Para celebrar el Open Data Day, se organizó por parte de TECHO, de la Universidad de San Buenaventura (seccional de de Cartagena) y con el apoyo de Humberto Yances, Miembro del Equipo Humanitario de OSM, un Mapping Party de Mapeo Humanitario de Isla de León.

El Taller de mapeo de Isla de León hace parte de las actividades del Proyecto Piloto MAP Cartagena (Proyecto Piloto de Mapeo de Asentamientos Precarios) que nace al interno de la ONG TECHO como un programa de desarrollo comunitario. Isla de León es un nuevo asentamiento de invasión localizado en una zona de inundación de alto riesgo, detrás del barrio El Pozón y colindante con la Ciénaga de la Virgen en la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

El taller empieza con Humberto explicando a los 15 participantes, entre voluntarios de la organización TECHO, de estudiantes de la universidad ey investigadores del tema, que es Open Street Map, como utilizarlo y casos de Mapeo Humanitario en Colombia.

A lo largo de la mañana explicó al grupo los elementos y las etiquetas que seríian trabajadas en el mapeo de Isla de León, y cómo se debería trabajar en JOSM.

Por la tarde, cada participante empezó a calcar la imagen del asentamiento informal separada en diferentes cuadros, localizando principalmente los caminos y las viviendas. El polígono total de Isla de León fue siendo completado a través del trabajo conjunto de los participantes, orientados por Humberto, que verificaba el trabajo de cada participante antes de subirlo al OSM.

Al final del día Isla de León estaba 100% calcada, en base a la foto aérea de BING del año 2012. ELl objetivo ahora del Proyecto Piloto MAP Cartagena es ir en campo generar fotos y datos actualizados durante una visita a campo.

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Humanitarian Mapping Workshop - Mapping Isla de León, Colombia

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Saturday August 17, 2013.

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“That you do today is for our benefit tomorrow, with data updated on the map, together with those collected with the tablets, we are going to use it to plan and make decisions” These were the words given by the Chairman of the Board La Boquilla Community, Benjamin Luna, at the closure of the mapping party.

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9:00 AM. To my good fortune Internet was familiar among 20 adolescents U-shaped stationed in the Library of the House of Culture, but the next question was not so welcome, none knew about online maps, even popular brands made no sense… The degree of attention was emphasized in the room gradually and peaked when talking about satellites and GPS, was when the aerial photos and the geographic location served as a connection with the maps and their construction process.

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La Boquilla Project

Before start with a chronological description of the project, I desire to bring up antecedents of this inniciative, regarding use of OSM maps for mangrove conservancy, social inclusion and community strenght. Drived by the desire to generate Social Innovation based on Knowledge Management. - - - > Special visit to Cartagena de Indias. April 2011, I was sat in one of the high stools positioned on the side of the walls of a historic spanish bulwark, with 180º degrees view of the Caribbean sea, talking about possibles uses of OSM maps and ICTs to create early alerts systems for recent colombian floods, intern conflict and strategies for economic development with Robert Soden (a former HOT board member). Soon after his depart, he introduce me to –a now commom friend– Viviana Mourra, Executive Director of Ecoprogreso, a small local conservancy NGO focused in resolve enviromental issues at Ciénaga de La Virgen & Juan Polo, part of Tesca Wetland, an hidrological system surrounding La Boquilla village. >

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Participatory Mapping

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I'm very happy discovering new aerial pictures avaible for Colombia using:

http://ant.dev.openstreetmap.org/bingimageanalyzer/?lat=10.699059549939122&lon=-74.9646653439298&zoom=10

I'm starting to mapping new towns covered that suffer for floods in caribbean region at north of Colombia.

The new imagery give us the possibility to map area remarked as priority by local public authorities.

Just an advance for mapping project to feed tools for risk management...

8 September, 1:30 PM, and a dream near to become true, the plane with just 100 meters from the ground offer a great view of Miami, inner lakes, width streets and suddenly the airport, just immigration process left to be part of this wonderful world conference. I just receive another surprise (based on information of the –well know– process); I feel very welcome to the US, immigration officer have a kind treatment and in just one hour since landing I was running trough airport sections to reach D one and get my connection to Denver.

At 8:00 PM I was in International Denver Airport, take the Super Shuttle reserved by OSM that carry me to Comfort Inn Hotel, so just take a relax anxious for starting next day.

Meet the conference
Just 10 minutes walk from hotel and I was sitting hearing keynote of Richard Weait from Canada. Since this moment start for me this amazing experience called “State of the Map”, there was people near to 40 countries, each one of the with interesting stories, ideas, projects, knowledge, contacts, methodologies, etc. For first time in my life (like OMS mapper) I feel be heard, doesn't sound strange (or idealistic) express ideas to create a geo-alarm networks by SMS to be published into a Ushahidi instance ¿which is the better protocol to has a correct verification? ¿who can support us in Colombia for a possible project? I ask all the time for aerial imagery. I met with another person from Colombia “el hermano colombiano” who was mapping in Afghanistan! Know about institutions that work for a better articulation in crisis situation (before, during and after); that there are a grate, a giant efforts to map in Indonesia; India is developing his own mapping infrastructure; Tunisia government now impulse mapping activities with OSM community; Argentina is getting stronger his community and scientific activities are carried in Philippines with OSM data.

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After the great joy for announce to be part of scholarships for SOTM 2011, I start the –common know– difficult process to get my visa approved from Colombia. First I receive “hard” training for some of my clients that count with a successful experience, I just learn like an internal mantra: “first my finance; second who I am and; third what I'll do in the states”, with this lessons I just ran to caught all documentation needed with a perfectly match in order of the words expressed in my DS-160 form (following the instructions that appear in a Cosmo review...). So then (taking encourage) I decided to call to US Embassy for an appointment on august 2. My surprise was that they doesn't have schedule space until 9 of September!!! Sir! (I say) But the must important conference around the globe start for the same date, I was voted like number one around the world (Mikael an Sam usually put my email first in the message, I guess that mean number one), I've a letter of invitation of OSM's US National Chapter, I don't know if you can get my appointment and visa for the same day... So the consular officer respond: “let me see if we can find a urgency appointment for you” (beleive me, that was the more anxious 20 minutes of my live with the paradox of a Bach sonata like back-tone). When he come back says “Ok sir, wich day do you prefer: 4, 5 or 7 august” (have to repeat it three times until I get realized), then tells that my time have ending and I need to buy another PIN (what???).

The appointment was really surprised too, only two questions... (I've to pinch my self), so everything gets already for my journey to Denver. Write down a message to the colombian national OSM community with the following goals:

1. Aerial imagery sources;
2. Articulation between institutions;
3. Community strenght;
4. Aplications and uses;
5. State of Colombia map.

Ideas come in the list and with a vision of regional projects start with the following table

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