On Wednesday, 29 March 2023, the Department of Geography hosted the traditional Mapathon. Students and the public map various locations (where more detailed maps are lacking) based on available satellite images as part of humanitarian aid. This time, the Mapathon mapped the town of Magaria in Niger for a malaria mosquito control campaign organized by Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontiéres - MSF). The event was filmed by student TV.
Representatives of the group Missing Maps Brno at the Department of Geography, Missing Maps Slovakia and MSF were involved in organizing the event. The mapathon included an introductory online speech in English with MSF staff, a live presentation of local conditions in Africa held by Yaya Shagary (MSF coordinator in Niger) and a discussion moderated by Jana Bauerová (MSF Communication & Community Engagement Coordinator).
The participation exceeded all expectations and set a new record for mapathons at the Department of Geography. Forty-two mappers and organizers participated in person or online. This was reflected in the amount of work done. Almost 10 thousand buildings were mapped! In parallel with the mapping, the mapped data was validated (checking) so that field workers could already use them.
We are pleased that a large part of the participants were local students of Masaryk University, who are learning to create these maps directly in the lessons. They are fulfilling the vision of the university. MUNI seeks to educate socially responsible graduates in the spirit of the motto MUNI helps.
The Mapathon was also attended by reporters from the student news media Stisk Online. Listen to a short report including interviews with participants and organizers. The full report (in Czech) can be found at this link: https://stisk.online/a/iVshQ/studenti-tvorili-mapy-pro-lekare-bez-hranic-pomuzou-na-misich-v-africe.
Stisk online is a student multimedia news diary created by students of the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University in Brno as a training medium.
On October 15, 2024, Daniel Nývlt, head of the Czech Antarctic Research Programme based at the Department of Geography of SCI MUNI, received a state honour from the Republic of Chile for his role in the long-standing excellent cooperation between the Czechia and Chile in Antarctic research.
Interview with Jan Písek, a graduate of the Department of Geography, Masaryk University, in the NATURE journal.
