Wikimedia CH/Grant apply/Open Source Map View

Infodata

• Name of the project: Open Source Map View
• Amount requested: 5 000 CHF
• Type of grantee: ORGANIZATION: Open Portal Archive Network
• Name of the contact: Bettina Fabos
• Contact: fabospm.me

In case of questions, please write to grantwikimedia.ch

The problem and the context

What is the problem you're trying to solve?

The Open Portal Archive Network (OPAN) https://opanglobal.org is an international network of place-based, public photo and audiovisual history platforms developed to preserve, display, and share local and vernacular history. We are based in Geneva, Switzerland, and have discovered (and currently represent) like-minded platforms from across Europe (Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Malta, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Switzerland), the Americas (U.S.A, Argentina, Chile) and Israel. Our members are passionate about preserving amazing family photographs before they are thrown out; finding hidden histories; and elevating the stories of everyday people that have been omitted from national narratives by the structures of power and privilege. OPAN members have:

• made thousands of incredible pieces of private history publicly available for creative use through CC licensing
• developed deeply intuitive, easy-to-navigate interfaces that organize image files according to place, time and theme – with everyday users in mind (rather than archivists)
• continually curate family collections so that the most meaningful, magical, and relevant photos drive exploration
• combine family photos with public domain historical photos of recognizable places
• encourage stories a) through the mere juxtaposition of photographs along a timeline; and b) through sophisticated digital storytelling tools built into the platform

Open Portal Archive Network (OPAN) aims to partner with Wikimedia CH towards completing a nearly done, shareable open source interactive map view experience, which will become the base code for a future networked mega portal for all OPAN member projects and shared widely through the Wikimedia Commons. “Map view” will automatically position images in an engaging map environment.

Project goals

We seek to combine OpenStreetMap data, with geolocation “place library” data, so that photographs can be mapped to a) a very specific geolocation point, or b) to a general place represented by a geometric “polygon” shape for every country, region, and town in Europe. The “Map view” project was initially funded by a U.S. federal government (National Endowment for the Humanities) grant awarded to OPAN member Fortepan US. Before we could implement the number clusters and thumbnail images (intended to appear across the map), the U.S. government terminated our funding ($40,000 out of $150,000) in March, 2025, greatly harming the overall project, which included building a sophisticated photomatching “streetview” application. We are seeking Wikimedia CH funding in the amount of 5 000 CHF to finish the “Map view” code. This finished map interface will in turn immediately accelerate the Swiss-based platform project that OPAN is designing for international Geneva (“geneveMonde 2.0”), as a test for more Swiss-related open source cultural heritage geolocation project work.

Project impact

How will you know if you have met your goals?

The complete geneveMonde project, including map view is:

• an exciting tool designed to showcase Geneva's cultural heritage, including a selection of audiovisual archives from international organizations in Geneva, which depends on the map view.
• the basis for a larger platform experience to serve cultural heritage across Switzerland.
• a means for testing the integration of Geneva and Swiss family photos into the Wikimedia Commons, thereby democratizing the visual history of Geneva and Switzerland.
• a great incentive to partner with Wikimedia CH, to connect more institutional partners from Geneva and Switzerland into the Wikimedia Commons, and to integrate newly uploaded images into Wikipedia articles.
• the beginning of a “digital creativity hub” or “exploration and engagement tool” that could be one day integrated or otherwise aligned with Wikimedia Commons.

Do you have any goals or metrics around participation or content?

We hope this small project–to complete already solid, proven code–and a Wikimedia CH partnership can lead to many more engaging uses of the Wikimedia Commons and Swiss cultural heritage. We also hope we can help Switzerland become a model for best practice community engagement with virtually reunited vernacular and place-based photographs.

Project plan

Activities

• Develop a place-based library for Geneva
• Develop image clusters for the interactive map
• Develop thumbnail capability so a geolocated map image will appear as a user zooms in.

Budget

We are requesting 5 000 CHF through the Rapid Grant category.

• Jonathan Voss, 4 595 CHF: As the main developer for Kronofoto and Fortepan US, Voss’ research and development work is essential to the success of this project. He will find solutions to and develop code for the mapview adaptation. Voss is a Research Associate in the Geography Department at the University of Northern Iowa. Support is requested for 85 hours of his time over one month. His rate is 54 CHF per hour.

• University of Northern Iowa Indirect cost (8.1%) 405 CHF

Community engagement

The geneveMonde project aims to collectively build the history of international Geneva through community involvement. We will invite community members to share private historical photos from their own collections and incorporate these photos into the platform overall, including the new and engaging Map View. The Map View part of the application will allow people to geolocate the photographs according to specific locations, but also to explore thousands of other historical photographs that are relevant to their lives.

As an open source project, the finished Map View code will also be available on GitHub and add to the open source development community.

Decision

The grant is accepted and confirmed with the amount of 5000.--Medea7 (talk) 20:10, 25 February 2026 (UTC)