GIS Day

GIS Day is an annual event celebrating geographic information systems (GIS) based technologies on the third Wednesday of November. The event first took place in 1999.^[1] It was initiated by spatial analytics software provider Esri. Esri president and co-founder Jack Dangermond credits Ralph Nader with being the person who inspired the creation of GIS Day.^[2] He considered the event a good initiative for people to learn about geography and the many uses of GIS. He wanted GIS Day to be a grassroots effort and open to everyone to participate.

GIS Day
NOAA Earth System image, a GIS example
Also called	Geographic Information Systems Day
Observed by	Worldwide
Significance	To promote awareness and understanding of Geographic Information Systems technology and its application.
Celebrations	Educational workshops and seminars, map exhibitions and competitions, community mapping projects, guest lectures and panel discussions, interactive demonstrations, etc.
Date	Third Wednesday in November
2024 date	November 20  (2024-11-20)
2025 date	November 19  (2025-11-19)
2026 date	November 18  (2026-11-18)
2027 date	November 17  (2027-11-17)
Frequency	Annual
First time	November 1999
Related to	Geography Awareness Week

Today, the event provides an international forum for users of GIS technology from across the GIS industry to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in society.^[3] Originally the Canada Geographic Information System developed in the 1960s by Roger Tomlinson, it is now used worldwide.

Original sponsors of GIS Day included the following organizations:

• National Geographic Society
• American Association of Geographers (AAG), formerly Association of American Geographers
• University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)
• United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• Library of Congress
• Sun Microsystems^{[citation needed]}
• Hewlett-Packard
• Esri
• King Saud University

Additional resources

• GeoMentors Program