Maps are powerful tools that shape how we understand the world. Traditional maps often prioritize borders, terrain, or infrastructure, while potentially obscuring the social, economic, or digital layers that influence people’s lives. This workshop invites participants to “unlearn” conventional mapping approaches and reimagine how maps can reveal new ways of seeing the world and global challenges.

The session is presented by Giga, a joint initiative of UNICEF and ITU that aims to connect every school in the world to the Internet. To support our mission, we have built Giga Maps - an open and live map of global schools and connectivity. Connectivity is more than infrastructure: it shapes access to information, opportunity, and choice. By visualizing where schools are connected—and where they are not—a map can become a powerful tool for advocacy and insights. When combined with other data layers such as climate, demographics, or economic indicators, maps can reveal deeper patterns of understanding and possibility.

The first half of the workshop will focus on ideation. In small groups, participants will ask: what else could a map show if connectivity were the starting point? Could the “shape” of a map be reorganized around networks rather than borders? How might layering in social or environmental indicators change how we see a community? The exercise is about imagining new mapping logics rather than reproducing existing ones.

The teams will then shift to rapid prototyping. Using pen and paper, open-source platforms, or AI-based tools, participants will sketch or build visual experiments. These prototypes might combine unexpected data sets, distort scale to emphasize overlooked issues, or invent alternative ways of depicting relationships. Each group will share back, sparking dialogue on how design choices reframe meaning.

By the end, participants will have created “unlearned maps” that challenge assumptions about space, context, and connection. The workshop emphasizes visualization over analysis, offering an accessible, hands-on design thinking process. Maps, reimagined, become tools for storytelling, advocacy, and new perspectives on global challenges.