Fall NEARC 2024

The use of technology is a controversial issue in many communities, and there is a growing disparity between those who want to share and those who want to maintain privacy in this fast-moving world of information. This is true globally, as we see places that we enjoy being “overloved” with activity once they are public, and conversely that communities are being underrepresented because they fear putting their “place” on a map. Using examples from mapping and engagement methods used with the indigenous Micronesian communities of the Ulithi atoll, in the Yap Outer Islands of the Federated States of Micronesia, this talk will discuss the benefits of starting an early community engagement strategy, considerations of information gathering, and the steps used to train non-users in science and technology from a modern western perspective. There are many sub-categories of learning associated with this topic, including ethics in GIS, how to capture data using offline FieldMaps technology, increasing buy-in to the planning process with enhanced transparency, and improving the results of the information-gathering process to create a more comprehensive, thorough and thoughtful GIS.