2025-10-05 –, Talks I
The UN Maps Programme, an initiative from the Department of Operational Support at the United Nations, provides topographic maps, operational geo-information, search and navigation tools, and imagery and street-level base maps to peacekeeping and humanitarian actors in UN mission areas. UN Maps has established a community of OpenStreetMap (OSM) data contributors called UN Mappers. The UN Mappers community is a collective of open mapping enthusiasts dedicated to building accurate and crowd-worked geospatial data to support peacekeeping and humanitarian missions on the ground.
The session aims to provide updates about the UN Maps programme and the UN Mappers community. In addition, we aim to share co-created and adopted initiatives that we are currently exploring in community building and sustainability, such as the UN Mappers Ambassadors and Chapters, and to discuss lessons learned and challenges.
Diego Gonzalez Ferreiro, United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC)
Michael Montani, United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC)
Community, mapping, community building
Affiliation:UN Maps Programme, United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC)
Michael works as UN Mappers Community Coordinator at the United Nations Global Service Centre, supporting the crowdsourcing activities of UN Maps, a programme to deliver geospatial products and capabilities to UN Peacekeeping missions worldwide. He is an OSM contributor since 2016 and he helped build many communities everywhere, especially in Africa, Europe and Asia. Previously he co-founded the first European chapter of YouthMappers and was awarded of the 2018 YouthMappers Research Fellowship. He has a MSc in Geoinformatics Engineering at Politecnico di Milano.
Arnalie from the Philippines advocates for open data and is passionate about building inclusive spaces in the open mapping and open geo community.
She has been an Openstreetmap contributor since 2016, the same year she joined and became part of the OSM community in the Philippines. She is a supporter and ally of various communities and networks such as Geochicas, Women+ in Geo, and more. In 2023-2024, she served in the OSM Foundation Board focused on the community agenda. Currently, she works with the UN Global Service Center as Community Engagement Specialist for the UN Maps Programme.