Early in 2021, we at the Open Mapping Hub - Asia Pacific (OMH-AP) first began discussions to collaborate with the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), through the World Scout Bureau/Asia Pacific Region (WSB/APR). Both organizations understood the atypical environment and the challenges we are all working around with amidst the pandemic. On the other hand, we also saw exciting and innovative opportunities to bring together technology and open-source mapping through OpenStreetMap (OSM), and the energy of the young people that WOSM is working with in the region.

We are delighted to share that the OMH-AP and WOSM, through WSB/APR have signed a Letter of Intent on October 17, 2021, signifying a three-year agreement between the two organizations. It captures our mutual commitment of creating and using up-to-date, high quality map data in OSM for humanitarian response and decision-making in the region. Through this partnership, we aim to mobilize the network of Scouts from their 30 national Scout organizations within the Asia-Pacific Region to map from the grassroots level. Both OMH-AP and WOSM recognize that to achieve this impact, it is vital to work together as part of a larger movement.

In the Asia Pacific region alone, there are about 30 National Scout organizations with 30 million Scouts or around 75% of the total Scouts worldwide. WSB/APR and WOSM had been engaging their Scouts worldwide in the middle of the pandemic to continue Scouting@Home. Coordinating their initiatives and mobilizing the million Scouts, WOSM’s partnership with OMH-AP will help further these. Doing so will allow young people to have access to cutting edge technology, learn to map in OSM, and subsequently expand their knowledge and widen their understanding of their own neighborhood and communities.

Both organizations will be engaging the various National Scouts organizations for the next three years in the region, starting with select pilot countries to train their Scouts in mapping their communities. The OMH-AP and WOSM will also explore opportunities to promote the use of OSM data for the Scouts activities and other purposes, including disaster response and preparedness.

“This development provides an avenue for all the 30 National Scout organizations in the Asia Pacific and their Scouts to collaborate and provide significant contributions to the humanitarian mapping community”, expressed WSB/APR Regional Director, Mr. J. Rizal C. Pangilinan during the signing ceremony. He also mentioned his optimism of this partnership spreading not only in the Asia Pacific region, but also to the whole of WOSM.

“Scouts always take part in many humanitarian efforts across all the region,” shared Ambassador Ahmad Rusi from Indonesia, who is also the Chair of the APR Scout Committee. “The activities of the Scouts strengthen the resilience of the local communities in times of humanitarian crisis”.

“Mapping will enable the Scouts to explore the world around them and consciously observe their community. Hence there is a perfect synergy in our partnership,” OMH-AP Regional Director, Dr. Nama Budhathoki remarked. He believes we can bring together data, technology, and the young people to do interesting things in the region and promote a culture of evidence-based humanitarian decision making.

We look forward to beginning translating the Letter of Intent to reality. As our Regional Director emphasized, “Mapping is not just mapping. It is learning about the world.” This partnership between OMH-AP and WOSM exhibits our mutual goal to look for ingenious ways to engage the young people of the region, for them to be part of the wider community in the OSM movement, and to meaningfully contribute even during the time of COVID-19.