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7/27/2019 AGS MapStory Ambasadors

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Partnering with Community Philanthropists and Foundationsto put the next generation of geographic minds to workfor their communities and the world…

AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY'S

MAPSTORY AMBASSADORS NETWORK

Every community has countless stories about their history, growth, and evolution over time and yet, veryoften, these stories are lost because no one records them. Understanding our collective past is critical tonavigating our future successfully. These stories, and the data that gives them mass and meaning, canonly be found locally, through intensive engagement with a community’s institutions and citizens.

What better challenge and learning experience for talented kids with few opportunities? Mapping thesedata and stories geographically, as things have changed over time, is a clearly captivating way to organizeand share insights about our community with each other. It is also a compelling way to let kids focuson their hometown, their cultural backgrounds, and the things that inspire them while also providing aunique Summer job that prepares them for a fast growing, technology-oriented career eld – working with

geospatial information. Through a unique partnership between the American Geographical Society (AGS)

and the MapStory Foundation, selected highly motivated young students will be awarded fellowships andserve as digital Ambassadors for their own communities. They will compile powerful data and stories thatare shared with their communities and the rest of the world via www.mapstory.org - preserved for futuregenerations to learn from, and continuously improve.

100 AMBASSADORS ACROSS 10 CITIES

This effort seeks to place 100 selected AGS MapStory Ambassadors in 10 different citiesaround the United States (from rising high school seniors to college students). Each clusterof 10 Ambassadors would be paired with a local mentor who is an expert with the technical

skills to ensure the success of these Ambassadors. Each cluster would pursue independentresearch in collaboration with media outlets, community organizations, local governments,NGOs, or K-12 classrooms that contributes new spatio-temporal data, insights, andnarratives to the global data commons via www.mapstory.org. These fellowships will takeplace from May-September and include an opening orientation and bi-weekly seminarswhere Ambassadors will be introduced to some of the most exciting institutions andinnovators working in the geography sphere today.

www.mapstory.org

@mapstory

7/27/2019 AGS MapStory Ambasadors

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HOW CAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

AND PHILANTHROPISTS HELP?

MapStory and AGS seek to partner with community foundations and philanthropists to fundeach city’s cluster of Ambassadors for the summer. MapStory and the AGS will structureand implement a unique learning experience for the next generation of digital storytellers,in a way that enriches our communities’ understanding of their rich past, complex presentand uncertain future. Each cluster of Ambassadors will engage their community and mineit for insights about how they have changed over time, and share these data, insights andstories with the larger community via www.mapstory.org. AGS and MapStory can do this for$100,000 per city, per summer.

10 Ambassadors at $5000 each: $50,0001 Local Mentor: $20,000

Orientation/Seminars and Technical Support: $25,000Equipment and expenses: $5,000 TOTAL: $100,000 per city cluster

Our experience based on the 2013 Ambassador Program, is that Ambassadors will inventnew ways of thinking about MapStorytelling, and as such will generate new technicalrequirements for www.mapstory.org so that it can help them realize their vision.

Because the Ambassadores will be a part of expanding the technological capability ofMapStory and identifying special projects unique to each community, AGS and MapStory arealso seeking an additional $50,000 to support technical feature development to meet eachcity’s individual Ambassador’s needs for a total contribution of $150,000.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

John Konarski Dr. Christopher TuckerExecutive Director Chairman & CEO

American Geographical Society MapStory Foundation Tel: 718.624.2212 Tel: 703.981.9373

Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]