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From Map Gazing to Humanitarian Action

My journey through the world of OSM

By Nicole Siggins

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Nicole Siggins

Governance Team @ MapSwipe

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Hamburg, Germany

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hi@nicolesiggins.com

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My entire life, I love maps!

Maps of all kinds, but subway maps are my favorite.

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The City Formerly Known as Cambridge, 2008

The Institute for Infinitely Small Things

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Zamboanga Hace IV, 2012

The Institute for Infinitely Small Things

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2014

Someone said I could make a career out of maps???!

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Random Missing Maps Event, Berlin 2015

Saw a meetup, came for the maps and pizza, promptly forgot all about it.

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GIS Coursera courses, 2016-2017

Omg, hard. Spatial joins will be the death of me.

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Go back to maps! Maptime Berlin, 2017 - 2020

Joined MapTime Berlin for the maps, end up being a co-organizer – I love welcoming people and I love beginners!!

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State of the Map 2019 + HOT Summit

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Move to Hamburg and Pandemic Time, Need my Mappy Community Fix, 2020

Photo by Julia Solonina on Unsplash

“Hamburg, meine Perle”

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Postcrossing MapComplete Postbox Theme, 2021

Make a product that:

Displays a map of all the post boxes and post offices in the world - in real time...

Has the ability to add an image of each post box or post office

Has the ability to add new post boxes and post offices that are not yet on the map

Be able to add the opening hours of the post offices and filter by if they are open

Be able to add the collection times of the post boxes

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Postcrossing MapComplete Postbox Theme, 2021

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Trufi Association, 2021

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Mapping Bus Routes - an epic failure?

NYE 2021-2022

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MSF Missing Maps Resource Hub, 2021

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Corporate Partnerships @ HOT, Mapping for $ ?!, 2022

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Mapping of Manti, Utah - OSM Streak, 2022 - present

Map a Farmland.. Find a patch of tillage or pasture (try Central US or Western Russia), and map it with landuse=farmland.

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Mapping of Manti, Utah - OSM Streak, 2022 - present

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Funding of MapSwipe4Web @ HOT + HeiGIT, 2023-2024

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MapSwipe Governance Team, 2024 - present

MapSwipe Governance Team at the MapSwipe Gathering, MSF Brussels Office, November 2024

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Come to my talk tomorrow!

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2025, UNEMPLOYED????

Back to OSM as a hobby I guess… haha

Looking for what’s next - come say hi ~~ 😊 ☕

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What I’ve learned...

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Ask me about…

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  • I love helping people with tools!
  • I love beginners
  • Open data is the key to my heart
  • I love small details and following up on tasks

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  • Missing Maps (in general or Missing Maps London)
  • MapComplete themes and how to get started
  • MapSwipe!
  • Community organizing
  • Volunteering at MSF
  • What it’s like working in OpenStreetMap (in more detail)

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Nicole Siggins

Governance Team @ MapSwipe

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​

Hamburg, Germany

​

​

hi@nicolesiggins.com

​

🛠️

🏠

✉️