The Mapathon in Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech

On March 27th, about thirty people (from Gembloutois and students from the faculty) participated in the inter-university Mapathon organized in Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech.

In order to respond quickly to crisis situations and provide effective aid, humanitarian agencies need maps. Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross joined forces in 2014 to launch the Missing Maps project in collaboration with the OpenStreetMap Foundation. Around the world, the project is recruiting an increasing number of volunteers to map areas where people are affected by natural hazards, epidemics or conflicts.

The territories to be mapped are located all over the world and, subject to a few guidelines, anyone can participate in the project by volunteering one or two hours from any site with an Internet connection.

For greater efficiency, so-called "Mapathon" sessions are organized in several countries around the world. This involves bringing volunteers together in universities on a particular day to train, map and exchange geographical data digitized in this way over the largest possible territory, with a common motivation.

Belgium has decided to take an active part in this undertaking, and has organised its own Mapathon for the fourth consecutive year: all Belgian universities mobilised on 27, 28 and 30 March 2019 to provide interested volunteers with premises, training, dedicated equipment and an efficient Internet connection.

This first edition in Gembloux was a success. Accompanied by other "mappers" spread over the other Belgian sites, the people of Gemblouto worked on a province in northern DRC, Ituri and 30% of the task was completed.