As OpenStreetMap becomes a central part of global mapping infrastructure, it’s worth asking:

Are corporations offering as much or more as they are getting from their OSM involvement?

Some corporations benefit enormously from OSM using it to build commercial services, run logistics, and analyze market data. But these same companies often have access to large, rich datasets, especially from telemetry and user behavior, that are far beyond what the average contributor can collect.

If shared, such data could dramatically improve OSM’s accuracy, completeness, and utility. But how much of this data is actually being shared?

There’s a tension here between open knowledge and proprietary advantage. While some companies do contribute back through edits, funding, or tools, the scale of these contributions doesn’t always match the value extracted.

This leads to deeper questions: - Is the current model of corporate engagement with OSM sustainable? - Are the benefits of the open model being eroded when sharing isn’t reciprocal? - Could new norms or frameworks encourage deeper, more equitable collaboration?

The OSM community thrives on openness, transparency, and volunteerism. As more private actors join, the long-term health of the ecosystem may depend on whether those values are upheld not just by individuals, but by corporations as well.

Made in Tanzania, serving Global

March 2025 wasn’t just the end of a cohort—it marked the beginning of a movement.

At the Better Tomorrow Program Cohort 1 Closing Ceremony hosted by ROOTGIS, we saw young innovators pitch projects that tackled everything from waste management to housing access. But one powerful element tied these innovations together—geospatial intelligence powered by open data. And more specifically: OpenStreetMap.

🗺️ Why OpenStreetMap Matters

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is more than a map—it’s a platform. A canvas. A growing, living dataset built by volunteers and available to everyone. In a country like Tanzania, where commercial mapping tools are often inaccessible or outdated, OSM becomes a critical tool for innovation.

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Overview

In December 2023, the Hanang District of the northern Manyara Region in Tanzania faced a catastrophic disaster. The heavy rainfall triggered flooding and landslides, causing widespread destruction in the areas around the towns of Katesh and Gendabi, as well as the steep slopes of Mount Hanang.

Mapping Initiative

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Thank you

Asante sana

Your participation in 2023 GIS Day Conference was hugely appreciated

"Geospatial technology stands as a cornerstone for fostering a robust digital economy in Tanzania,serving as a catalyst for achieving sustainable development that will secure a prosperous future for forthcoming"

Dr. Moses Nkundwe Mwasaga, DG ICT Commission

Throughout the conference, we witnessed over 200+ participants gathered at the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) in Dar es Salaam to exchange knowledge and participate in dialogue on utilising geospatial technology for sustainable development in Tanzania.

The conference brought together geospatial enthusiasts, leaders, and practitioners across industries, the private and public sector, academia, and civil society organizations to promote changes that can be made at the community, producer, and government levels for sustainable development.

Engaged participants included:

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Hello World!

Not a new word to you right?, so do the contents…

In the past few years I have been organizing and conducting Mapathons or Mapping Parties as known to many of you, through that experience I have been able to develop this guideline to help individuals and organizations towards organizing successful Mapathons, I know it is not easy and always an overwhelming process but exciting when it goes right, HahaH, recently at Ardhi University, Dar es salaam, Tanzania I conducted a Mapathon, It was no joke, 60+ alumni, students, and OSM community members joined forces to learn the ropes of mapping and networking, facilitated by @rootgis

We couldn't have done it without the amazing support from HOT ESA HUB and the Spatial People Network program , thank you so much for the funds and resources to make it all possible!

During the mapathon Buildings, Roads , Land Use and Point of Interests were mapped and all data generated were added to OpenStreetMap (OSM).

Wow, talk about a productive day! >>Fast Forward

Therefore...

A mapathon is an event where brothers and sisters come together to map a particular area for a given purpose few of them being Refugee Response, Disaster response, Transportation, Disaster Preparedness, Public Health, Water & Sanitation, Sustainable Cities, Agriculture, Poverty Elimination, Environment, Gender Equality, Clean Energy, OSM Community, Disaster Recovery, you mention it.

The goal of a mapathon is to create accurate data and maps that can be used for humanitarian, development, Refugee Response, Disaster response, Transportation, Disaster Preparedness, Public Health, Water & Sanitation, Sustainable Cities, Agriculture, Poverty Elimination, Environment, Gender Equality, Clean Energy, OSM Community, Disaster Recovery

So what to do when planning for a successful mapathon ?:

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This is a plan for the addition of building footprint data for Tanga City, Tanzania. The import is currently going through the Import Guidelines steps, and it should be soon an ongoing crowdsourced task

The goal is to import building footprint data developed by Ardhi University (ARU) in Collaboration with Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) in 2021, using 2019 satellite images.

Read more at : osm.wiki/Tanga_Building_Footprints_Import

Promoting a data-driven decision making culture in Tanga under living lab initiative, we are complementing the global objective of OSM i.e. to create a free editable geographic database of the world by various mapping activities around the region. The initiative uses local member by building capacity on how to use OSM and contributing to it as well as University Students. These mappings have been putting the missing pieces of the community on the map and addressing challenges they face so far. The usage of GIS data as a tool for community as a decision-making data tool can help in timely action and on-time problem-solving.

This is an Initiative for scaling up the OpenStreetMap Project by addition of buildings footprint data for entire region of Tanga,Datasets was developed by Ardhi University Students (ARU) in Collaboration with Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) in 2021. Furthermore, There are different community mapping activities as micro-works going on in the region, as the mission of enriching and making freely global spatial data as well as capacity building to the local community on how to use free and open source tools in contributing data to OSM.