The eighth generation of EAGLE students got off to a good start in their first semester! This Tuesday evening, following the afternoon session of “Introduction to Programming and Geostatistics”, some EAGLEs participated in a Mapathon. It was organized as part of the Missing Maps Project by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the German Red Cross (GRC) (https://www.drk.de/en/aid-worldwide/what-we-do/missing-maps/).
In several countries where MSF and GRC operate internationally, there is a lack of reliable, up-to-date map information. In the event of a disaster, it is then difficult to plan relief measures because, for example, it is not reliably known how large an affected city is or route planning to emergency sites gets complicated. Therefore, the Missing Maps project was launched in 2014 using the open-source platform OpenStreetMap and high-resolution remote sensing data.
The Geography Student Council Würzburg took care of reserving a lecture hall and also provided snacks and drinks. So everything was perfectly set to get busy mapping! By the end of the evening, over 7600 buildings in Homa Bay County, Kenya, had been mapped by the participants in the lecture hall. It was great fun! Thank you to all the organizers, we’re looking forward to the next Mapathon!