What if humanitarians had an offline-first mapping tool as reliable as a Garmin GPS? In this episode, Max Malynowsky — software engineer at the OCHA Centre for Humanitarian Data — dreams out loud about a future where field teams can sync trusted, up-to-date geodata anywhere, even with near-zero bandwidth.

From the chaos of contested admin boundaries to the quiet genius of ODK and XLS forms, Max and Hugo unpack why the hardest part isn't building the app — it's building the data infrastructure behind it. If you've ever tried to print 20,000 settlements or wished for a universal translator for geodata, this one's for you.

Links:

Max's LinkedIn

HDX

OCHA Centre for Humanitarian Data

What if all the data needed to respond to a humanitarian crisis already existed — but was scattered, siloed, and hard to use?

In this episode of 15-Minute Maps, I’m joined by Saïd Abou Kharroub, a GIS specialist turned information management expert, former CEO of Civ API, and current board member of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT).

Saïd’s dream map isn’t a single map at all, but a one-stop, layered view of the world’s crises — aggregating data on conflict, displacement, funding, infrastructure, population, and satellite imagery into a single, accessible platform for decision-making.

We discuss:

• What information management really means in humanitarian contexts — beyond tools and technology
• Why decision-making often struggles to connect field realities with available data
• How aggregating existing datasets can unlock faster, smarter responses to crises
• The role of APIs, open source data, and platforms like HOT and Civ API
• Why better data doesn’t replace human judgment — but strengthens it

This episode is a deep dive into how data becomes information, and how information becomes action — especially when lives are at stake.

Urban crises are some of the hardest environments to map — and yet that’s where millions of the world’s most vulnerable people live.

In this episode of 15-Minute Maps, Hugo Powell is joined by Yann Rebois, Earth Observation Strategist at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and former Head of Geodata & Analytics at the ICRC. Drawing on decades of field experience and satellite analysis, Yann shares his vision for a map that can finally make urban vulnerability visible.

Yann’s dream map focuses on one of humanitarian response’s biggest blind spots: understanding who lives where in dense, damaged, and rapidly changing cities — and what “habitability” really means after conflict or disaster.

Together, they discuss:

• Why population estimates break down in urban crises
• The limits of building footprints and satellite imagery in cities
• How proxies like water tanks and solar panels can reveal where people have returned
• Why “destroyed” doesn’t always mean “uninhabited”
• How GIS and Earth observation directly shape medical, water, and vaccination responses
• The challenge of detecting flooding and damage in dense urban environments

This episode offers a rare inside look at how satellite data, field knowledge, and humanitarian logistics come together — and why better urban maps are essential for effective aid.