FOSS4G 2023

HOW OPEN SOURCE TOOLS ENRICHES OSM WITH COMMUNITY MAPPING IN TANGA-TANZANIA
06-28, 14:00–14:30 (Europe/Tirane), UBT C / N109 - Second Floor

Open source tools have played a significant role in enriching OpenStreetMap (OSM) with community mapping in Tanga, Tanzania. These tools have enabled local communities to actively participate in mapping their own areas, which has led to a more accurate and detailed representation of the community on OSM. The use of open source tools in community mapping has also allowed for increased collaboration and sharing of data between community members, as well as with other organizations and researchers.

One such open source tool that has been used in community mapping in Tanga is QGIS. This tool has been used to create detailed maps of the community, including roads, buildings, and other infrastructure. The use of QGIS has also allowed for data analysis, which has helped community members identify areas in need of improvement and target resources more effectively.

Another open source tool that has been used in community mapping in Tanga is OpenDataKit (ODK). ODK has been used to collect data in the field, such as information on the availability of healthcare facilities and services. This data has been used to create detailed maps of the community, which has helped community members identify areas in need of improvement and target resources more effectively.

The use of open source tools in community mapping in Tanga has also led to increased collaboration and sharing of data between community members, as well as with other organizations and researchers. For example, community members have been able to share their data with organizations working on healthcare and education projects, which has helped these organizations target resources more effectively.

Overall, the use of open source tools in community mapping in Tanga has been a significant factor in the success of OSM in the area. These tools have enabled local communities to actively participate in mapping their own areas, which has led to a more accurate and detailed representation of the community on OSM. The use of open source tools in community mapping has also allowed for increased collaboration and sharing of data between community members, as well as with other organizations and researchers, which has helped to improve the community and target resources more effectively.

Researcher and GeoIT expert, Mr. Antidius Kawamala, has over 6 years of experience in the field of Geoinformatics, Research, Data Science, and Land Surveying. Based in Tanzania, Antidius has been leading a project for the past three years called "Transformation of Tanga City environment for productive development of Young and Adolescents health and wellbeing". The project uses frontier technology and partnerships with cities to transform data from a reporting tool to a decision-making tool. Antidius also works at Tanzania data lab, where he promotes a data-driven culture by providing an online portal of maps, analysis tools, products, data use case studies, and other resources to support data governance, management, exchange, and use.