Humanitarian crises happen all too often, and are frequently happening in places far from the borders of Vermont. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and typhoons, violent regime changes, war... and while most of these events do not directly impact Vermonters on a daily basis, many of us wish we could help out. Of course hopping on a plane and flying to an ebola outbreak region, or a tsunami-wrecked island, isn't an action most folks can afford or find time in their schedule for. So how can we help? One way is to provide up-to-date map information for the affected regions. This may sound complicated, but it is actually so easy that anyone with a laptop can do it. Anyone. No prior experience needed. Kids and Seniors, too.

March 2nd, come join Code for BTV, your local Code for America brigade, and UVM's Humanitarian Open Street Map Team in Contois Auditorium of Burlington City Hall to learn all you need to know save lives from home. Free.

Code for BTV's mapping nerd Kendall Fortney will teach anyone and everyone how to help out with a humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world using the web-browser based Open Street Map tools.

We will run 3 sessions over the course of the 3 hour event, at 11:15, 12:15, and 1:15. At each session we will spend ~20 minutes teaching you how to use the web-browser based tools, and then spend the rest of the time pitching in to help with an actual crisis somewhere in the world.

If you can, bring your own laptop. We will have ~some~ laptops available at the training sessions, for those who cannot bring their own. Of course you can also use a desktop at home once you learn what to do.

March 2nd, Contois Auditorium, 11-2.
Learn more, and sign-up online at http://bit.ly/BTVMAP-IT

Sponsored by UVM's Office of the Vice President of Research, the City of Burlington, and UVM Medical Center.