Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people?
-
0:01 - 0:04When Hurricane Maria
hit Puerto Rico in 2017, -
0:04 - 0:07we all watched as a disaster
played out on our screens. -
0:07 - 0:10At least 160,000 people were displaced,
-
0:10 - 0:12and nearly 3,000 people died.
-
0:12 - 0:15Electricity was cut off
to the entire island, -
0:15 - 0:18and some neighborhoods
didn't get power back for 11 months. -
0:18 - 0:21Many of those watching
didn't know how to help. -
0:22 - 0:24Some donated to international NGOs.
-
0:24 - 0:26Some lobbied their elected officials.
-
0:26 - 0:28But as with so many crises,
-
0:28 - 0:30so many of us simply gave in
and felt helpless. -
0:31 - 0:33At the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team,
-
0:33 - 0:34also known as HOT,
-
0:34 - 0:36we did something different.
-
0:36 - 0:39We mobilized 6,000 volunteers
across the world -
0:39 - 0:42who mapped every home
and every road in Puerto Rico. -
0:42 - 0:45And here you can see the maps
those volunteers made taking shape. -
0:45 - 0:49Responders then used those maps
to assess the state of buildings and roads -
0:49 - 0:53and to provide emergency funds,
WiFi and phone-charging points -
0:53 - 0:55to people whose homes were damaged.
-
0:55 - 0:56All crises,
-
0:56 - 1:00including the COVID-19 pandemic
we're living through right now, -
1:00 - 1:01have devastating characteristics.
-
1:02 - 1:05But many of them have one thing in common:
-
1:05 - 1:08the people hit the hardest are often
literally not on the map. -
1:09 - 1:13Right now, more than one billion people
live in places that are not mapped. -
1:13 - 1:15If you look those places up online,
-
1:15 - 1:17you'll see nothing but a blank.
-
1:17 - 1:20And that blank isn't just
a huge statement of disrespect -
1:20 - 1:22to our fellow human beings,
-
1:22 - 1:24it's an injustice,
-
1:24 - 1:28causing very direct, very real
and very avoidable human suffering. -
1:28 - 1:32So what does not being
on the digital map actually look like? -
1:33 - 1:34I live in Peru, and a few months ago,
-
1:35 - 1:37some community health workers
asked us to help them map. -
1:37 - 1:39Obviously, where they were wasn't mapped,
-
1:39 - 1:42so to get there, we asked
a local mayor to draw the route. -
1:42 - 1:43This is what he drew.
-
1:43 - 1:46This piece of paper
was hard to follow. (Laughs) -
1:46 - 1:48We didn't really know
what these lines were. -
1:48 - 1:51He put some numbers on there
that he assured us were travel times, -
1:51 - 1:52but as we were driving along,
-
1:52 - 1:54these did not correspond to our reality.
-
1:54 - 1:57But this isn't about me getting lost
-
1:57 - 1:59or about shaming
someone's bad drawing skills. -
2:00 - 2:02Think how inefficient it is
to manage a team -
2:02 - 2:03who need to work in this place
-
2:03 - 2:06without a map to tell them
where they need to go. -
2:06 - 2:08Then, once they're in the right village,
-
2:08 - 2:11how can they collect some data
and associate it to that place? -
2:11 - 2:15Those community health workers
know that needs in this region are high, -
2:15 - 2:17particularly anemia
and malnutrition among children. -
2:17 - 2:19They just don't know
where those children are, -
2:19 - 2:21or what is causing that problem.
-
2:21 - 2:24They want to be able to locate
the home of every child under five, -
2:24 - 2:26but how can they do that without a map?
-
2:26 - 2:29After a brief training,
we went out to make a map, -
2:29 - 2:31and this is what those community
health workers produced. -
2:32 - 2:34This map has everything
you need to navigate, -
2:34 - 2:35like the rivers and bridges,
-
2:35 - 2:39but it also has every local landmark,
the school, the football pitch, the plaza. -
2:39 - 2:41And I'm pleased to say
that a few weeks ago, -
2:41 - 2:44we got a call from
those community health workers, -
2:44 - 2:47and they're using this map
in their response containing COVID-19. -
2:48 - 2:49So you might be thinking:
-
2:49 - 2:51Why aren't these places
on commercial maps? -
2:52 - 2:55In short, mapping the most
vulnerable places in our world -
2:55 - 2:57just hasn't been a priority
for for-profit companies, -
2:57 - 3:01whose business models typically rely
on advertising and data sales. -
3:02 - 3:04This leaves out the poorest communities
-
3:04 - 3:06and means that individual
aid organizations create maps -
3:06 - 3:08for the small areas
that they're working in -
3:08 - 3:13in offline systems which rapidly
become out-of-date when a project ends. -
3:13 - 3:16So what we have here
is a lack of easily shareable -
3:16 - 3:18and easily updatable data.
-
3:18 - 3:20But we also have a solution.
-
3:20 - 3:22We map with a tool
called OpenStreetMap, -
3:22 - 3:24which was founded in 2006
-
3:24 - 3:28and is a free, open-source tool
which anyone can use to map the world. -
3:28 - 3:31Just as anyone can read or edit
an article on Wikipedia, -
3:31 - 3:33anyone can use or edit
the map in OpenStreetMap, -
3:33 - 3:35and the resulting map is public good,
-
3:35 - 3:37free and open for anyone to use,
-
3:37 - 3:39creating one map for all of us.
-
3:39 - 3:41It works in two phases.
-
3:42 - 3:44Buildings and roads might not
be on the map yet, -
3:44 - 3:47but you can see them clearly
in satellite imagery. -
3:47 - 3:50Volunteers working anywhere in the world
turn satellite images into maps -
3:50 - 3:52through drawing the buildings and roads
-
3:52 - 3:53on top of them.
-
3:53 - 3:55We call this a base map.
-
3:55 - 3:57On average, each time a volunteer logs in,
-
3:57 - 4:00they map an area less than
10 kilometers squared, -
4:00 - 4:02but add all those contributions together,
-
4:02 - 4:05and you can map entire cities
in just a couple of days. -
4:06 - 4:08And second, local mapping.
-
4:08 - 4:11People living and working
in the places we're mapping -
4:11 - 4:13take that base map and color it in,
-
4:13 - 4:17for example, identifying:
Is this building a school or a hospital? -
4:17 - 4:20Those people add information
you can't see in a satellite image. -
4:20 - 4:22We found people able and eager to map
-
4:22 - 4:24in even the most challenging
situations worldwide, -
4:24 - 4:27and we've optimized the tools
to work on smartphones -
4:27 - 4:29costing as little as 30 dollars.
-
4:29 - 4:31Additionally, the tools work offline,
-
4:31 - 4:34so people without regular access
to cell service can still contribute, -
4:34 - 4:37adding things to the map
as they go about their daily lives, -
4:37 - 4:41and then uploading when they get access
to cell service or WiFi. -
4:41 - 4:45In 10 years, we've seen people
from all walks of life take part. -
4:45 - 4:47Refugees have mapped broken water points.
-
4:47 - 4:51Rural women have added place names
in Indigenous languages. -
4:51 - 4:54And, in doing so, people become
active agents of change -
4:54 - 4:55in their communities.
-
4:55 - 5:00Since 2010, HOT has engaged
over 200,000 volunteers -
5:00 - 5:03who have mapped an area
home to more than 150 million people -
5:03 - 5:04in OpenStreetMap.
-
5:04 - 5:07Those maps have been used
by search and rescue operations -
5:07 - 5:10to free hundreds of people
trapped in collapsed buildings -
5:10 - 5:12after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
-
5:12 - 5:15They've been used to provide
polio vaccinations to children -
5:15 - 5:16across all of rural Nigeria.
-
5:16 - 5:19And they've mapped the camps,
routes and new homes -
5:19 - 5:24of more than eight million refugees
fleeing South Sudan, Syria and Venezuela. -
5:24 - 5:27We work with the biggest
humanitarian organizations in the world -
5:27 - 5:29to make sure these maps have impact --
-
5:29 - 5:33the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières,
UNICEF to name a few -- -
5:33 - 5:35and we currently have a queue
of more than 2,000 places -
5:35 - 5:37needing to be mapped.
-
5:37 - 5:39So that's the story so far.
-
5:39 - 5:42But wouldn't it be great
if these places were on the map -
5:42 - 5:43before they were in crisis?
-
5:43 - 5:45Now we're ready for a step change.
-
5:46 - 5:47Over the past few years,
-
5:47 - 5:51we've gained access to global,
regularly updated satellite imagery. -
5:51 - 5:53Machine learning and AI
are helping human mappers -
5:53 - 5:55to work more efficiently.
-
5:55 - 5:58And worldwide, more and more people
are willing and able -
5:58 - 6:00to map their communities.
-
6:00 - 6:02Over the next five years,
-
6:02 - 6:05we'll engage one million volunteers
who will map an area -
6:05 - 6:08home to the one billion
most vulnerable people -
6:08 - 6:10across 94 countries.
-
6:10 - 6:11To achieve this,
-
6:11 - 6:13we need to do three things.
-
6:14 - 6:17First, we need to grow our community
to one million mappers, -
6:17 - 6:21who will build a world
where everyone everywhere is represented. -
6:21 - 6:23We'll set up a network of regional hubs
-
6:23 - 6:25to train and support those volunteers
-
6:25 - 6:28to map the vulnerable places
in their own countries. -
6:28 - 6:31Second, we need to invest in technology.
-
6:31 - 6:34Right now, you can add something
like a building or a local landmark -
6:34 - 6:36to the map in just a few seconds,
-
6:36 - 6:37but learning to map
-
6:37 - 6:40and mapping easily
and quickly on a mobile -
6:40 - 6:41can be a problem.
-
6:41 - 6:43We need to invest in technologies
-
6:43 - 6:47to make mobile edits to the map
possible at a massive scale. -
6:47 - 6:50And third, we need to raise awareness.
-
6:50 - 6:52Aid projects across the world need to know
-
6:52 - 6:55that these maps are free
and available for them to use -
6:55 - 6:59and that they can request maps
for the areas that they're working in. -
6:59 - 7:02For me, this is one of the most
wonderful things about this project. -
7:02 - 7:05It isn't really about HOT
or any single organization. -
7:05 - 7:06It's about creating a foundation
-
7:06 - 7:10on which so many
organizations will thrive. -
7:10 - 7:11Whatever we do,
-
7:11 - 7:14disasters and crises will still happen,
-
7:14 - 7:17and humanitarians
will still respond to them. -
7:17 - 7:19Development programs will continue,
-
7:19 - 7:22but without maps,
they'll lack critical information -
7:22 - 7:25about what to expect in the community
before they get there. -
7:25 - 7:27With open, free, up-to-date maps,
-
7:27 - 7:31those programs will have more impact
than they would do otherwise, -
7:31 - 7:34leading to a meaningful difference
in lives saved or improved. -
7:35 - 7:38But it's so much more than that.
-
7:39 - 7:44It's 2020, and one billion people
in our world are not visible. -
7:44 - 7:46That's wrong.
-
7:46 - 7:49This is a tool through which
every citizen of Planet Earth -
7:49 - 7:51can become known and seen,
-
7:51 - 7:53to literally be put on the map.
-
7:53 - 7:56My peers complain about being
too overconnected, -
7:56 - 7:58so how can it be possible
for more than a billion people -
7:58 - 8:00to remain invisible?
-
8:00 - 8:03Luckily, this is a problem
even the laziest among us -
8:03 - 8:04can help to solve.
-
8:04 - 8:06If you can swipe left or right,
-
8:07 - 8:08you can help.
-
8:08 - 8:09Map this morning
-
8:09 - 8:12and influence life-changing
decisions this afternoon. -
8:12 - 8:17Frontline health workers and humanitarians
are literally waiting for you. -
8:17 - 8:18Thank you.
- Title:
- Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people?
- Speaker:
- Rebecca Firth
- Description:
-
Want to help map the world? Community builder Rebecca Firth explains how the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is using open-source software powered by volunteers to put one billion people on the map in the next five years. (This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 08:35
Camille Martínez commented on English subtitles for Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people? | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people? | ||
Natalia Karlina commented on English subtitles for Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people? | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people? | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people? | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people? | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people? | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for Can we call it a "world map" if it's missing a billion people? |
Natalia Karlina
Hello Erin,
Can you please check second 31 where it mentions the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team for the first time? The 'Team' is written with a lower-case 't'. I believe it should be an upper-case 'T'.
I don't know whether it matters or not and whether anyone has already mentioned it.
Thank you
Natalia
Camille Martínez
The English transcript was updated 11/11/20. Please note the following change:
0:31 - 0:33
team ----> Team
Thank you, Natalia!