Last month, to celebrate Connect’s 5th Birthday and your contributions, we asked you about your favorite initiatives that you created or supported during your journey as Local Guides over the years. We loved reading your responses and seeing how much you support each other and your communities!
Today, we want to take the time to appreciate what you do as Local Guides on Connect, Google Maps, and in real life.
Note: Some responses have been edited for clarity and brevity. Please follow the links to see the original responses.
“My favorite initiatives with the India Local Guides community are:
- The Unity Walk - Across Nation Mission: [We did] 105 meet-ups to correct the information [on Google Maps] after the lockdown, so we can help the small businesses.
- India’s First Virtual Meet-up - Let’s Make India United: During the lockdown, I decided to host India’s first virtual meet-up, where we shared knowledge about the Local Guides program, its rules, the community, and meet-ups. 96 Local Guides joined; after that, India saw a massive wave of virtual meet-ups.
- Make India Green - Tree Planting: 70+ Local Guides invested their time and power in nature. We planted more than 100 saplings.
- Asia One Summit: Let’s Unite Asia: In 2019, the India Local Guides community decided to break all barriers and unite the whole continent of Asia through one intercontinental meet-up.
- The Great Indian Heritage Walk: We started these annual meet-ups in 2018 to share our heritage with the world.
- Women Empowerment of Delhi: A really special meet-up for me. Our Delhi Local Guides group [helped women by] adding their businesses on Google Maps.”
“The One Accessibility Initiative was launched in 2019 after two years of accessibility campaigns from 2017 and an award in 2018. We helped create massive awareness on and off Connect. We helped reach 500 million accessibility info on Google Maps.
In 2019, we created a team with а presence across six continents and currently with over 70 volunteers. In the same year, we started the longest-running Connect post series, Accessibility Uncovered, which has lasted for 80 weeks.
In 2021, due to COVID-19, we migrated our regular physical meet-ups to a virtual format known as the Accessibility Uncovered Webinar Series. And we have hosted the founders of the Global Accessibility Awareness Day among other top advocates.”
“There are so many good initiatives that constantly happen in this program, and I am glad I have been a part of many of them. This year, I also started the #MapsForAll series, which focuses on meeting Local Guides monthly to learn, share tips and knowledge about accessibility [and] ways to help local businesses and reflect [on] inclusivity on Maps!”
“The #StateChallenge weekly meet-ups [have been] going on since last year. [They] were originally started by @Denise_Barlock and @Kwiksatik. I joined the team a few months [ago] to run the meet-ups. We recently decided to expand to #AwarenessChallenge, focusing on causes Local Guides are interested in and [to] create awareness. The first meet-up of this series was ‘Save the Oceans.’”
“I love to arrange different types of programs on this platform. I will share some of my favorite initiatives:
- International cross-country meet-up: In 2017, I took the initiative to arrange a meet-up with the name ‘South Asian Meet-up.’ Local Guides friends from Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India [joined].
- Hands-on technical training in the computer lab: [Between] 2016-2018, we arranged lots of meet-ups for IT students to show them how to add locations on Maps, use the Maps API, and more.
- Culture-based meet-ups: Under the Bangladesh Local Guides banner, we [have] arranged food crawls, visited historical places, shared our culture, and more, all with map editing [activities].
- Charity programs: As human beings, we have some responsibility to help the disadvantaged, so we have arranged a free medical camp, an ‘Inspiring Ramadan’ food distribution program, [and more].
- Mega meet-ups with more than 100 people to promote the Local Guides program.
- [Meet-ups] for promoting small businesses: women-led and local businesses.
- Renewable energy [programs]: carbon-free energy source mapping and a green factory visit.
- Mapathons: a mapping contest for a spam-free map of Bangladesh and a Road Mapper Dos/Don’ts meet-up.”
“I would say Local Guides Clean The Map (#LGCTM) without a doubt. It is truly global in scope. Activities can be done individually or in groups. It gives inspiration on how to improve data quality on Google Maps. A lot of methods were shared to the benefit of Local Guides and the quality of Google Maps.”
“It’s really a good thing to do something new with everyone rather than work alone. If your initiative is good, then people will definitely support you. Some of the initiatives I have done during my five-year journey here on Connect are:
- Sending love from around the world for Connect’s Birthday;
- Let’s celebrate together the 6th Anniversary of Local Guides;
- The Unity Walk with @AmbrishVarshney;
- My contribution towards the environment;
- Let’s Map Public Toilets;
- #LocalGuides Friends Forever.”
“It’s a very long journey for me as а Local Guide. I have taken many initiatives. Here are a few:
- TRIKONOMITI - Sanitary Napkins at Doorsteps;
- Let’s make the world more accessible for girls and women;
- Warm a smile, [distribution of winter clothes and blankets to women and their families].”
“For me, the Local Guides program has given me a global family. United in the West Bengal Local Guides (WBLG), we have started some initiatives, like:
#AccessibleBengal: To update the accessibility status of different places in West Bengal.
#GreenBengalCleanBengal: To update the information on Google Maps about the availability of recyclable items, renewable energy-related items, and bio-organic products in West Bengal.- Community building globally: Along with Local Guides Bangla, we have started the Sonar Bangla Meet-up series between the Bengali Local Guides of two countries, India
and Bangladesh 
. Click here to read the recap of the last meet-up on the occasion of the Bengali New Year.”
“I have written a guide about writing on Connect for beginners to encourage more people to create their first post here.
There are many interesting campaigns [by other Local Guides], but the one that attracts me the most is Local Guides Clean The Map (#LGCTM). I follow all of Jan’s advice to improve my edits on Maps.”
“The major highlight over the past year that I became a Local Guide was bringing like-minded people together to form the Accessibility for All initiative. It is a small group of ten members, of which four were recognized as Accessibility Champions. [It] has inspired many more Local Guides, [who are] passionate about adding accessibility information on Google Maps.”
Discover more inspiring initiatives from Local Guides like you in the comment section of our initiative challenge!
