Hello @915
Nice to E-meet you here on connect and a hearty welcome to you.
It’s interesting that you noticed that there haven’t been physical meet-ups organised in Portugal before now. Well I’ll say just go ahead and organise one like you rightly suggested. Have you had a look on the meet-up category of connect to see how to organise a meet up of local guides? If not please do so.
Regarding your project is it a group chat you’re talking about? actually that’s ok. Is it an app like another platform for interactions or something like that? My feeling is that connect forum is the main and official platform for all local guides across the globe to meet and interact. Maybe another one isn’t just necessary. You can source for local guides in Portugal on other social media forum and refer them to connect. That way we can have one big community and stay together.
In general,I don’t know what kind of support or green light you mean. Nevertheless we as local guides implement our ideas and forge ahead as long as it’s not against the guidelines and policies of the local guides program and Google as an entity.
I have an initiative Called TRAC. Here is our index page!. It’s a group of local guides adding roads to improve Google maps. We have a Telegram group chat as well,but they are all unofficial. We have An event going now,Click here to see.. Just to give you an idea of what local guides do to improve the maps.
I hope this answers a few of your questions and gives you an idea of what the local guides program is and how to go about things.
Happy guiding
Cheers