Mapathon is a map making competition for creating thematic maps, using open source data and mapping software. It is a collaborative event where participants come together to develop new tools/methods that improve the accuracy and usefulness of maps for a community. The FOSSEE team at IIT Bombay, along with its partners (earlier partners were AICTE, ISRO) will invite all Indians - to produce maps using various data (e.g. observation data, remote sensing data, crowdsourced data, etc.). The primary objective is to understand the potential of remote sensing data and make maps for Indian regions using free open source mapping software (e.g.: QGIS). The participants will collectively work in a crowd sourcing method for jointly producing thematic maps of India.

The data collected from various platforms have tremendous potential in mapping India’s resources, agriculture, climate and disaster management, rural and urban planning and in identifying pathways for future development. Such maps can be created using Free open Source platforms (such as QGIS). Let us join together to create such maps through the Mapathon.

Mapathon also aims to develop indigenous capacity to customize and employ mapping to resolve societal challenges and create new opportunities for young India.-. The primary objective is to understand the potential of open source mapping and maps for Indian regions and to build capacity for the same.