Thanks to its corporate membership, the Czech mapping application is now actively supporting the development of OpenStreetMap. The project is one of the key sources of open data that Mapy.cz relies on.
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a community-based project that aims to create and maintain an open world map created by volunteers from around the world. “The OSM community consists of approximately 11 million people who add, correct and update data. That’s why this great service is used by us and many other mapping platforms such as Microsoft, Facebook and Bolt,” says Martin Jeřábek, Mapy.cz team manager, adding that one of the reasons for Mapy.cz’s active support is to ensure that OSM will be available to map fans for years to come.
“Mapy.cz has its own cartographic editorial office, which uses several dozen sources for new or modified entries in the map documents. The OSM project is undoubtedly one of the key ones,” explains Martin Jeřábek, adding that over a million people use Mapy.cz every day.
OSM receives support from companies and organisations that contribute time, money or technical assistance. These contributions help ensure the stability of the servers, the maintenance and improvement of the technical infrastructure and the development of the volunteer community.
Mapy.cz also helps with the Missing Maps project
The Mapy.cz team regularly supports the Missing Maps project, which is an initiative of Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross and the humanitarian section of OpenStreetMap. The project helps aid workers in places for which there are no sufficiently detailed maps. For the past five years, Mapy.cz has organized a ‘mapathon’ at the headquarters of Seznam.cz, during which volunteers create and fill in missing map documents based on satellite images in previously poorly marked areas of the world. Humanitarian workers are thus able to better plan vaccination campaigns, evaluate health data or conduct epidemiological analyses using reliable map data.
