Recognising the power of maps, the Tactical Technology Collective has published a guide - Maps for Advocacy - which is an introduction to Geographical Mapping Techniques. The purpose of the guide is to enable advocacy groups to explore how maps can be used effectively for advocacy. It was written with the support of the Open Society Institute.

The guide reviews different tools and mapping techniques, explores certain types of data, considers the ways different data can be used, offers some diverse case studies to illustrate how maps have been used for advocacy, and provides a glossary that explains terminology related to mapping.

Examples include: The Darfur project undertaken by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), where mapping was used to expose a humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Combining mapping and content, witness testimonies, satellite imagery, data, and other information placed on a Google Earth map, the USHMM utilised mapping to raise awareness of the reality of incidents in the Sudanese region. ALTSEAN-Burma, a network of organisations and individuals working to support the movement for human rights and democracy in Burma, also utilised mapping techniques to indicate details of the uprising in 2007. Protest details and 'hot spots' for activists were listed on a Google Map, and the effort was intended to act as an eye-opener to specific audiences.  

The document is available online or may be requested from this email address: mapping AT tacticaltech DOT org

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Email from Dr. Tanya Notley to The Communication Initiative on May 7 2009 and October 9 2009.