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Deployment and Partnership News

A total of 16 missions are currently in progress. Detailed accounts of these projects are posted on our  Ongoing Projects Page. 

A request for volunteers came from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to the Digital Humanitarian Network (DHNetwork). Several members of the DHNetwork, including GISCorps, StandByTaskForce, Humanity Road, and Esri responded to the call. GISCorps volunteers, led by Dave Litke, developed several web maps that were powered by MicroMappers. Examples of some of the web maps are posted  here.

 

Volunteer Returns from Kabul, Afganistan

The Afghanistan Environmental Data Centre (AEDC), a co-operative venture between UNEP and the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the government of Estonia, requested the assistance of a seasoned GIS volunteer to advise and support national and international teams in Kabul and Bamyan to set up the AEDC and start work on the key priorities list identified in year one. Following the recruitment, Sara Hodges, a GIS professional from Brooklyn, New York was selected. Sara arrived in Kabul on September 6 and stayed there for a month. Read about the accounts of her visit in here.

Assisting Amnesty International with a Project in Cambodia

Amnesty International (AI) USA's Science for Human Rights Program requested the assistance of a remote sensing/GIS specialist. The volunteer was asked to provide guidance on selecting the most appropriate type of imagery for conducting change detection analysis and, performing the analysis itself. Zack Bortolot, an Associate Professor of Remote Sensing at James Madison University in Virginia was selected and has been working with the AI team for the past several months. Read his recent report here.

K-12 Project in California

Javier Aguilar, a GISCorps volunteer from southern California has been teaching GIS to a group of second through fifth grade students at Hodge Elementary School in the Azusa Unified School District (AUSD). The City of Azusa is located in the County of Los Angeles, approximately 27 miles northeast of the City of Los Angeles, and adjacent to the San Gabriel Mountain foothills. Read more here.

Indonesia Capital Cities Project

A dataset of Indonesia's capital cities was constructed by GISCorps volunteers in partnership with the University of Georgia, Information Technology Outreach Services (ITOS). The motivation for this project came from users of the GIST data repository at ITOS, who contacted the repository administrator and asked if they were aware of a dataset showing the capital cities of Indonesia. Volunteers were: Paula Dillon (Idaho), Daisy Harsa (Texas) and Gary Hunter (Australia). Read more here.

Third mission with Forensic Oceanography (FO) in Central Mediterranean

The Forensic Oceanography (FO) research project requested the assistance of GISCorps volunteers. FO's research contributes to the advocacy of a wide network of NGOs whose goal is to bring attention and accountability for the death of migrants at sea. This was the third GISCorps project with FO. Following the recruitment, four volunteers were put in contact with FO's team: Donald Ferguson (WV), Jasmine Du (NY), David Metzler (CO), and Said Abou Kharroub (Lebanon). Read more here.

GISCorps Volunteer teaching GIS in Zambia

In the last newsletter, we published Michelle Kinzel's notes from the field. She has now submitted a report about her mission and the support that she provided to South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS), a nonprofit organization based in Zambia. Read more here.

Read more about other completed GISCorps projects here.  

Volunteer Profile 

Name: Michelle Kinzel   

Organization: San Diego Mesa College

GISCorps mission/Year served: GIS Workshop Taught to SLCS members 2013

Share your experience about the mission: This mission was a combination of a tremendously fulfilling professional and personal experience.  I was able to work alongside conservation workers doing amazing work in the fight against poaching and snaring in the South Luangwa Valley in Zambia, Africa. I shared my knowledge and skill sets for GIS and map making, and the SLCS staff shared their daily work in the fight for conservation.  I was immersed in field work in the African Bush, and experienced wildlife viewing encounters that I had dreamed of my whole life.  It was tremendously satisfying to spend hours each week in the wild beauty of the African Savannahs, and share the journey of learning and using GIS with Rachel McRobb, Benson Kanyembo and Jerome Yugonot; from launching ArcGIS to creating polished conservation maps of elephant distributions and mortalities.

Anything else to share: The nature of volunteering is to give of yourself, your time, talents and resources. I was rewarded in ways that I hadn't dare wish for, through to my soul.  Seeing wildlife without fences, with no cages or human restraints, infuses me with a passion for what I do and a satisfaction that will stay with me for a lifetime. I had the trip of a lifetime, and left knowing that I really did make a contribution to the conservation of a wild space that needs to be conserved and saved for future generations.

Conference Announcements 

The 51^st Annual URISA Conference (GIS-Pro) was held in Providence, RI from September 16-19. This was GISCorps' Ten Year Anniversary and in addition to usual activities (the annual meeting and presentation), a special video tribute was given to GISCorps during Wednesday morning's award ceremony.Click here to see the photos taken at those activities.

News from Friends of GISCorps 

Esri:

• Nonprofit Organization Program 
• Disaster Response and Assistance (the document includes a large number of links to the latest applications) 
• ArcGIS Online for Organizations   

Thank you for your continued support of URISA's GISCorps!

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Get Social with GISCorps! 

Do you find yourself in need of a new T-shirt, coffee mug, ball cap or tote bag? Do you want to advertise GISCorps and your association with the organization? Well, you are in luck! You can now find various GISCorps items at our online shop.  

Partner Organizations

GSDI   

UNOSAT  

UNDP   

UNHCR  

CrisisCommons  

iMMAP  

WFP   

Disaster Charter   

MapAction 

...and many more

GISCorps Core Committee

Shoreh Elhami, Co-founder

Dianne Haley, Chair 

Allen Ibaugh

Carol Kraemer, Vice Chair 

Dave Litke   

Heather Milton

Mark Salling

Contact us:

www.giscorps.org 

Email: info@giscorps.org 

Twitter: @giscorps   

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