Recognition to BSA Humanitarian Mapathon during Covid-19 lockdown. The State of Texas.

Boy Scouts of America Project Uses Geospatial Technologies to Help Frontline Responders. May 2020 during Covid-19 lockdown.

The State of Texas House of Representatives. State Representative Julie Johnson recognizes TAC Sea Scouts for activities during Covid19 lockdown. #KeepSeaScouting #WhySeaScouting #TransatlanticSeaScouts

Scouts are invited to participate in a massive online community service project that aids humanitarian organizations by providing frontline responders with better maps of the most vulnerable communities around the world. Launched on World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day 2020, #BSAMapathon asks Scouts to edit the digital maps of those places that are at greatest risk of humanitarian crises, including COVID-19 and Ebola crises.

Scouts use free humanitarian mapping technologies, including OpenStreetMap and the HOT Tasking Manager, to make these edits and then contribute them to the Missing Maps Project. Through #BSAMapathon, Scouts have already contributed over 1,800 edits to the Missing Maps Project. This includes over 1,400 buildings and 130 kilometers of roads across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.

Over the first two weeks of #BSAMapathon, Scouts from the Aloha Council and Transatlantic Council have led the way in total contributions.Scout troops and Venturing crews from the Aloha Council have contributed over 650 edits. This includes over 550 buildings and 60 kilometers of roads. “Sea Scout ships from the Transatlantic Council have contributed over 450 edits. This includes over 400 buildings and 25 kilometers of roads”, says Dr. Jose G. Lepervanche, BSA Transatlantic Council Sea Scouts commodore who is supporting #SeaScoutsWhoMap and #ScoutsWhoMap initiatives.

#BSAMapathon is supported by Scouts Who Map – a grassroots initiative that seeks to challenge Scouts to do good deeds through the innovative use of geospatial technologies #ScoutsWhoMap. #BSAMapathon is a NOVA hands-on experience project created by a Sea Scout of the Northeast Region Sea Scouts BSA in Irving, Texas. Scouts Who Map is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) initiative created by Michael Walsh, a NOVA Counselor for the Aloha Council in Honolulu, Hawaii. Missing Maps is a collaborative humanitarian mapping initiative co-founded by the American Red Cross, British Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team.

Humanitarian mapping in Africa

Media Contact:
Jose Lepervanche
Commodore
Transatlantic Sea Scouts BSA
mapathon@seascoutsonline.org

Transatlantic Sea Scouts BSA
Northeast Region Sea Scouts BSA
Sea Scouts BSA
Boy Scouts of America
1325 West Walnut Hill Lane
P. O. Box 152079
Irving, Texas 75015-2079
www.facebook.com/TransatlanticSeaScouts

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