Mapping for Impact: Introducing Open Mapping to Civil Society in Sri Lanka

Room: Talks II

Saturday, 14:30
Duration: 20 minutes (plus Q&A)

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  • Mohamed Haniffa Fathima Hasna

Over the past few years, the open mapping movement in Sri Lanka has witnessed a quiet revolution—led not by tech giants, but by grassroots changemakers. In this talk, I will share my journey of introducing and integrating OpenStreetMap (OSM) and open geospatial tools into the workflows of 78 civil society organizations spanning all 25 districts of Sri Lanka.

From initial awareness sessions to hands-on training, the talk will walk through how open maps were demystified and transformed into powerful tools for advocacy, community development, disaster preparedness, and resource mapping. I’ll highlight real-life use cases where OSM contributed to amplifying local voices and solving local challenges, including navigating post-disaster recovery and environmental monitoring.

The session will also explore the barriers encountered—technical, institutional, and cultural—and the creative strategies employed to overcome them. By the end, participants will gain insights into the practical steps for initiating open mapping in grassroots settings, the importance of local ownership, and why civil society must be central to the open data conversation in South Asia.

Let’s map the unmapped—together, for change.

This session will take the audience on a journey through the practical, human-centered introduction of OpenStreetMap and open geospatial technologies to civil society organizations (CSOs) across Sri Lanka. Spanning all 25 districts, the initiative empowered 78 organizations working in diverse sectors—ranging from women’s rights, land rights and environmental protection to youth development and disaster risk reduction.

The presentation will be structured around four key pillars:

  1. Initiation & Engagement: How the idea of open mapping was introduced to grassroots-level organizations unfamiliar with geospatial tools, Methods used to tailor the concept of “open data” to local contexts in multiple languages, Strategies for building trust and digital confidence among participants.

  2. Capacity Building & Toolkits: Designing training modules suitable for non-technical audiences, Demonstrations of tools like Field Papers, OSM Tracker, QGIS, and the HOT Tasking Manager, Interactive mapping sessions held in underserved communities, and how they unlocked new insights and local advocacy potential.

  3. Challenges & Lessons Learned: Navigating digital divides, internet accessibility issues, and organizational skepticism, Overcoming gendered barriers in tech participation, Building momentum in remote and conflict-affected areas with limited exposure to open data culture.

  4. Outcomes & Impact Stories: Real-world case studies: mapping flood-prone areas, land disputes and visualizing community assets, Reflections on how open maps enhanced transparency, collaboration, and storytelling within civil society projects, Future pathways for sustaining open mapping culture at the grassroots level.