GroundTruth Initiative

We use digital story-telling, open data and geographic information for greater influence and representation for marginalized communities.

GroundTruth was established in 2010 in Washington, DC to build on the success of Map Kibera (www.mapkibera.org)and develop programming globally. We also offer direct consulting services to others interested in community mapping and citizen media.

• Mapping in OpenStreetMap
• Citizen Journalism and Citizen Engagement
• Working with Communities and Hyperlocal Information
• Website and Platform Development

In 2009, Erica Hagen and Mikel Maron started Map Kibera Trust in Nairobi, Kenya, training and collaborating with youth to use technology for sharing news and geographic information about the slum. Kibera was invisible on publicly available maps, and had little reputable local news and information sources, despite being the largest slum in Kenya and home to some 250,000 people. Map Kibera continues to grow to other slums in Nairobi and provide critical news and data for development and democracy.

Recent GT Projects:

• Dar es Salaam, Ramani Tandale: Training university students and community members to map an informal settlement, and report on issues encountered there on a community blog.

• Grassroots Jerusalem: Training staff and developing web platform to link together efforts of diverse activists in the region through online media and maps.

• Kerala, India: Developing a tool and program for interactive mapping and upload- ing multimedia related to the rich history and culture of the Nila River valley.

• WWF Moabi: Customization of mapping platform for tracking and sharing protection regimes and threats to Indonesian wildlife.