly not a dry run
MapAction patron Vanessa Lawrence CB and her running partner and god-daughter Jocelyn Moore (whose partner Steve is a MapAction volunteer and also a London Marathon veteran) ran the London Marathon for us together for the second year running on a very wet day in October. Here’s Vanessa’s account of the experience. The 2020 London Marathon […]
Ten tips for making simple, informative maps in a pandemic
MapAction has been collaborating for a number of years with French NGO and fellow humanitarian information management specialists CartONG. In addition to our operational activities, we thought it would be worthwhile to pool our collective knowledge to create an informative article. The ten-minute read aims to give some helpful tips for people creating maps intended […]
How data science can help release emergency funds before a crisis
Although data science is still a relatively new field, its potential for the humanitarian sector is vast and ever-changing. We caught up with one of MapAction’s Data Scientists Monica Turner to discover how data science is evolving, the impact of COVID-19 on her work and how predictive modelling could see disaster funding being released before […]
MapAction’s Moonshot – origins and ambitions
By Juan Duarte, Technical Director, and Monica Turner, Data Scientist, MapAction History will always underscore how landing on the moon represented a significant milestone in the space race, yet what is often less spoken about is the number of technologies that might not have ever made it without space travel. These include the all-important ability […]
Colour in mapping
By Jo Pratt, MapAction’s Communications Lead March 9-10 is Holi, an ancient Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of spring with a riot of colour. To mark the occasion I asked the MapAction members for their interesting tips, facts, examples and experiences – anything they felt moved to share – about the use and importance of […]
Greening MapAction
By Liz Hughes, Chief Executive, MapAction The nature of our work means that we are only too aware of the impacts of climate change on the lives and livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable people. Although the causal chain between humanitarian need arising out of climate change and MapAction’s contribution to the problem may not […]
Diversity and MapAction
Video interview Earlier this year, MapAction’s CEO Liz Hughes blogged about diversity in the humanitarian and technology/GIS sectors and why it’s important. Since then, we’ve been working to evolve our practices in this area. MapAction volunteer Bel Hewitt has been involved in shaping our diversity and inclusion policy and helping us to work towards our […]
MapAction on the Mapscaping podcast
Podcast One of MapAction’s longest-serving volunteers, Kathrin Renner, recently spoke to Daniel O’Donohue, presenter of the Mapscaping podcast series, about how MapAction provides geospatial support for humanitarian emergencies. They chatted about how MapAction supports first responders and disaster management teams to make the best possible decisions and what it’s like to be a MapAction volunteer. […]
Reflecting on World Humanitarian Day
By Liz Hughes, MapAction CEO
Today is World Humanitarian Day and the theme this year is Women Humanitarians. I find that an interesting theme. World Humanitarian Day is often interpreted as being about the workers, not the affected communities. Yet, it seems to me that humanitarianism is in fact about people’s suffering and what helps.
Becoming a MapAction Volunteer
by Lavern Rogers-Ryan, MapAction Caribbean Section volunteer
When the call came for Caribbean volunteers to apply to MapAction, I was keen to sign up. Having followed the work of this organisation and the amazing group of people who work as volunteers, I saw this as an awesome opportunity for me to contribute to the work of saving lives.
Inside the Response to Cyclone Idai
MapAction volunteer Andreas Buchholz has just returned from Beira, Mozambique. He has put together the short video below, which gives a good sense of the scale and urgency of the international response to this major disaster.
Mapping mountains
By Jorge Andres, MapAction volunteer
A few years ago, on a MapAction team training course, participants were asked to present a map that provided particular insight, analysis, or novelty – going beyond simple descriptive mapping. I chose this map I created of the 2014-5 volcanic eruption on Fogo Island.
Our journey towards equality
On International Women’s Day, MapAction’s Chief Executive Liz Hughes reflects on gender diversity in the humanitarian and geospatial technology sectors and what MapAction is doing to ensure equality of opportunity for everyone.
Using imagery to best effect in disaster relief
By Alan Mills, MapAction volunteer
Can satellite imagery and UAV data become useful data sources for humanitarian decision making in disaster relief coordination?
Satellite Imagery and data collected by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly promoted as valuable new information sources to aid humanitarian emergency decision making, but how much have things really changed? MapAction is at the forefront of information management delivery on the ground in humanitarian relief, and the choice of which data we use depends on what is best for how to get aid to affected people. Our primary aim is to inform decision making by mapping for people in a crisis, ensuring the best data is timely in delivery to help those affected. Do satellite imagery or data from unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs make a difference in the field yet? We consider the evidence from our perspective.