Our Mapbox-Bengaluru office celebrated International Open Access Week last month with a data gallery and a mapping workshop. I co-lead the mapping workshop as part of the Missing Maps project. I penned these notes to remind me in the future how to run our workshops even better. I figured, why not share to everyone?

What we talked about

• OSM is a volunteer/community driven project, mainly for fun and exciting ways.

• Coincidentally, we can use it for crisis mapping.

• But, we should map not only during/after a crisis but even before a crisis happens. Preparedness is key.

• Here’s how OSM works (show basic tagging but do not go into complex technical details).

During mapping

• Let them experience mapping first hand. Answer the technical details as they go through the task.

After mapping (wrap-up)

• At the end of the workshop, always show the results no matter how small (changesets, number of edits, before/after screenshots). For example, http://resultmaps.neis-one.org/osm-changesets?comment=project-1250#10/-4.1786/28.7883
• Point them to links where they can read more about OSM or how to improve their skills. For example, http://github.com/mapbox/mapping/wiki.
• Invite them to be part of the community (link to mailinglist, forum or social network groups the local community uses).
• Always find time to socialize. Mapping workshops are not just about collecting data but also about expanding our community.

See also

• DRC Mapping notes - https://gist.github.com/maning/153caff860d94c845fb6
• More photos - Mapbox-BLR Facebook