Written by Msilikale Msilanga

Resilience Academy is working in partnership with GIZ to empower young university alumni by involving them in flood mapping activities in Tanga. This initiative provides hands-on learning opportunities focused on using mobile phones for data collection.

As part of this effort, 18 recent graduates from Ardhi University are participating in the fieldwork. Before beginning data collection, they received training on essential skills, including mobile data collection techniques and the use of Open Data Kit (ODK). ODK is a widely used open-source tool for humanitarian data collection, enabling the capture of various data types such as geospatial coordinates, photos, and survey responses.

Through this initiative, the alumni gained practical experience using ODK to collect local data relevant for flood-related decision-making. Additionally, the participants learned techniques for community engagement, helping them not only to gather data effectively but also to raise awareness among local residents about flood resilience.

The methodology and data collected during this exercise will be shared with Green and Smart Cities SASA partners and relevant government institutions to support the continuation of data collection efforts. The data will also be integrated into the Climate Resilience Dashboard (CRD) for the wider accessibility and use.