Participatory mapping is a powerful tool that can empower community members to better their lives, advance community agendas, and improve democracy, and NiJeL is ready to help. We believe that communities know their problems better than any outside expert, and participatory mapping is a potent tool that can collect and display that community knowledge for the world to see. Not only can participatory mapping provide community input on relevant policy issues (social service provision, land use, environmental justice, and crime among others), but these data and maps can provide a platform for community advocacy.
NiJeL's participatory mapping process starts with collecting foundational data and building a high performance mapping system and custom web front end that gives each project a fresh look and feel. We simultaneously train organizations and community members on the new easy-to-use mapping interface and data collection processes. When data collection starts, NiJeL actively participates in the project, monitoring progress and assisting if any problems arise. As the community contributes new data, the picture becomes clearer as does the solution to the problem. Not only does the process give the community a powerful advocacy tool, but it also builds skills and can improve community cohesion.
Take a look at these excellent examples of how participatory mapping has helped advocate for better conditions:
Ushahidi.com is a participatory mapping tool for people in post-election Kenya who have witnessed or been involved in violence. Ushahidi.com allows people to submit an incident either through a web form or via an SMS text message. Ushahidi.com then works with local Kenyan NGOs to verify the incident before placing it on their mapping interface. Not only does Ushahidi.com allow the news of an incident to reach the international community faster, but it also allows NGOs working in Kenya to deploy resources more efficiently.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Google are collaborating on "Crisis in Darfur," a Google Earth interactive map (launches Google Earth) where data on destroyed villages and displaced persons from government and United Nations sources is shown with community data - photos, videos, testimonies, and more - from the community of NGO's fighting for an end to this horrible conflict.
Village Earth, an NGO based in Fort Collins, Colorado, promotes sustainable, community-based development globally through "bottom-up" participatory processes. Village Earth is working with the Shipibo-Conibo people, indigenous to the Peruvian Amazon, to build the group's capacity to advocate for themselves through participatory mapping. The Shipibo-Conibo people's way of life is threatened by industrial encroachment from nearby Pucallpa, yet they have begun to organize to protect their land rights using community-based mapping. Take a look at the project's blog for recently updated progress.
If your interested in learning more about how NiJeL's participatory mapping can help your organization and community, please contact us! We'd be happy to help you.