Anja Kovacs

Since December 2009, CIS has been coordinating and nurturing the Maps for Making Change project, organised in collaboration with Tactical Tech.  Maps for Making Change provides a select group of activists and supporters of movements and campaigns for progressive social change in India with an opportunity to collectively debate ànd explore in practice the potential of digital mapping as a tool to support their work. 

Over the months, the project's wiki has turned into a rich resource that reflects the challenging yet fertile and inspiring journey participants have made in the course of this project.  The wiki contains detailed information about the project and individual participants' projects-within-the-project, as well as resource persons' profiles, workshop schedules and links to facilitator's presentations.  In a separate section, there are links to a range of resources on mapping for social change more generally - including 'how to' guides, inspiring examples and mapping tools that are available for free. 

If you would like to know more about what has happened in Maps for Making Change over the past four months, do therefore go and have a look – the link to the wiki is:

maps4change.cis-india.org

And if you know of others who might be interested, do of course feel free to pass on the word!

Where do you find an activist protesting against the displacement of and violence towards adivasis in Chattisgarh, a painter and a Bangalore techie all in the same room and all working towards the same goal? This is precisely what will happen on 3 December at the India Islamic Cultural Centre on Delhi's Lodhi Road, where Maps for Making Change kicks off. A joint initiative by the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore and the Tactical Tech Collective in Bangalore and the UK, Maps for Making Change is a two month project that seeks to explore the potential of digital mapping for social change specifically in the Indian context. For the first time, activists and supporters of movements and campaigns working for progressive social change in the country will get the opportunity to collectively debate and explore in detail the potential of digital mapping as a tool to support their work.

That the project addresses a real-felt need was clear from the overwhelming response to the Call for Applications. In the short span of only a few weeks, the organisers received seventy high quality and detailed applications from individuals working with groups and organisations that seek to further social change across the country. As only twenty five spaces were available, it was a difficult job to select people who met the criteria of the event while ensuring a balance of expertise, topics and experience across different parts of the country

The final list of participants reflects the diversity of India's struggles. It includes grassroots activists, NGO workers, artists and researchers, and a dizzying array of issues: from fighting for clean rivers and people's rights to livelihoods in the Himalaya, over unearthing the socio-economic aspects and consequences of the construction of Bangalore's Metro, to monitoring the national implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005); from mobilising slum dwellers to critically engage with Mumbai's new Development Plan, over bringing attention to human rights violations in Kashmir, to bringing into focus land where internally displaced people can be resettled in the North East. And these are just a few examples!

The challenges in front of the participants are not to be taken lightly. How many people can one really reach through a map? Who are the audiences one addresses, and because of the medium, automatically excludes? And what are the ways in which we can make digital maps really our own, integrating them in the wide range of wonderfully creative methods of mobilising that social movements in India have used for centuries, and ensuring that these time-tested methods are in turn reflected in the maps? All of these questions and more are sure to be raised, and will likely not be easily revolved. What this project provides in the course of its three workshops and the time in between to reflect, develop ideas, and start creating maps to implement them, is the space to start finding answers.

In this first workshop in a series of three, participants will think through the potential of mapping in the context of a project that they have suggested in their application and the preparations they need to make to make these ideas a reality. But Maps for Making Change is not restricted to those who are actually present in the workshops. Every one can get involved! The Maps for Making Change email list (http://groups.google.co.in/group/maps-for-making-change) is an open space for anyone to join the debate on how maps can be used to further progressive social change in the country. When the wiki is up and running in a few days time (maps4change.cis-india.org), it will allow you to see the work of participants as it develops, but will also be a resource on mapping for social change as it evolves. And if you want to get a sense of what is going on in the workshops as they unfold, that is possible too: we will be tweeting on Twitter, using the hash tag #maps4change.

We'll be there on 3^rd December – on Twitter as well as at Lodhi Road – from 9.30 onwards. Hope you will join us on the journey.

For more info, please contact Anja Kovacs, Centre for Internet and Society, at (0)9611747212, or Kate Morioka, Tactical Tech, at (0)9945348420.

Background

Most of us think of maps as representations of territory. But have you ever wondered why bastis, slums, unauthorised colonies and monuments of minorities and poor people rarely are given prominence on maps – or at times are even absent altogether? All too often only seats of power, such as big hospitals, the colonies of the rich and diplomatic missions, receive detailed mention. This is because maps simultaneously also function as representations of relations of power and control: which places, communities, historical monuments, townships, colonies and roads are highlighted on a map reflects the power and control that various communities and classes possess or lack. In modern times, this is particularly obvious in planning processes, which incorporate maps as crucial tools in villages and cities alike. To challenge the practice of privileging the powerful on maps, and to create maps from the margins and of margins, therefore has emerged as an important aspect as well as a tool of our fights against injustice in society.

Maps for Making Change

Today, with the emergence of new technologies such as GPS and the Internet, mapping techniques have advanced beyond the confines of professional cartographers and can be mobilised and used to fight for social justice by anyone with an interest in maps. Are you someone concerned with the state of social justice in the country today? Are you working closely, as an activist or a supporter, with a campaign or social movement? Are you interested in exploring how digital geographical mapping techniques might help facilitate or support your advocacy and awareness raising campaigns and understanding of the power relations in society? Perhaps you already have some ideas on how maps can fit into your work, but you require technical support to put these into practice? Then this is for you.

Maps for Making Change is a two-month project that will provide you with the opportunity to explore how mapping can be used to support your campaigns, struggles and movements to fight against injustice. It is jointly organised by the Centre for Internet and Society (Bangalore) and the Tactical Technology Collective (Bangalore and London), and brings together activists and technologists. Over the course of the project, participants will:

• explore and share ideas about the possible uses of geographical maps within the context of campaigns and movements in India;

• try out a range of mapping tools and get training and support in the creation and use of maps;

• develop and implement your own mapping project, involving the creation and use as well as dissemination of maps, relevant to your campaign's or movement's advocacy and goals.

Format

Maps for Making Change will take the form of three workshops, with time in between each for participants to work on a mapping project of their choice. The first workshop will take place in Delhi on 3 December, and will be an introductory event, where tools and tactics will be explored and discussed and participants can determine the nature of the information they need to collect to implement their own mapping project. The second workshop will take place over 3 days during the first week of January (exact dates and location to be decided), and will involve actual work on mapping projects, using data and other resources collected by participants in the intervening time. The third workshop will be a two-day event during the first week of February (exact dates and location to be decided), and will be the time for participants to provide overall feedback, as well as to do the final touches on the projects and launch them. Not only during the workshops, but throughout the two-month project period, and at every stage of the development of your project plan, technical support will be available to help participants make your ideas a reality.

The organisers will cover travel and accommodation expenses of those who are selected to participate in the project. There is no participation fee. By applying, applicants commit themselves, however, to devoting the necessary time to this project. Where relevant, an organisational commitment to allow you to do this would also be required.

Who should apply?

This is an event for activists and supporters of movements and campaigns based in India. Preference will be given to applicants that intend to use the project directly for their work within a campaign or movement. Applications are welcomed from individuals, but also from groups of people who are working within the same campaign or movement and who would like to develop and implement a mapping project together. Those who have been centrally involved in designing and implementing communication strategies of campaigns and movements are particularly encouraged to apply, but such a role is not at all a prerequisite to be part of Maps for Making Change. Participants from appropriate backgrounds who simply want to explore the technology and its uses without immediately implementing it will be welcome in so far as space allows.

We would like to also encourage applications from students who are involved with campaigns or movements and who would like to learn these skills so as to use them in their advocacy efforts. Students will be provided with special assistance during the programme.

All participants should have some familiarity with computer use. While more advanced technology skills are useful, they are not essential: technology support will be provided as required for all participants to ensure that everyone completes their own mapping project.

Regretfully, we will be able to accommodate translation only from Hindi to English and vice versa, so applicants will need to be comfortable with either of these languages.

How to apply

Please answer the questions below in Hindi or in English. You do not need to write long responses (up to 300 words max), but please provide us with enough information to understand your involvement in and commitment to campaigns or movements for social justice, as well as your skills and interest. We also would like to know why you want to be part of the Maps for Making Change project and what are some of the contributions (of whatever kind) you could make to it.

You can send your answers by email to maps4change@cis-india.org, or by post to:

1) Basic personal information:

• Name:

• Gender:

• Date of birth:

• Nationality:

• Affiliation/organisation:

• E-mail address (if available):

• Telephone and emergency contact number(s):

• Preferred language of communication:

• Veg/non veg:

• Anything else we should know about you (allergies, medical condition, special needs):

Are you applying individually or as part of a team? If as part of a team, please provide the names of the other team members here;

2) Where are you from, where do you live now, and what is your current movement/organisational affiliation (movement/organisation you work with, its mission, position you have within it, is your organisation a non-profit, etc.)?

3) What is your wider experience of working with campaigns or movements for social justice? What kinds of initiatives have you been involved in? What kind of responsibilities have you taken up within these?

4) Have you been involved with any technology projects for non-profit organisations or campaigns or movements for social change? If so please briefly explain your experience (what worked, what didn't, what did you like, what not, etc?) and your role within the project. If you haven't been involved with such a project, please explain why you are interested in exploring the use of technology for social change.

5) Why are you interested in joining Maps for Making Change in particular? How can you and your movement/organisation benefit from your participation?

6) Do you already have an idea in mind that involves using maps for social change and that you would like to develop into a project that can support the work of the campaign or movement that you are involved with? If so, please explain.

7) To help us better understand the kind of technical support we will need to provide during Maps for Making Change, please describe your current technical expertise and ability.

8) All participants are encouraged to teach as well as to learn. What kind of contribution to the group's learning do you think you could make?

If you require more information about the project or about the application process, please email us at maps4change@cis-india.org, or call us at 080 4092 6283.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

The Maps for Making Change Team