Maps have always been a source of fascination and intrigue. Today’s maps, however, can also help to save lives during disasters, document human rights abuses and monitor elections in countries under repressive rule. This presentation will explain how today’s live maps can combine crowds and clouds to drive social change.

Patrick Meier is Director of Crisis Mapping at Ushahidi—a non-profit technology company voted by MIT’s Technology Review as one of the 50 most innovative companies in the world alongside Facebook. Patrick is also co-founder of the International Network of Crisis Mappers and previously co-directed Harvard University’s Program on Crisis Mapping and Early Warning.

– TEDx, 2011