Map Kibera: Kibera’s first complete free and open map November 2009

Kenyans collaborate with international mappers to complete first free and open map of Africa’s largest slum: Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya

Map Kibera to shed new light on details of troubled slum for public use

Nairobi, Kenya – October 24, 2009 – This November, motivated young Kenyans will create the first
public digital map of Kibera, widely known as Africa’s largest slum. Map Kibera is a collaborative
project lead by Mikel Maron of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team and supported by JumpStart
International. Partners include Jubal Harpster of WhereCampAfrica, the Social Development Network
(Sodnet), Pamoja Trust, Hands on Kenya, Carolina for Kibera and others.
Kibera remains a blank spot on the Kenyan map, though it holds as many as one million inhabitants
according to UN-HABITAT. Its limited health and water resources, traffic patterns, and housing
layouts remain largely invisible to the outside world and to residents themselves. Though many
organizations have collected data on Kibera, the information is not yet shared as a resource for all to
use.

Map Kibera will fill in this gap by producing free, open-source digital map data using the
techniques of OpenStreetMap, a user-edited map of the world. The resulting information will be freely
available to residents, NGOs, private companies, and others interested in working with and for Kibera.

Twelve young residents of Kibera will first be trained on current mapping techniques during a two-day
workshop. Individuals from the growing Nairobi technology scene will help train and network with the
larger community.

The group will then map all of Kibera over a two-week period in mid-November and
share the results through OpenStreetMap, joining a growing global community of tech-savvy grassroots
mapmakers. “The project will provide open-source data that will help illustrate the living conditions in
Kibera. Without basic knowledge of the geography of Kibera it is impossible to have an informed
discussion on how to improve the lives of residents of Kibera,” said Mikel Maron.

Following the completion of the map, raw data will be made available at no charge to upload into
collaborative mapping platforms. A workshop with local interested civic organizations will introduce
them to the final map, and spark follow-up initiatives.

The new group of mappers will share the information with their own communities by distributing paper maps, and will be able to keep information current as conditions change in Kibera.
For more information, please visit www.mapkibera.org.

OpenStreetMap, http://www.openstreetmap.org is a web project to create a free and open map of the
entire world, built entirely by volunteer map-makers.

The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team,
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Humanitarian_OSM_Team applies the principles and techniques of

OpenStreetMap towards humanitarian response and economic development.

JumpStart International, http://www.jumpstartinternational.org promotes sustainable economic
development and self-sufficiency through active projects that focus on building livelihoods and
rebuilding communities to overcome effects of conflict, disaster, and systemic poverty.

Media Contact:
Erica Hagen
erica.hagen@gmail.com
+254 0711 232 011
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