UPRI YouthMappers’ Student Leader Drives Successful Mapathon at Grab KartaOSM event

 

On June 30, 2024, Ceejay Abilay, a UPRI YouthMappers student leader and an Open Mapping Hub-Asia Pacific Guru, led a mapathon dedicated to mapping areas impacted by the Mt. Kanlaon volcanic eruption through OpenStreetMap (OSM). This mapathon was part of the KartaOSM Community Imagery Collection Initiative event co-hosted by Grab-Philippines and Open Mapping Hub-Asia Pacific, aimed at improving disaster response and recovery through collaborative mapping.  The event saw enthusiastic participation from UPRI YouthMappers and other members of the OSM Philippines community, who collaborated to contribute valuable mapping data. Their collective efforts are crucial for understanding the volcanic impact and supporting recovery operations.

Ceejay assisted the volunteers in mapping using the iD editor

Grab-Philippines also launched several exciting activities under this event, including a program to provide high-quality street-level images for OSM data enhancement through KartaView. This platform for capturing and sharing street-level imagery allows users to collect detailed photos contributing to more accurate and up-to-date maps. By leveraging this tool, GrabPH is facilitating a co collection of street-level imagery, enhancing the quality and reliability of OSM data. In addition, GrabPH introduced a camera loan system, allowing community members to borrow cameras for imagery collection. This initiative is designed to facilitate the collection of high-quality street-level images, further advancing the goals of the OSM community.

A sincere thank you to GrabPH and OPen Mapping Hub-Asia Pacific for organizing this wonderful event and their continued dedication to improving community mapping and disaster response. 🌟 

From left: Ron Francisco (GrabPH), Ceejay Abilay (UPRI YouthMappers), and Mikko Tamura (Open Mapping Hub-Asia Pacific)