YouthMappers have added 15 million edits to OpenStreetMap!
Learn more in our 2nd Quarterly Newsletter of 2022
The YouthMappers network of university chapters continues to grow and includes 317 university-based chapters in 67 countries!

We are inspired by their enthusiasm for mapping the world a better place. To learn more about our chapters, visit our interactive chapter map.

Join us in welcoming the newest chapters approved by the YouthMappers Steering Committee in the second quarter of 2022:

  • Indian Institute of Technology, India
  • Dar es salaam University College of Education, Tanzania
  • Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas, El Salvador
  • Ho Technical University, Ghana
  • Jordan University College, Tanzania
  • Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Bolivia
  • Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
  • Universidade Federal da Viçosa, Brazil
Don't have a chapter yet on your campus? Creation of a new group
or affiliation of your existing student organization is easy!
Submit a chapter application form here.
We launched the YouthMappers Academy Advanced Track!
Last year the YouthMappers Academy launched with 6 courses that formed the introductory track. Now the YouthMappers Academy is formed of 12 courses, with the advanced-level track consisting of 6 courses to elevate YouthMappers members’ technical skills, community participation, and project management know-how. The courses include 1) Introduction to Mapping with JOSM, 2) Advanced JOSM, 3) Data Management in OSM, 4) Gender Perspectives, 5) Planning a Field Project, and 6) Field Survey Development. Courses 7 and 8 focus on advanced editing skills and data validation. Courses 9 through 12 address theories and techniques to help YouthMappers students with designing, planning, and implementing fieldwork campaigns. Read more details about each course here.
What The Network Has Been Working On
CSGU YouthMappers at Gulu University, Uganda, conducted fieldwork in 26 villages in the Gulu district to collect data on over 650 water points for the Uganda Water Infrastructure Mapping Project. 2017 fellow and former Regional Ambassador Stellamaris Nakacwa and Everywhere She Maps Program Director Courtney Clark trained the students to use JOSM, Kobo Collect, and OSM Tracker and upload the data points to OSM and the Water Point Data Exchange. Stakeholders in Uganda will use this data to make informed decisions on water point maintenance, rehabilitation, and construction.
Project Coordinator Stellamaris further explains this project during this presentation recording.
Regional Ambassador Tommy Charles was featured on the Africa Geo Conversation, a podcast about geospatial innovations and people doing great things with geospatial technology in Africa. Tommy talked about his journey with YouthMappers, the Power Mapping Campaign in Sierra Leone, and OSM Sierra Leone.

Listen to the podcast here.
YouthMappers Leadership Fellowship Summit in 2023

Student members of YouthMappers chapters were invited to apply for the 2023 YouthMappers Leadership Fellows Summit. This summit will be co-hosted by the University of the West Indies. Selected students will receive capacity training in open mapping techniques to help them enrich their chapter activities. They will also receive professional development training, have access to mentoring by international experts, and engage in an online community with the other participants. The summit will include programming and training organized under three central themes: mapping for climate resilience, activating youth leadership, and promoting equity and inclusion.

3 Regional Ambassadors shared a day in their life

Three regional ambassadors based in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Colombia introduced themselves, spoke about their experiences as YouthMappers, and shared their daily lives on our social media platforms. Meet Erick Tamba Mnyali, Yéssica De los Ríos Olarte, and Akintola Mercy Onaopemipo and watch their videos in our Instagram stories. Follow our social media accounts for future regional ambassador takeovers!
Partnership Corner
YouthMappers at State of the Map US 2022- Tucson, Arizona

Everywhere She Maps Program Director Courtney Clark and former Regional Ambassador Maliha Binte Mohiuddin presented How You Can Build a More Equitable OpenStreetMap with YouthMappers' Everywhere She Maps. Former Regional Ambassadors Erneste Ntakobangize explained The Integration of OSM and UAVs data for Malaria Elimination in Rwanda, and Stellamaris Nakacwa presented on Integrating WPDx and OSM data Schemas for seamless bidirectional water infrastructure data updates. 2017 Leadership Fellow Zola Manyungwa delivered a talk on OSM Mapping for People Living in Protracted Crisis: Dzaleka Refugee Camp. The YouthMappers Validation Hub also hosted a validation training.
The Validation Hub led a JOSM and Validation training.

Hub members Joanna Greenberg and Annaca Sutton taught session attendees about JOSM basics and demonstrated using JOSM. They also hosted another training explaining validation and how to validate OSM contributions using JOSM. Watch the JOSM training here and the Validation training here. Sign up to receive Eventbrite event announcements and access registration information. Learn more about the YouthMappers Validation Hub here.
USAID Chief Geographer and GeoCenter Director Carrie Stokes and former Clemson Mappers President Sawyer McCarley spoke about the benefit and impact of YouthMappers in the Podcast “Anybody have a Map? The government does.” hosted by the Partnership for Public Service.
What Our Chapters Have Been Up To
QUARTERLY SPOTLIGHT: YouthMappers in action
YouthMappers in Tanzania teamed up to improve urban flood response and preparedness in Morogoro Municipality and Ifakara Town Council, Tanzania
Over 80 students from Sokoine University of Agriculture, Jordan University College, Dar es Salaam University College of Education, and Mzumbe University participated in a joint mapathon to learn and contribute open data in flood-vulnerable communities. During the event students mapped over 25,000 buildings and 1,500 kilometers of road. The mapathon was for the project “Mapping Flood Protection Zones and Evacuation Routes to Improve Response Capabilities Morogoro, Tanzania,” implemented by SMCoSE YouthMappers. YouthMappers Regional Ambassador Erick Tamba Mnyali serves as a project lead.

The project is sponsored by the Global Water Partnership and World Meteorological Organization under the Integrated Flood and Drought Management Program and the Open Knowledge Foundation through the Open Data Day 2022 Small Grants; with support from Sokoine University of Agriculture, Geospatial Technology and Environment, and YouthMappers. The project goal is to generate open data that will foster improved response capabilities from stakeholders and the local community in Morogoro municipality and Ifakara town council towards flash flood challenges.
YouthMappers Resources

YouthMappers Online Series Launched in March 2020, we feature an online series of panels and training webinars organized by YouthMappers. Follow us on social media and Eventbrite to sign up for future webinars and watch previous webinars on our YouTube channel.

YouthMappers Resource Library Serves as a resource, guide, and repository of knowledge for all things YouthMappers.

YouthMappers Alumni on LinkedIn Connect with YouthMappers Alumni on LinkedIn!

YouthMappers Activity Map shows where YouthMappers have been active in OpenStreetMap over the past five years. Viewers can search and filter by all edits performed by an entire chapter - explore it here!