NASA Lifelines Mural Program

BOGOTÁCOLOMBIA

Brought to you in partnership by
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Lifelines Crisis Readiness Accelerator [Learn More]
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Mr. Garek (Jean Betancourt)

Special thanks to el Edificio Jorge Garcés Borrero for their partnership and gracious donation of the wall for the mural, and to Tito Pabon for donating paint for the mural.

Alerts to Save Lives

2026
Alerts to Save Lives by Mr. Garek explores the connection between people, technology, and resilience in a world increasingly shaped by environmental and humanitarian challenges. Viewed from space, Earth sits beneath a vast celestial sky, reflecting the network of satellites that continuously monitor our planet and provide critical information about floods, droughts, wildfires, and other hazards.

At the heart of the mural, three interconnected portraits represent past, present, and future generations. Together they symbolize the knowledge, experience, and hope that communities draw upon to adapt and endure. Their presence reminds us that resilience is built collectively, carried forward through shared responsibility and lived experience.

Scenes of everyday life and emergency response connect this global perspective to realities on the ground, illustrating how information gathered from space can support decisions that help people prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises. The Earth observation satellite bridging these worlds serves as a symbol of how science and technology become practical tools in service of communities.
Through images of Earth, satellites, responders, and families, Alerts to Save Lives tells a story of connection: from orbit to community and from one generation to the next. It is a reminder that timely information, local knowledge, and collective action can help create a safer and more resilient future.
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Bogotá

As Colombia’s capital and largest city, Bogotá faces a range of environmental challenges shaped by its location in the Andes Mountains and its rapid urban growth. Seasonal flooding, landslides on surrounding hillsides, drought, wildfires, and water scarcity can all affect communities across the city.

Home to more than 11 million people, Bogotá has become a regional leader in disaster risk management and climate resilience. The city uses scientific data, monitoring systems, and early warning networks to help anticipate hazards, reduce risk, and support emergency response before disasters occur.

As the city continues to grow and evolve, strengthening preparedness and resilience remains an ongoing priority for Bogotá and communities throughout Colombia.



Partner spotlights


Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (IGAC)

IGAC is Colombia’s national authority for geographic information, cartography, and land data. It produces and maintains the country’s official maps, geospatial datasets, and territorial information systems that support planning, environmental management, and disaster risk analysis across Colombia.

Through initiatives such as the Observatorio de la Tierra y el Territorio, IGAC integrates satellite imagery, geospatial data, and territorial analysis to monitor changes across the country and support decision-making in areas affected by hazards such as flooding and landslides. These systems provide foundational information for risk analysis, territorial planning, and emergency response.

As part of the NASA Lifelines Crisis Readiness Accelerator, IGAC is developing an AI-powered geospatial chatbot designed to provide rapid access to official hazard, cartographic, and regulatory information. The goal is to make trusted geospatial data easier to access and use in moments when timely information is critical for decision-making and response.
By connecting national-scale geospatial infrastructure, observational systems, and new AI-driven interfaces, IGAC is helping bridge the gap between complex territorial data and the people and institutions who rely on it supporting faster, more informed action before and during emergencies.

3iS (3i Solutions)

3iS es una organización de innovación geoespacial enfocada en transformar datos de observación de la Tierra en herramientas prácticas para la toma de decisiones, la alerta temprana y la respuesta humanitaria. Su trabajo conecta información satelital, plataformas digitales y diseño centrado en la comunidad para apoyar la acción en momentos de riesgo.

Como parte del programa Ready for Impact del Acelerador de Preparación para Crisis de NASA Lifelines, 3iS lidera la iniciativa Pachamama: Tecnología y Conocimiento para la Alerta Temprana Amazónica. El proyecto responde a los recurrentes eventos de inundación, deslizamientos de tierra y desbordamientos en la cuenca del río Putumayo, que han afectado a miles de personas en comunidades rurales e indígenas en los últimos años.

En el marco de su trabajo más amplio, 3iS desarrolla herramientas geoespaciales que ayudan a identificar y responder a riesgos humanitarios y ambientales emergentes. Esto incluye enfoques basados en satélites para detectar y caracterizar nuevos asentamientos informales en Colombia, contribuyendo a mejorar la visibilidad de comunidades que de otro modo podrían quedar excluidas de los procesos de planificación y respuesta. También trabajan en plataformas geoespaciales como VIGIA (Visor Geoespacial de Información y Análisis de Amenazas), que consolida y visualiza información sobre amenazas y exposición a diferentes escalas territoriales para apoyar la preparación y la respuesta a emergencias.

A través de estas iniciativas, 3iS impulsa un modelo en el que los datos satelitales, el conocimiento local y las herramientas digitales accesibles se combinan para apoyar una acción más temprana y una preparación más sólida en Colombia y la región amazónica.
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get to know The artist

Mr. Garek (Jean Betancourt)

Mr. Garek (Jean Betancourt) is an urban artist and muralist born in Caracas, Venezuela, and based in Bogotá since 2018. His work brings together contemporary muralism, illustration, and symbolic realism, exploring themes such as migration, identity, and the transformation of place. Through the concept of the “migrant seed,” he depicts how those who migrate enrich the places they come to inhabit. With more than a decade of experience, he has taken part in festivals and interventions across Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, France, and the Caribbean, and has developed community projects in Bogotá and surrounding municipalities.






3iSolutions (3iS)

3iS is a geospatial innovation organization focused on transforming Earth observation data into practical tools for decision-making, early warning, and humanitarian response. Their work connects satellite information, digital platforms, and community-centered design to support action in moments of risk.

As part of the NASA Lifelines Crisis Readiness Accelerator – Ready for Impact program, 3IS is leading the Pachamama: Technology and Knowledge for Amazonian Early Warning initiative. The project responds to recurring flooding, landslides, and overflow events in the Putumayo River basin, which have affected thousands of people across rural and indigenous communities in recent years.

Across their broader work, 3IS develops geospatial tools that help identify and respond to emerging humanitarian and environmental risks. This includes satellite-based approaches for detecting and characterizing new informal settlements in Colombia, helping improve visibility of communities that may otherwise be excluded from planning and response processes. They also work on geospatial platforms such as VIGIA (Visor Geoespacial de Información y Análisis de Amenazas), which consolidates and visualizes information on hazards and exposure across territorial scales to support preparedness and emergency response.

Through these initiatives, 3IS advances a model where satellite data, local knowledge, and accessible digital tools come together to support earlier action and stronger preparedness across Colombia and the Amazonian region.
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About Lifelines Murals

The Lifelines Mural program is a global art initiative that engages local artists and communities to create murals that shed light on the ways satellite data and tools are helping communities become more resilient.