150 Jaguar Land Rover employees recently participated in the company’s first ‘Mapathon’ event, plotting roads, rivers and buildings across a sprawling area in the Kurigram District of Bangladesh using satellite imagery. The event took place on 5 December, coinciding with International Volunteer Day and celebratesd a 64-year partnership between Jaguar Land Rover and the Red Cross.
Jaguar Land Rover employees join a global community of volunteers mapping areas where humanitarian organisations, such as the Red Cross, are helping vulnerable people. Bangladesh was chosen to support the Red Cross’ work in the area to implement disaster risk reduction activities and increase resilience of communities
Chris Thorp, responsible business director, said: “Each year, disasters kill nearly 100,000 people and affect or displace 200-million more globally. Many of these places are not on any map, making them hard to reach in emergencies. By taking part in today’s Mapathon, our employees are helping the Red Cross to provide life-saving support to the vulnerable communities in Bangladesh, harnessing the talent of Jaguar Land Rover employees to create genuine social impact.”
During the two-hour event, using the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team Tasking Manager, each volunteer was allocated a square of territory to trace through satellite images and outline features such as buildings, roads and rivers. The maps produced are open data, and Red Cross and other non-governmental organisations can use the maps when they respond to crises.
