Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT)

08/27/2026

🚀 Only a few days until we head to Hiroshima, Japan for FOSS4G Hiroshima 2026! 🗾

Don’t miss our sessions exploring how open geospatial technology and community-powered mapping can create real-world impact. 🗺️🌏

Some highlights to look out for:

📍 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲: from recent development of fAIr (our humanitarian geo-AI platform) to exposure taxonomies and scalable processing of large drone datasets

📍 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: how accessible technology and local community engagement build strong human connections and ownership, with real examples from Latin America, Africa, and Asia

📍 𝗔 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: community-led seagrass mapping in Timor-Leste and the Global Open Mapping Guru program

Come meet and connect with our team in person: Sam Woodcock, Honey Fombuena, Ivan Gayton

➡️ Find more information about our sessions here: https://bit.ly/hot-foss4g-2026

広島で会いましょう (See you in Hiroshima)! 👋

08/25/2026

08/25/2026

🗺️🙌 Update from the 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝘂𝗿𝘂 program!

This month was an exciting one for our Gurus across Asia-Pacific, as they successfully completed their 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 deployment. 🌿🗺️

Through this deployment, 20 Gurus strengthened their skills in remote seagrass mapping and identification using the HOT Tasking Manager and drone imagery of seagrass beds captured as part of the Monitoring for Seagrass Conservation project in Timor-Leste by our partner, Konservasaun FLORA & FAUNA.

A huge congratulations to all the Gurus! Excited to see them taking their mapping skills beyond buildings and roads – now ready to support emerging mapping needs, including environmental conservation. 🌱

Drop a 🗺️ below if you were part of this deployment or if you’re interested in joining a future one!

08/25/2026

🌍 Ready to take your geospatial career to the next level? 🚀

Join us for the HOT Community Working Group webinar, "𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿" this September.

Hear from experienced geospatial professionals and gain practical insights on:
🔎 Finding opportunities
📄 Developing strong CVs and portfolios
🎯 Tailoring applications & preparing for interviews
🛠️ Building in-demand skills

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to grow your career in the geospatial sector, this webinar is for you!

📅 Friday, September 11, 2026
🕛 12:00 UTC
💻 Online

➡️ 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://bit.ly/community-wg1

08/24/2026

08/19/2026

📢 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝘂𝘀𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗮, 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮! 🇮🇩

We’ve identified the priority areas. Now it’s time to map them in detail. 🗺️

In response to the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that recently struck Flores, Indonesia, we launched mapping campaigns via MapSwipe to rapidly identify areas with buildings – and thanks to everyone’s collective efforts, we’ve successfully completed two of them in less than 48 hours. 🙌

While we continue the remaining mapping needed on MapSwipe, we’re now using the identified priority areas to guide the next mapping phase on HOT Tasking Manager.

Every building and settlement you trace will contribute to essential data on the number and exact locations of buildings and communities in the affected areas, supporting the ongoing response and relief efforts. 🤝

Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. Let’s keep the effort going!

📍 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴: https://bit.ly/mapflores

08/17/2026

Every August 19th, we honor the humanitarians who show up for others in the toughest moments — in conflict zones, disaster sites, and crises around the world. 💛

This year, we're marking the day with a special webinar on how maps and geographic data help save lives. Behind every response, there are people using data to guide help to where it's needed most.

Join us as we hear from two incredible guests working at the intersection of GIS and disaster response:

🔹 Niken Fidiasty — Indonesian Red Cross Society (Palang Merah Indonesia)
🔹 Simon Tembo — Malawi Red Cross Society


They'll share real stories about how mapping and data support disaster preparedness, emergency health response, and community resilience. 🗺️❤️

📅 Wednesday, August 19th, 2026
🕐 13:00–14:30 UTC
💻 Online — register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K66oE0bZTyCQw-mPvZuvYA

Come learn how open mapping is changing the way the world responds to crisis.

08/17/2026

📢 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱!

On 15 August 2026, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Flores Island, leading to several fatalities, thousands displaced, and damaged infrastructure. HOT stands in support of the ongoing response, and has launched mapping projects in priority areas: Kabupaten Manggarai, Kabupaten Manggarai Timur, and Kabupaten Manggarai Barat.

📍 Join the mapping efforts for the 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝘂𝘀𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗮, 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮 projects on MapSwipe via the mobile app or web: https://web.mapswipe.org

Your contributions will enhance local map data needed for disaster response and recovery efforts. 🤝🇮🇩

If you are an organization responding on the ground, please share your data needs with us to help inform and prioritize mapping efforts: 📩 [email protected]

08/14/2026

Happening Tomorrow! 🚀

Join the HOT Training Working Group for an in-depth webinar on multipolygons in OpenStreetMap.

📅 Saturday, August 15
🕙 10:00 UTC

If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time to join.

Register here: https://bit.ly/4bWyyxS

08/12/2026

Thousands of people around the world contribute their time and skills to map places affected by disasters. But what happens to those maps once they reach the people responding on the ground?

This 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆, join us as we explore how community-led mapping is helping first responders navigate disaster response and preparedness.

Hear from local Red Cross chapters and societies and national response agencies in Indonesia, Jamaica, Liberia and Malawi as they share how community-generated data is being used in real-world humanitarian response.

• 19 August 2026
• 13:00 UTC | 90 minutes
• Online | Zoom

𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚? 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙨!

👉 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://bit.ly/4wNzRHU