Humbled and challenged. Lauren Wolfe of Women Under Siege and Souraya (pseudonym) of Syria Tracker joined Chris and I to share stories and lessons learned about Mapping Syria.
We discussed research methodology, verification, their team structure, data quality, data cleanup guidelines, funding models, and post-traumatic stress.
Here are few points that struck us:
- Syria Tracker only approves ~6% of the reports they receive
- Both projects stressed the power of giving voice, being relentless and tenacious in efforts: Don't give up, these projects take time to garner traction.
- Both Lauren and Souraya have dealt with significant mental stress because of the nature of their work, yet push through out of a sense of responsibility.
- Both projects make great effort to protect people who submit information.