Missing Maps Mapathon at the Department of Geography

Come and support the work of Médecins Sans Frontières by helping to map places that are threatened by humanitarian crises in OpenStreetMap.

There is another Brno mapathon here. But also a Czech-Slovak mapathon. At the same time, there will be a mapathon at the University of Žilina in Žilina, with which we will be connected by the internet.

When shall we meet?

May 6, 2025 from 6:00 p.m.

Where are we going to meet?

The mapathon will be held in a hybrid way. Those interested in mapping at the Department of Geography can meet in person in the Z7 computer room. Computers are also available here for those who do not have their own laptop. Classroom Z7 is on the ground floor of the building; building location: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/84965582. Those who wish to join online will receive a link via email.

Registration: https://is.muni.cz/go/mapathon

What will happen at the mapathon?

At the mapathon, we will create a map in OpenStreetMap of one of the places where Médecins Sans Frontières operates based on satellite images.

It doesn't matter if you don't have experience. You will learn everything on the spot and after a short training you will be able to map yourself. If you have experience, all the better. We will work in groups:

• Beginners and more experienced people will have the opportunity to learn the JOSM editor - a freely available editor for OpenStreetMap that allows mapping quickly and at the same time with high quality.

• Experienced users who no longer need any training and just want to map or validate without training are invited.

If you are already among the experienced and would like to join the organizing team, we will be happy to discuss this at the mapathon.

What do you need?

No previous experience is required. All tools are free and open source.

Mappers without their own laptop will be able to use the computers in the computer lab. If you want to work on your own laptop, you need to bring a mouse and have the JOSM program pre-installed.

A stable wireless Internet connection will be provided.

Should I prepare something?

If you don't already have an OpenStreetMap account, create one here: https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/new.

We are going to map in the JOSM program, you need to have it installed in advance. It is freely downloadable at https://josm.openstreetmap.de. The program requires the Java programming language to be installed.

If you want to be in the group of validators, at least basic knowledge of the JOSM editor is an advantage. It is, therefore, ideal to first complete the mapathon in the JOSM group and, at the next mapathon, go to the validators.

The Department of Geography of the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University, the organizing team of the Brno mapathon Missing Maps Brno, the Geocommunity association, Médecins Sans Frontières, and volunteers of Missing Maps Slovakia are looking forward to seeing you.

More information: Daniel Kašík (kasik@sci.muni.cz)