Mapping the Neighbourhood

This programme is premised on the idea that the process of collecting information and displaying it in a user-friendly way can generate awareness and build a sense of responsibility toward the environment. Young people, organisers believe, can be agents of change when it comes to realising and communicating the 'intrinsic value' of maps and mapping. Through education they can, that is, act as channels for the dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge. The idea is that the energetic and enthusiastic participation on the part of the young community of Indian students across the nation can help generate data for better planning of developmental activities at the local level. This strategy is based on the premise that maps can be used as a tool for:

• Representing - in a visual medium - the interrelationship between actual places
• Providing information that supports understanding of one's surroundings
• Involving communities for more interaction with their immediate natural and built environment
• Facilitating efforts on the part of small communities to communicate the extent of their demand/need from government agencies.

As detailed in the Key Points section below, this programme was initiated in 2002 to honour the 200-year anniversary of the measurement of the great meridonial arc ("The Great Arc") by trignometric survey. According to organisers, modern mapping and surveying of the Indian peninsula is still based on this accomplishment. In this context, the "Mapping the Neighbourhood" project has 3 mutually reinforcing parts:

1. Celebrity evenings in the form of 'Great Arc Shows' with an aim of communicating the story and the historic significance of the Great Arc. The idea here is to generate awareness of the potential that mapping holds - through performing arts and music. To cite one example, approximately 5,000 people attended a show held in November 2003 in Dehradun. Among the features: a play emphasised the origin of mapping and explained how this art helped in developing modern mapping and space technology. Furthermore, "Performances by renowned artists took place by maestros in their respective art fields...A felicitation ceremony was conducted to mark respect to the artists and the evening came to an end with a thank you note by the ministers."
2. Story telling sessions in the form of a road show reaching out to 100 points in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttranchal. "Lambton ka Kaarvaan" is a mobile edutainment stage show designed to educate students and community about traditional surveying instruments modern mapping techniques through plays and skits. Organisers are working to reach out to rural areas and small towns, thereby attempting to communicate the importance of having maps for local development.
3. 'Direct education and involvement' with schoolchildren, in an effort to examine the school curriculum and permeate how young minds absorb and shape maps and mapping. Spanning over 40 schools in four districts, this activity is designed to lead to a local database of maps. In preparation for this activity, schoolteachers will have been introduced to the project, and provided with necessary tools through curriculum-based training.

To elaborate on some of the strategies implied by the latter, activities with school students have drawn on entertainment and information provision to support youth participation. Specific endeavours have included stage shows for awareness generation (Lambton ka Karavaan), painting competitions on cultural and social themes, creation of sketch maps of the locality, awareness building of local neighbourhood problems and strengths through the use of maps, education on maps preparation and interpretation, identification of unique features, creation of thematic maps after extensive discussions of problems of neighbourhood through workshops and exhibitions, and fostering understanding of applications of these maps for problem identification, problem solving, and better resource utilisation.

Partnership with local authorities has also been a key strategy. Organisers have communicated with participating schools to support local initiatives by helping provide the information that might be required by students. They have also supported local bodies in collecting data on maps. Furthermore, in an effort to spread awareness of programme activities, collaborators have worked to increase interaction between schools, teachers and students and various mapping organisations around the country. They have also introduced students to the prospect of a career in the mapping industry.

The Mapping the Neighbourhood website is a tool for sharing details about this project. One feature is a link to the "Mapping the Neighbourhood" video, which explains the programme's motivations and strategies in more detail.

Rural Development, Education, Environment.

Mapping the Neighbourhood was designed as part of The Great Arc celebration that took part in the United Kingdom in 2002. Here is an excerpt from the website: "Each millenium throws up a passion for doing something unique. One passion that prevailed throughout the 19th century was the accurate determination of the dimensions of the earth and the location of important geographical features in terms of latitude and longitude. After all, who we are, is intimately associated with where we are. In April 1802, the relatively comfortable cool days of winter were giving way to rising temperatures and increasing humidity while the sultry Indian summer loomed endlessly ahead. As fellow British officers explored ways to escape the heat, Colonel William Lambton (who, with George Everest, has been recognized as the man that made the arc possible) made plans to walk the heart of the steaming land: on April 10 he carefully laid the baseline for the measurement of the length of a degree of latitude along a longitude in the middle of peninsular India, at St Thomas' Mount in Madras. His ambitious and seemingly impossible plan, was to measure the great meridonial arc, by trignometric survey. The plan succeeded, and today, 200 years later, we celebrate and acknowledge the creation of what has come to be known as The Great Arc, upon which, modern mapping and surveying of the Indian peninsula is still based."