Connecting schools around the globe with the Pope

As a bishop in his native Buenos Aires, Pope Francis founded "Escuela de Vecinos" (Neighbor Schools) and "Escuelas Hermanas" (Sister Schools) to allow students in richer and poorer neighborhoods to share their concerns. Today, at the Vatican, a new project was announced, using the Internet and Google tools, allowing students from around the world to communicate. The Pope himself tomorrow will publicly present the new platform.

The initiative, Scholas, seeks to connect schools all over the globe, so that they may learn from one another, share projects and find volunteers to make these projects a reality. Scholas Occurrentes integrates Google Apps for Education.

“Technology and Education are key in tackling the roots of violence”, said Jose María del Corral, Scholas's CoFounder at the press conference held this morning. We are helping "take down the physical barriers and prejudices that stand in the way of peace." Google's Managing Director for Spanish-speaking Latin America Adriana Noreña and representatives of Globant and Line64, responsible for the site´s design and programming, joined him at the Vatican launch.



The initiative comes after a Vatican-sponsored education congress and a soccer match for World Peace held earlier this week, for which Pope Francis I personally invited some of the best soccer players.

Posted by Ana Paula Blanco, Head of Communications for Google Latin America

Google Map Maker expands in Europe

Google Map Maker is an editing tool that enables you, and people around the world, to contribute knowledge and expertise directly to Google Maps. By sharing information about the places you know best, you can ensure that the map accurately reflects the world around you.

Today, we’re launching Google Map Maker in Bulgaria, Italy, San Marino and the Vatican. Share the delights of Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast by adding all of your favorite destinations in the famed resort city of Golden Sands. Lend a hand by improving driving directions through the Italian Riviera, or trace the best hiking trails across San Marino’s Apennine Mountains. Your updates will be reviewed, and once approved, will appear on Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Maps for Mobile for people all over the world to see.

                                      before                                                                             after

A map view of Tuscany, Italy before and after Map Maker users added details to the map 

such as local sport fields and parks

We look forward to seeing the edits you contribute to Google Maps, as we work together to create a comprehensive, accurate and useful map of the world. To get started, join other mappers on the Google Map Maker community forum, explore the Help Center for tips and tricks, or watch mapping in real-time with Map Maker Pulse.

Posted by Nilesh Tathawadekar, Software Engineer, Google Maps