Tell Us About Yourself
My name is Kseniia. Right now, I am a student in the International Cartography Master program, but before starting my studies, I worked for many years as an analyst in the field of urban and transport planning. I think it’s because this field often involves working with different barriers (physical, social or political) to improve life in cities, it influenced my interest in complex issues like politics, accessibility, inclusion, human rights, including digital rights, which became this map topic. I believe maps can be a great way to tell complicated stories.
Sometimes I become very frustrated when I have a fascinating story in mind, but lack the experience or artistic sensibility to visualize it properly. Nevertheless, mapmaking is one of the things I am very passionate about. Outside of work and study, I enjoy walking and exploring cities, hiking, and spending time with family and friends. I’ve moved between countries five times in the last three years, so I guess you could say I’m a bit of a traveler too.
And I love meeting new people, so if anyone wants to connect, here is my LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kseniia-nifontova
Tell us the story behind your map (what inspired you to make it, what did you learn while making it, or any other aspects of the map or its creation you would like people to know)
The map was done as part of the Project Map Creation course at TU Wien in the summer semester of 2024. We were free to choose a topic, and this idea about internet freedom, shutdowns in particular, came up through a discussion with my close friend who works in this field. I told her my initial thoughts, and she gave me an idea about the data and helped me understand it.
Internet shutdowns are limitations of communication technologies, including popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as SMS and phone calls, often to control access to information. We usually see the internet as a network connecting the most remote parts of the world. Still, shutdowns and other internet freedom limitations are organized, so the world is more disconnected than it may seem.
I truly enjoyed creating this map, and as I said, I like complex topics, but it goes along with some choices. The map concerns internet shutdowns, which are very political and often connected with separatism or military conflicts. So cartography is never completely neutral, so even though I used datasets from reliable sources, I understand that the way I visualized it, the context I gave, and the words I used represent my point of view.
The thing I want to highlight about the topic is that, unfortunately, the number of shutdowns is growing, and they happen even in countries we consider democratic. It’s pretty alarming.
Tell is about the Tools, data, etc., that you used to make the map
The map was mainly based on #KeepItOn STOP dataset by Access Now, one of the leading non-profit organizations for digital rights, I really admire their work. For the country’s boundaries, I used the UN dataset. The whole work was done with QGIS, which I used for layout creation and pixelized representation (grid tool), and Adobe Illustrator for the rest.
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