This collection amplifies the experiences of some of the world's young people who are working
to address SDGs using geospatial technologies and multi-national collaboration. Authors from
every region of the world who have emerged as leaders in the YouthMappers movement share their
perspectives and knowledge in an accessible and peer-friendly format. YouthMappers are
university students who create and use open mapping for development and humanitarian purposes.
Their work leverages digital innovations - both geospatial platforms and communications
technologies - to answer the call for leadership to address sustainability challenges. The book
conveys a sense of robust knowledge emerging from formal studies or informal academic
experiences - in the first-person voices of students and recent graduates who are at the
forefront of creating a new map of the world. YouthMappers use OpenStreetMap as the
foundational sharing mechanism for creating data together. Authorsimpart the way they are
learning about themselves about each other about the world. They are developing technology
skills and simultaneously teaching the rest of the world about the potential contributions of
a highly connected generation of emerging world leaders for the SDGs. The book is timely in
that it captures a pivotal moment in the trajectory of the YouthMappers movement's ability to
share emerging expertise and one that coincides with a pivotal moment in the geopolitical
history of planet earth whose inhabitants need to hear from them. Most volumes that cover the
topic of sustainability in terms of youth development are written by non-youth authors.
Moreover most are written by non-majoritarian entrenched academic scholars. This book instead
puts forward the diverse voices of students and recent graduates in countries where
YouthMappers works all over the world. Authors cover topics that range from water agriculture
food to waste education gender climate action and disasters from their own eyes in working
with data mapping and humanitarian action often working across national boundaries and
across continents. To inspire readers with their insights the chapters are mapped to the
United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in ways that connect a youth agenda to a
global agenda. With a preface written by Carrie Stokes Chief Geographer and GeoCenter Director
United States Agency for International Development (USAID).This is an open access book.
