Documenting Rohingya Migration Through Participatory Mapping

Overview

Mapping children’s perceptions about their migration experience can be a transformative communication tool used to clearly convey the associated risks and dangers that refugee migrants face during diaspora. Digital photos or scans of children’s drawings will be taken and responses from participants will be used to develop an interactive digital map using Google’s geospatial tools including Google Maps, My Maps, Google Earth Pro and Google Earth Web. The interactive maps will pinpoint images of the children’s drawings on a map of Myanmar and Bangladesh and images will be accompanied by text describing the artwork and the child’s migration experience. A virtual tour will then be built that can be used as a digital storytelling tool to learn about the effects of genocide and ethnic violence on Rohingya migration.

The workshop materials presented on this website are provided to assist in developing the tools, techniques and workflow for field collection, development and dissemination of the interactive map.

Mapping tools

This workshop website covers several free digital mapping tools that are useful for participatory mapping. Each map platform has strengths and weaknesses for different aspects of the process, and generally your workflow will involve two or more platforms to achieve your goals. The good news is that it is easy to move files between platforms and there are a lot of similarities in the way they function.

Google Maps: is the map that is commonly used to find businesses and get directions. It is easy to access on laptops and mobile devices, many people are comfortable using it, and if you prepare beforehand it can be used offline. This is the simplest platform to use and since you can use it offline it can be used to capture locations while talking with the people you wish to interview in the field using your cell phone with no wifi or cell service. Google Maps has a very limited capacity for storing user generated content, however, you can save locations, label them, and write short notes. You can also display content from Google My Maps (below) on the Google Map app on your phone.

Google My Maps: is a separate platform from Google Maps which allows you to create your own map layers. It requires a laptop and a connection to the internet, as well as a Google Account. User generated content is stored in Google Drive and can be kept private or made public. Google My Maps is a fairly light weight application that does not require a great deal of bandwidth. One of its strengths is that it is very easy to collaborate on map making, and maps can easily be made public and embedded in websites.

Google Earth Web: is an online version of Google Earth which can be made public online (Google Earth Pro cannot be shared online). It has a more limited suite of tools at this time, but like Google Earth Pro it allows you to create 3D immersive experiences. Google Earth Web is an excellent presentation tool, with a highly polished, professional feel. It requires really good bandwidth because it is a heavy weight application.

Google Earth Pro: is a downloaded application that resides on your laptop but requires a connection to the internet in order to access satellite imagery. If you prepare beforehand, you can take Google Earth Pro offline for limited use in map making. Google Earth Pro has many tools and provides a 3D immersive experience. Your content is stored on your laptop, so it is completely private.

Google Earth Studio: is an alternative animation tool to Google Earth Pro. It allows you to have more control over flyovers, creating professional animations that can be used in video production.

Workshop Google My Maps for Storytelling

Workshop Presenters

Robin Al-haddad holds a Master of Legal Studies (MLS) with a concentration in international human rights law as well as a Master’s of Development Practice (MDP) from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. She has over 14 years experience working for international humanitarian organizations in the fields of refugee resettlement, displaced populations, human rights, food security, gender equality, and education. She has also served as a US Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of South Africa from 2010-2012, where she worked as a Schools and Community Resource Specialist building the capacity of rural teachers and school management staff for three schools. In 2019, Robin became a National Geographic Explorer Awardee and serves as Project Leader for a National Geographic Society (NGS) funded project which aims to document Rohingya refugee children’s perspectives on their migration experience.

Joseph Erb is a digital media artist working in 2D and 3D animation as well as other materials, and he teaches courses in digital storytelling and animation at the University of Missouri. He holds an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania, and before coming to MU he served as the Digital Media and Language Technology Specialist for the Cherokee Nation. He created the first computer-animated film and the first planetarium show in a Native American language, and has led major projects—working closely with technicians and executives at Apple and later Google, Facebook and Microsoft—to embed the Cherokee syllabary on the iPhone, iPad, and social media sites as well as Gmail and the search engine Google. He liases regularly with programmers, systems engineers and executives at these companies, as well as a wide range of other organizations including tribal nations, the National Park Service, and the Unicode Consortium.

Dr. Cynthia Annett is a Research Associate Professor at Kansas State University working with the KSU Tribal TAB program. She received her Masters from Moss Landing Marine Labs and her Doctorate from U.C. Berkeley. As a member of the Google Earth Outreach Trainers’ Network, she is one of the trainer's for the international Indigenous Mapping workshops. Dr. Annett has worked on environmental justice issues involving dams and fisheries, including a twenty year long project in Siberia on river management and access to drinking water for Indigenous villages. She lives on a farm in Kansas and provides training in Google geotools to tribes, nonprofits, and educational groups working to increase community participation, cultural sensitivity, and local environmental decision-making.

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