At GeoGraphic we love maps and data. We especially love open maps and data, so the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project has a special place in our heart. At OSM hundreds of thousands of volunteers worldwide are building a completely free open map of the world, in extraordinary detail. It’s like the Wikipedia of maps.

We’re holding a mapping party in Dublin on Wednesday 19th May, at The Bleeding Horse pub on Camden St from 6pm – 9pm. Come along, find out about the project and help us to improve the map of Dublin. We’ll go on a walk around the area capturing information (everything from streets, addresses, post boxes or whatever it is that you’re interested in) and then we’ll show you how to put the information you’ve gathered onto the map, while having a beer or three.

The OSM community is growing quickly, but we need your help to produce and maintain the best online map there is. Progress since the founding of the project in 2006 has been stunning – here’s a video showing all of the edits to the map in 2008 alone:

OSM 2008: A Year of Edits from ItoWorld on Vimeo.

There are many advantages to OSM when compared to using Ordnance Survey maps or those provided by Google / Microsoft etc. Just look at this response to the Haiti earthquake by OSM volunteers:

OpenStreetMap – Project Haiti from ItoWorld on Vimeo.

This event is being jointly promoted by the Irish Internet Association as part of their ‘Digitise the Nation’ week.

Digitise the Nation with OpenStreetMap: Irish Internet Association blog.

For more information on this mapping party please leave a comment below, or email me. You can alsofind out more about OSM in Ireland and contact members of the Irish OSM community via our OSM Wiki page.