MapAid is a team of professional and friendly international people, with diverse skills, from hydrology to artificial intelligence, and from strategic review to development work and even some disaster relief.
We are a listening organisation, evolving and developing to create maps that help meet the needs of climate change mitigation.
We are an organisation that values determination and patience because the challenges of climate change also demand this.
Introducing our volunteers and associates, some words from Rupert Douglas-Bate:
The international volunteers and associates that constitute MapAid are here to serve other people first, through the influential maps, we make.
Our collective aim is to promote the cause of those in greatest need across the world, in particular small farmers in Africa, who are suffering increasingly from climate change and food insecurity.
However, an acceptable irony of the work is that while our maps can positively influence the future of millions of people, it is unlikely we will meet them !
Our volunteers, both technical and non-technical work together on a wide variety of tasks. Usually, these are fun, occasionally they are boring, but “taking the rough with the smooth” is part of MapAid’s effectiveness.
We are a friendly and hard-working team, from a wide variety of nationalities including but not limited to America, Colombia, the Czech Republic, and Ethiopia. Check out Where MapAid volunteers come from.
To get an initial flavour of our volunteers, two are listed below. If you want to know about our current volunteer opportunities, contact us.
Lisa Duschek – Applied technologist
I have an academic background in law, technology, and humanitarian studies. Over the last 10 years, I’ve been working at the intersections of tech, humanitarian work, journalism, and entrepreneurship, gaining experience in NGOs, my own start-ups, and government agencies. I also consult for both businesses and non-profits, mainly focusing on digital subjects and strategy. When I’m not working or planning my next venture, you can find me travelling the world by van or boat and in, under, or on water.
Stuart Brown – Tech lead
My career spans over three decades in software development, contributing to a diverse range of sectors including healthcare, non-profit, finance, government, and manufacturing. Outside of professional commitments as a software architect, and tinkering with side projects, you will spot me often, on the golf course. There, I am dedicated to improving my handicap, a pursuit in which I find encouragement through the “My England Golf app”. According to this (generous) app, my ranking is in the top 80% of golfers across England-a cleverly positive spin on being in the lower 20%, a perspective I find commendable.
Irina Maslennikova – Human resources lead
I have “lived experience” working as a senior executive for both Corporate and NGO sectors in multiple countries and as a result, speak several languages. I obtained my PhD in Environmental Protection from Moscow State University and am really enthusiastic to promote equality and diversity, having inspired, coached and promoted women across the world during my career. Click here for more.
The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu was our Patron.
Desmond Tutu was a South African Anglican cleric who became one of the central leaders of the global peace movement, beginning in South Africa “the rainbow nation”. An outspoken defender of human rights and campaigner for the oppressed, no matter their background, tribe, religion or colour, Desmond’s eloquent advocacy and brave leadership significantly supported a relatively peaceful end to South African apartheid in 1993 and the installation of Nelson Mandela as the nation’s first black President.
The Archbishop dedicated his life to reshaping conversations about peace, equality and forgiveness among people everywhere. In 1984, he earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts as a global peace maker and in later years devoted his time to the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation and the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation with the goal of teaching youth the powerful role and voice they play, in creating a more compassionate and peaceful world.
It was with considerable sadness that in late 2021, we marked the passing of a great man, our Patron, Archbishop Emeritus & Nobel Peace Prize winner, Desmond Tutu.
He is a reminder of the human capacity for solidarity & political action with a tremendous streak of compassion and humour, and we love him.
Desmond Tutu, October 7th 1931 – December 26th 2021
