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Giga maps schools and their connectivity levels, creating a real-time display of access and need.

No one knows how many there are total in the world (we estimate there are 6-7 million) and this map is vital to funders, governments, and for accountability.

Giga uses machine learning to scan satellite images and identify schools. These are then marked by coloured dots on an open-source map: green where there is good connectivity; amber where it is limited; and red where there is no connectivity at all.

With help from its partners, Giga has now mapped the location of over 1 million schools  and has connectivity data for nearly one third of these.

VIEW MAPS OF SCHOOL CONNECTIVITY
On 30 March 2016, Winny Moreira, 17, checks her mobile phone on a street in Taiobeiras municipality in the Southeastern state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Winny was born and raised in Taiobeiras, a town of about 30,000, where she lives with her parents, grandparents and 8-year-old brother, Kennedy Caciano. Winny was 10-years-old when she began using the Internet. During high school, she was cyberbullied and reported the incident to the police. Many of her friends were victims of sexting (sending/receiving sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone) and similar online abuse, which included inappropriate photographs being shared throughout the community. Ashamed of the harassment and bullying they endured, several girls stopped attending school altogether and some even moved away from their community. Winny’s friend, Jessica, now 20, was the victim of cyberbullying, social isolation and embarrassment during high school, when inappropriate images from her mobile phone were shared with her peers in school, following the theft of her phone. The device contained nude images she had taken of herself, but had never shared online. Although Jessica reported the theft to the police, they told her nothing could be done without evidence. Winny supported her friend, and became an advocate against online sexual exploitation and cyberbullying. In 2014, she participated in a UNICEF-supported girl’s empowerment programme in Brasilia and in 2015, was a finalist of UNICEF Brazil’s Safe Surf Campaign for her You Tube video “Internet sem Vacilo,” (Internet without Hesitation). The video provided guidance to girls on the topic of cyberbullying, sexting, online digital citizenship and safety. Last year, Winny graduated from Oswaldo Lucas Mendes Public High School and is now preparing for the national college entrance exam. She would like to attend law school so she can continue her advocacy on behalf of her peers. “I want to study law because I see so much injustic
HOW MAPPING HELPS US CONNECT SCHOOLS

In Colombia, we applied artificial intelligence techniques to automatically map schools from satellite imagery and provide the government the location of 7,000 schools that were not part of their official datasets.

“Giga’s real-time monitoring of schools’ Internet connectivity will help improve the efficiency of resource allocation for digital public goods and services and enhance accountability.”
Rustam Karimjonov
Rustam KarimjonovDeputy Minister of Public Education, Republic of Uzbekistan

Mapping shows where resources are needed.

Many governments do not know where all the schools in their countries are. Without that information, they – and other nongovernmental organizations – cannot effectively provide services or deliver resources to children and their communities. During emergencies, this information can also guide response efforts by informing how to deliver critical information and other supplies.

It shows where there is internet and if it is reliable.

Many governments and organizations are committed to connecting schools to the internet, but do not yet have the ability to monitor whether schools are actually connected and whether connections are of good quality.

It improves access to data for good.

It has been proven that availability and quality of data is considerably higher for wealthier regions. This data inequity leads to disparities in resource allocation, where vulnerable populations are left behind. 

It highlights gaps in infrastructure.

Without knowing where connectivity needs to be extended, governments and investors don’t know how much it will cost, making it more difficult and riskier to finance. 

It establishes market demand.

Because internet service providers cannot measure the size of potential new customers, they struggle to make a case for bringing infrastructure to remote areas. This results in limited investment and increased prices. 

HOW HAS MAPPING HELPED COUNTRIES SO FAR?

Giga has helped the Government of Kyrgyzstan to generate $200k savings per year (40% of its education connectivity budget). By seeing all the schools on a map and their corresponding connectivity, the Government was able to renegotiate contracts and subsequently reduce prices by almost half (from $50/month to $28.5/month) and to almost double speeds (from 2Mbps to 4Mbps).

Learn more about our work in Kyrgyzstan >>

In Niger, Giga developed an algorithm to approximate the location of unmapped schools based on other available data. The algorithm estimated the location of 4,758 previously unmapped schools and overlaid this with electricity data to show where schools had access. In Niamey, Giga successfully used very high-resolution stereo imagery to calculate building heights, providing important information for infrastructure installation planning.

Learn more about our work in Niger >>

In Sierra Leone Giga worked with the government to map distance from communities to schools and to connectivity and use this to map out-of-school children as well as to identify factors (availability of basic infrastructure at schools, learning materials, teacher training) that impact learning outcomes the most.

Learn more about our work in Sierra Leone  >>

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