MAMAPA : a collaborative mapping project in favor of migrant populations in Germany

MAMAPA - Mannheimer Mapathons (Germany) - launched by a member of our Board, began its activity on January 2018, and was officially registered in Germany on August 2018 as a charitable, non-profit association.

MAMAPA consists in organizing mapathons in which German residents and immigrants map in tandem (on a similar approach that the one used in the Maps from here & abroad project). The project is designed to promote the integration of newly arrived immigrants and refugees while simultaneously contributing to humanitarian mapping efforts.

By participating in mapathons - a method proven effective in the field of humanitarian cartography - immigrants have the opportunity to:

1. acquire basic knowledge of, and initial skills in, the fields of geography and modern cartography. (Repeated participation can deepen initial knowledge and may constitute the first steps toward broader career development.)
2. augment on-going efforts toward integration in German society through contact with native mapathon participants and the accompanying language practice
3. make a concrete humanitarian contribution. In particular, the target areas selected for mapping will, whenever possible, be located in the home countries of the participants.

Over the course of the 8 mapathons organized in 2018, 49 immigrants from 18 different countries attended, each one participating on average twice. More than half are Syrian refugees, with a good number from Africa, other Asian nations and Latin America as well as a few Europeans. Almost all of the participants have reached the B1 German language level and quite a few are completing C1 in order to accede to university level studies.

You can find more information and updates on the project's website.