_Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team_ (HOT) was initially an informal group within _OpenStreetMap_. After the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, this group worked as part of the greater technologist and volunteer effort to help assist remotely to provide maps to the organizations responding on the ground in Haiti. Within the first month in Haiti over 640 individuals from all over the world helped edit infrastructure information, as well as creating digital tools to utilize the map data. In March 2010, members of HOT began traveling to Haiti to teach those living and working there how to utilize the data and how to update it themselves. In 2010 they trained over 400 people and helped develop a local team of Haitians working within the International Organization for Migration. This team was very quickly able to switch over to mapping possible cholera treatment facilities as needed in the fall of 2010.

HOT is now beginning to work in other countries that are risk prone, to help map them before disaster strikes in order to make the crisis response faster and more effective.

HOT believes that in a disaster open geospatial data can be of benefit to anyone. The real power is allowing communities to map themselves. Key to realizing this is making use of the _OpenStreetMap_ data easily accessible and usable. Our group creates training materials, holds training classes and develops software to accomplish this goal.


Links: http://hot.openstreetmap.org/

_Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team_. There is a core group of five board members that handle proposal writing and project planning within HOT. The board is elected by the HOT membership. Membership of HOT is by existing members nominating other volunteers for their work helping HOT throughout the year. While membership is by nomination, anyone can help volunteer for the _Humanitarian OpenStreet Team_, and those active volunteers end up being nominated for membership.