Wonderful story about the OpenStreetMap India community on the cover of Bangalore’s largest newspaper.

A decade ago Schuyler and myself were invited to share OpenStreetMap across India. I documented that life changing trip. It was a significant launching point event, but was not the start of the OpenStreetMap community in India however – Arun Ganesh, Shekhar Krishnan and others were already well on the way. And certainly all credit for what’s developed since goes to the folks mapping every day.

For me personally, it was a lifelong highlight of my career. As well, it was also a significant personal launching point. And probably for OpenStreetMap as a whole. Later that year we helped Palestinians map the West Bank. The next year, we initiated Map Kibera. All of these experiences contributed to the formative moments of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team.

When Mapbox looked to establish a data team, it looked to India. The combination of technical skill and passion for open knowledge made it a natural fit. I was happy to connect them with friends from OpenStreetMap adventures. They set the standard for companies working and contributing to the OpenStreetMap community. That pattern is growing rapidly, and India is the rapidly growing center of the skill and passion – for work and especially individual value. There’s going to be a whole lot more mappers coming in the most populous democracy in the world. I’m not surprised at all that 100 mappers wanted to join the Foundation. They are welcome.

Take a look at this video. That collaborative assembly is the pure spirit of OSM. Look at this launch of State of the Map Asia with a lamp lighting and ceremonial OSM edit.

What a great mapping community. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of it.