Every year, the Red Cross responds to disasters affecting millions of people around the world. But many communities are missing from maps that our responders use to coordinate relief, making at-risk populations more vulnerable.
To help ensure every community receives the support they need, the Canadian Red Cross has partnered with Aviva on the Missing Maps project. Leveraging OpenStreetMap, a free editable world map, volunteers participate in mapathons – tracing roads, plotting buildings and landmarks on the web to help Red Cross teams navigate remote regions around the world, and right here in Canada. Aviva’s support of mapathons over the past three year has helped put more than 1 million people on the world map.
In early 2018, Aviva provided the Canadian Red Cross with a grant as part of the Aviva Resilience Cup to help kick-start Missing Maps activities within Canada. Funding for this one-year project provides Red Cross with the opportunity to pilot the full Missing Maps process within select communities before a possible roll-out across the country.
Aviva’s support of the Canadian Red Cross Missing Maps pilot project will ultimately help the Canadian Red Cross reach, engage and map selected remote and otherwise vulnerable communities to strengthen their capacities for disaster preparedness and response.
We’ve been making great progress, but much work is still needed to put remote and otherwise vulnerable communities on the map. The only thing volunteers need to participate in mapping is a laptop and internet connection, so affecting positive change is just at your fingertips.
For more information on volunteering with the Canadian Red Cross, or to apply as a mapathon volunteer, please visit
www.redcross.ca/volunteer.