(Cross posted from the Google Lat Long Blog)

People have created maps since early civilization, but only recently have digital mapping tools like Google Earth and Maps made it easy to build sophisticated and interactive maps that can be disseminated to hundreds of millions of people online. Non-profits have taken advantage of these tools to create maps that matter, and that are truly initiating change around the world. That’s why my team, Google Earth Outreach, exists: to help public benefit organizations use Google’s mapping tools for good.

 Find out how non-profits are changing the world with maps.

There’s no better inspiration for creating your own map than the stories of accomplishment from organizations like the ones featured in the video above. We invite you to check out the new Success Stories section of the Google Earth Outreach website. Along with a completely new look and feel, our website now allows you to learn all about a variety of organizations that are using maps for good. Get started by reading about how the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation partnered with Google to collect Street View imagery for the Amazon. It’s now possible to virtually float down the Rio Negro and its tributaries, see ground-level images of riverside communities, and trek down a trail into the Amazon rainforest, all without leaving the comfort of home. You’ll also learn about Architecture for Humanity, an organization using Google SketchUp to design architectural solutions for communities in need.

Collecting Street View imagery in the Amazon

Once you’ve read through the stories and have an idea of what you might like to create, you can browse through our tutorials or request a software grant for our enterprise-level products like Google Earth Pro. Or, if you’re interested in an overview of all the tools available to you from Google, feel free to check out our Explore Tools page, where you’ll find information about the many Google mapping tools (both free and Pro) that are available to non-profits. If you’re looking for additional training beyond the tutorials, check out our new Events page, where you can see where Google Earth Outreach will be next and where we’ve been in the past, including rich resources from past workshops. If you want to change the world, we hope these new tools help. Happy mapping! 

Posted by Raleigh Seamster, Google Earth Outreach

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Last year we announced a $1.25 million grant to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory to help preserve and digitize thousands of archival documents, photographs and videos about Nelson Mandela. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (NMCM) is committed to documenting the life and times of one of the world's greatest statesmen and spreading his story to promote social justice throughout the world.

Today, the Mandela archive has become a reality. Along with historians, educationalists, researchers, activists and many others around the world, you can access a wealth of information and knowledge about the life and legacy of this extraordinary African leader. The new online multimedia archive includes Mandela’s correspondence with family, comrades and friends, diaries written during his 27 years of imprisonment, and notes he made while leading the negotiations that ended apartheid in South Africa. The archive will also include the earliest-known photo of Mr. Mandela and never-before seen drafts of Mr. Mandela's manuscripts for the sequel to his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.

We’ve worked closely with the NMCM to create an interactive online experience which we hope will inspire you as much as us. You can search and browse the archives to explore different parts of Mandela’s life and work in depth: Early Life, Prison Years, Presidential Years, Retirement, Books for Mandela, Young People and My Moments with a Legend.

For example, you might be interested in Nelson Mandela’s personal memories of the time he was incarcerated and click into the Prison Years exhibit. You can immediately see a curated set of materials threaded together into a broader narrative. These include handwritten notes on his desk calendars, which show, for example, that he met President F.W. De Klerk for the first time on December 13, 1989 for two and a half hours in prison; the Warrants of Committal issued by the Supreme Court which sent him to prison; the earliest known photo of Nelson Mandela’s prison cell on Robben Island circa 1971; and a personal letter written from prison in 1963 to his daughters, Zeni and Zindzi, after their mother was arrested, complete with transcript.

From there, you might want to see all the letters held by the archive, and click “See more” in the letters category, where you can discover all personal letters or use the time filter to explore his diaries and calendars written between 1988 and 1998, where you can see that in the last page of the last diary, he met with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda to exchange ideas about the situation in northern Uganda. If you were a researcher, you can search through various fragments of Madiba’s memory that relate to Ahmed Kathrada, his long-time comrade, politician and anti-apartheid activist, where you can find photos, videos, manuscripts and letters that relate to him.

Finally, by clicking into the exhibit, My Moments with a Legend, you can go beyond Madiba’s personal materials to get a diverse perspective through photos, videos and stories, via the memories of people like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, F.W. De Klerk and Nomfundo Walaza, a community worker.

The Nelson Mandela Digital Archive project is an initiative by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and the Google Cultural Institute, which helps to preserve and promote our diverse cultural and historical heritage. Some of our other initiatives include the Art Project, digitizing the Dead Sea Scrolls and bringing the Yad Vashem Holocaust materials online.

You can start exploring the Nelson Mandela archive right now at archive.nelsonmandela.org. We hope you’ll be inspired by this influential leader—the face of South Africa’s transition to democracy.

Posted by Mark Yoshitake, Product Manager, Google’s Cultural Institute

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Today marks the launch of a new Google Crisis Response project: Google Public Alerts, a platform designed to bring you relevant emergency alerts when and where you’re searching for them.

If a major weather event is headed for your area, you might go online to search for the information you need: What’s happening? Where and when will it strike? How severe will it be? What resources are available to help?

The Google Crisis Response team works on providing critical emergency information during crises. Our goal is to surface emergency information through the online tools you use everyday, when that information is relevant and useful.

With today’s launch of Public Alerts on Google Maps, relevant weather, public safety, and earthquake alerts from US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) will be accessible when you search on Google Maps. For instance, at the time of this post, “Flood Indiana” triggers an alert for a Flood Warning in Northern Indiana.



If you click through to “more info” on this alert, you’ll find a page showing more details about the alert, with the full description from the alert publisher, in this case the National Weather Service, a link to their site and other useful information.



Whether you see an alert depends on which alerts are active at a given location, their severity, and your search query. If you’re interested in seeing all of the active alerts in one place, visit our homepage at www.google.org/publicalerts. This page also provides a link to more information on our new platform and gives instructions to interested organizations who want to make their emergency data available through this tool.



We’re learning as we go and we’re working hard to continuously improve the range and relevance of the content you see, so we’d really like your feedback. Please send feedback our way using the link at the far right of our Google Public Alerts homepage.

We hope Google Public Alerts provides you with information to make better decisions in times of crisis.

Posted by Steve Hakusa, Public Alerts Engineer

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(Cross-posted on the Google Lat Long Blog)

Today the World Bank and Google announced a collaborative agreement aimed at improving disaster preparedness and development efforts in countries around the world.

Under this agreement, the World Bank will act as a conduit to make Google Map Maker source data more widely and easily available to government organizations in the event of major disasters, and also for improved planning, management, and monitoring of public services provision.

The free, web-based mapping tool called Google Map Maker enables citizens to directly participate in the creation of maps by contributing their local knowledge. Once approved, those additions are then reflected on Google Maps and Google Earth for others around the world to see.

The Google Map Maker data includes detailed maps of more than 150 countries and regions, and identifies locations like schools, hospitals, roads, settlements and water points that are critical for relief workers to know about in times of crisis. The data will also be useful for planning purposes, as governments and their development partners can use the information to monitor public services, infrastructure and development projects; make them more transparent for NGOs, researchers, and individual citizens; and more effectively identify areas that might be in need of assistance before a disaster strikes.

Community mapper in Kampala, Uganda

World Bank partner organizations, which include government and United Nations agencies, will be able to contact World Bank offices for possible access to the Google Map Maker data for their various projects. World Bank country offices in Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Zambia, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Moldova, Mozambique, Nepal, and Haiti plan to pilot the Map Maker agreement.

The World Bank Institute (WBI) and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) will manage the World Bank’s involvement in the collaboration, building on previous joint mapping efforts. For example in April 2011, members of the Southern Sudanese Diaspora participated in a series of community mapping events organized by World Bank and Google to create comprehensive maps of schools, hospitals and other social infrastructure in this new country via Map Maker technology.

Google has enjoyed a strong relationship with World Bank for many years. As indicated by the World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region Obiageli Ezekwesili, “Today’s technology can empower civil society, including the diaspora, to collaborate and support the development process. This collaboration is about shifting the emphasis from organizations to people, and empowering them to solve their own problems and develop their own solutions using maps.”

France Lamy, Program Manager, Google.org

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(Cross-posted from the Google Green blog)

One of the things I enjoy most about working on Google’s green team is understanding what gets people interested in green topics. One way to uncover that is to look at the most popular searches. This year’s Zeitgeist, released today, highlights the fastest rising searches in 2011 and includes several categories related to the environment.

We could have guessed that solar would be popular, but who knew so many people were searching for backyard chickens and garbage island? I learned a few things, too -- about an earless bunny that created a stir about radiation, and microorganisms that light up Puerto Rico’s famous bioluminescent bay.

To explore top green searches in the US in the Zeitgeist, you can find lists in the Science, Tech & Gadgets, and Quirky categories. The lists include top searches in alternative energy, rare wild animals, hybrid and alternative vehicles, environmental questions, what people are reusing, quirky environmental, waste disposal, and sustainability.

As part of Google Green, we created the Green Scrapbook so you can explore these green trends, choose your favorites, and reveal videos and surprising facts about them. As you click around, you create your very own 2011 Green Scrapbook, which you can personalize with your name on top and share with your friends. Check out the highlights video:



Google continues to create a better web that’s better for the environment. So it’s encouraging to see that 2011 was another year when people were using the web to find information and resources to make greener choices. We hope that the more we understand about garbage islands, the more we’ll choose to use reusable bags. And the more we understand what deforestation is, the more we’ll want to protect the cute red panda. I’m off to make my 2011 Green Scrapbook to help spread the word!

Posted by Erin Carlson Reilly, Google Green Team

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(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

As the holiday season approaches we thought it was a good moment to update you on some grants we're making to support education, technology and the fight against modern day slavery.

STEM and girls’ education
Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) open up great opportunities for young people so we've decided to fund 16 great programs in this area. These include Boston-based Citizen Schools and Generating Genius in the U.K., both of which work to help to expand the horizons of underprivileged youngsters. In total, our grants will provide enhanced STEM education for more than 3 million students.

In addition, we're supporting girls’ education in the developing world. By giving a girl an education, you not only improve her opportunities, but those of her whole family. The African Leadership Academy provides merit scholarships to promising young women across the continent, and the Afghan Institute of Learning offers literacy classes to women and girls in rural Afghanistan. Groups like these will use our funds to educate more than 10,000 girls in developing countries.

Empowerment through technology
We've all been wowed by the entrepreneurial spirit behind the 15 awards in this category, all of whom are using the web, open source programming and other technology platforms to connect communities and improve access to information. Vittana, for instance, helps lenders offer loans to students in the developing world who have have a 99 percent repayment rate—potentially doubling or tripling a recipient's earning power. Code for America enables the web industry to share its skills with the public sector by developing projects that improve transparency and encourage civic engagement on a mass scale. And Switchboard is working with local mobile providers to help African health care workers create networks and communicate for free.

Fighting slavery and human trafficking
Modern day slavery is a multi-billion dollar industry that ruins the lives of around 27 million people. So we're funding a number of groups that are working to tackle the problem. For instance, in India, International Justice Mission (IJM), along with The BBC World Service Trust, Action Aid and Aide et Action, are forming a new coalition. It will work on the ground with governments to stop slave labor by identifying the ring masters, documenting abuse, freeing individuals and providing them with therapy as well as job training. Our support will also help expand the reach of tools like the powerful Slavery Footprint calculator and Polaris Project’s National Trafficking Hotline.

To learn more about these organizations and how you can get involved, visit our Google Gives Back 2011 site and take a look at this video:



These grants, which total $40 million, are only part of our annual philanthropic efforts. Over the course of the year, Google provided more than $115 million in funding to various nonprofit organizations and academic institutions around the world; our in-kind support (programs like Google Grants and Google Apps for Education that offer free products and services to eligible organizations) came to more than $1 billion, and our annual company-wide GoogleServe event and related programs enabled individual Googlers to donate more than 40,000 hours of their own volunteer time.

As 2011 draws to a close, I’m inspired by this year’s grantees and look forward to seeing their world-changing work in 2012.

Posted by Shona Brown, SVP, Google.org

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(cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

We’ve been thrilled to see the ways nonprofit organizations use Google+ to raise awareness about their work, as well as the ways people connect with causes on Google+. In the past couple days, several entertainers have helped start a movement for this holiday season, drawing attention to their favorite charities on Google+ using the phrase #CauseILoveEm and creatively showing their followers what they love about these nonprofit organizations.

• +Russell Brand is asking fans to volunteer for two hours of charity work at +Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, +Los Angeles Animal Alliance or one of four other local L.A. charities. In exchange, he and Sarah Silverman will give fans two hours of live comedy.
  
  
  
  
  
  


• +Usher and student participants in his New Look Leadership Academy asked people to do an international act of kindness and post descriptions of their acts including photos and videos as comments on +Usher's New Look Foundation. The acts with the most "+1"s will be re-posted by Usher and highlighted on the New Look Foundation website.


• +Linkin Park posted a new video asking people to spread about the word about +Music For Relief and their new Power the World Give Light campaign, which encourages people to donate to provide solar-powered light bulbs for families in Haiti without electricity. People who share their website online and drive the most clicks will be eligible to win prizes.


• +Dolly Parton and +Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, her early child literacy program that provides 700,000+ free books every month, are sharing Champion Spotlight stories about their community leaders and posting the 20 most inspiring Imagination Moments submitted by families who have benefited from this gift of reading.
  
  
  
  
  
  


• Co-founder +Hugh Jackman and +Laughing Man Coffee & Tea asked people to share photos of themselves with Laughing Man's fair trade products (the profits of which go to charity) and to sound off on living their motto, "All Be Happy," using #CauseILoveEm to be included in a thank you photo album.
  
  
  
  
  
  


• +Find Your Light Foundation and +Josh Groban announced the Fulfill-a-Wish campaign, spotlighting the needs of nonprofit arts organizations from across North America in videos and posts, and asking for your help fulfilling these holiday wishes.

We hope you’ll join these folks and lots of others in the Google+ community who have already started sharing their favorite nonprofits this holiday season. Say which nonprofit you like and what you like about them in a public post using the phrase #CauseILoveEm and mentioning the nonprofit’s Google+ page by typing “+” and the nonprofit’s name. Be creative and post videos, images and stories that will convince others to love them too. Through the end of December on our +Google for Nonprofits page, we’ll re-share great examples of the ways people are recognizing their favorite nonprofits and highlight some nonprofits with which you might want to connect.

If the nonprofit you care about most isn’t yet on Google+, be sure to let them know about our Google+ for Nonprofit community page that they can use to get started and learn more. Thanks in advance for caring about these organizations and doing something small to help them grow and achieve their goals during the holiday season.

Posted by Mimi Kravetz, Google.org, Senior Product Marketing Manager

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(Crossposted from the The Official YouTube Blog)

Did you know there are now 6.6 million people receiving treatment for HIV, compared to just 100,000 in 2002? Still, more than a thousand babies are born every day with HIV and there are 34 million people living with the disease.

This World AIDS Day, you can join the discussion about how to help bring about the beginning of the end of AIDS. We’re partnering with ONE and (RED) to bring you a panel of experts who will talk about the progress we’ve made, where we're falling short, and what it's going to take to end this disease for good. They’ll also answer some questions from the YouTube audience. Starting today, you can submit your questions to the panel, which includes Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton; Bono, co-founder of ONE and (RED); Alicia Keys, co-founder of Keep a Child Alive; and other leaders in the fight against AIDS, including representatives from the Tema Clinic in Ghana, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the Saddleback Church.

On December 1, World AIDS Day, these leaders will answer some of the top-voted questions live on YouTube at a special event hosted by ONE, (RED) and an impressive list of partners and influencers.

According to ONE, if we recommit to the fight against AIDS, by 2015 we could end mother-to-child transmission of HIV, provide treatment to the 15 million people who need it, and drastically reduce new infections. With the support of donors, African governments, organizations, and the private sector the beginning of the end of HIV/AIDS is within our reach.

Submit your question today and become part of the beginning of the end of AIDS. The deadline to submit is November 28.

Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, recently watched, “Unhate Campaign”.

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In July, we introduced you to the Ashoka Changemakers Citizen Media competition - an effort to source innovations that will boost media access and participation globally.

In an unprecedented response, Ashoka received hundreds of nominations from 75 countries, all seeking the the opportunity to be the next Ashoka Changemaker. Winners receive cash prizes, mentorship and will be considered for a full Ashoka Fellowship - joining a community of the most innovative and transformative leaders of our generation.

Finalists have been chosen, and now you have the chance to vote.

The polls are open now. Voting ends on November 23, 2011. May the most innovative entrepreneur win.

Posted by Meryl Stone, Program Manager, Google.org

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You may remember that we launched Google Dengue Trends earlier this year. Like Google Flu Trends, Google Dengue Trends uses aggregated search data to measure disease in countries around the world. Today we’re adding 5 new countries to Google Dengue Trends: Argentina, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, and Venezuela. This brings our grand total to 10 countries where we provide dengue estimates in near-real time based on search activity.

In addition to country level estimates, for both Argentina and Mexico we’re able to offer some state level estimates, as well. And all data is freely available for download from the website. The models we’ve built for these countries are “experimental,” which means they have not been officially validated against health ministry dengue data for these countries. When and where possible, we will officially validate models in comparison against confirmed publicly available dengue data.



It can take weeks and months to collect dengue data through traditional surveillance mechanisms, and it’s our hope that the timely information (updated daily!) from Google Dengue Trends will be useful to public health authorities and individuals around the world as an earlier indicator of disease activity and a complement to existing surveillance systems. The sooner you know that there are dengue-spreading mosquitoes in action near you, the sooner you can take steps to prevent infection.

Posted by Vikram Sahai, Engineer, Google.org

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