Dataharvest 2024 - the European Investigative Journalism Conference

Drought in the Suez canal, Houthi attacks on vessels in the Bab Al-Mandab strait, European sanctions on Russian oil, intensified hurricanes across oceans, the establishment of a new Arctic route – these are just some of the disruptions currently affecting world’s main maritime routes. How can we show the complexity and effects of such inter-related events? What processes lie behind the production and visualisation of this sort of information? In short: how can we turn all this into a map (and a good one)? Every day, a team at Le Monde meticulously gathers data, discusses with practitioners, shipping industry actors, researchers, analysts and big data agencies to produce a cartography of global maritime phenomena. In this session, Riccardo Pravettoni, journalist and cartographer at Le Monde will explain in detail how he and his team work to get from the initial idea to the final result. He will showcase real cases, with all their hurdles, reverses, tough decisions and "eureka moments". Drawing on 15 years of experience in cartography, Riccardo will also talk about avoiding some of the common mistakes in working with geographical data.