Patricia Solis
Patricia Solís, PhD, is designer, co-founder and director of YouthMappers, a consortium of student-led mapping chapters on 300+ university campuses in 65+ countries, creating open, volunteered spatial data in collaboration with USAID. She is Executive Director of the Knowledge Exchange for Resilience at Arizona State University, and an Associate Research Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. Her expertise centers on the application of open and participatory geospatial technologies for humanitarian, environment and development needs. Solís serves a diplomatic appointment as the first woman President of the PanAmerican Institute of Geography and History for the Organization of American States.
Sessions
Increasingly ubiquitous open spatial technologies offer the opportunity for new actors to participate in creating knowledge about the places where they live and work, and where they navigate the shocks and stresses of an uncertain world. This presentation offers insights about university student engagement in open mapping through the experiences of YouthMappers around the world. This inclusive international network of youth-led, faculty-mentored, and technology-enabled chapters on more than 300 campuses in 65+ countries work together to organize, collaborate, and implement mapping action that respond to needs around the globe. Specific examples will illuminate how students are creating and using spatial information that is collected using open software tools and made publicly available through open platforms, and in turn inform us about both the power and the limits of open spatial technologies in the hands of students working to build a more resilient, equitable and sustainable future.