OSM Ghana, a community of mappers in Ghana, recently teamed up with TomTom, a leading provider of navigation and mapping technology to improve OSM Data in Ghana by sharing meaningful insights on issues of data quality generated by TomTom. This led to the organization of a MapRoulette training and a subsequent challenge to involve the community in the identification and rectification of the issues of data quality. MapRoulette is a platform that allows users to contribute to OSM by solving mapping challenges, helping to improve the accuracy and completeness of the map.

This was an exciting opportunity for mappers in Ghana to come together and learn more about mapping techniques and best practices, while also making a meaningful contribution to the OSM community.

The collaboration between OSM Ghana and TomTom is a significant milestone in the development of the mapping ecosystem in Ghana. By bringing together the expertise and resources of both organizations, this initiative did not only improve the quality of maps but also promoted a culture of collaboration and community participation in mapping.

Training for Better Mapping

The first phase of the collaboration involved a training session on MapRoulette, led by TomTom’s Hajar El Ouafi, who acts as the Community Partnership Lead For Africa and Middle East.

Hajar led the online training session for MapRoulette

The training was hosted by CKT UTAS YouthMappers in Navrongo and the UBIDS YouthMappers in Wa, over two sessions as a remote training focused on teaching mappers how to use MapRoulette to identify and solve mapping challenges in OSM. This included adding missing or inaccurate information about roads, buildings, or landmarks to Openstreetmap using ID Editor and JOSM. The training also covered mapping best practices, including how to verify and validate mapping data, and how to work collaboratively with other mappers to improve the quality of the map.

The training was held over two sessions where Hajar took us through some of MapRoulette’s features

The MapRoulette training was a valuable opportunity for mappers in Ghana to learn new skills and techniques, and to connect with other members of the OSM community. It also provided a foundation for the second phase of the collaboration: the MapRoulette challenge, which was completed in less than 10 days and allowed members of the community to put into practice what they had learned during the training sessions.

Winners of the challenge and the leaderboard can be seen here.

Looking Into The Future

TomTom’s collaboration with us does not end here! There are more challenges ahead for improving OSM data in Ghana and fixing quality issues. All of these efforts are intended to build the best and most accurate map in the world, together we can achieve that goal!

If you’re passionate about mapping and want to make a difference, we invite you to join the community and participate in our community initiatives. Together, we can make Ghana’s maps more accurate, complete, and accessible to everyone. Let’s put Ghana on the map!