GIS Day is an annual event celebrating geographic information systems (GIS) based technologies. 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. 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.

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. 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

GIS Day is celebrated on the third Wednesday in November; upcoming dates:

• Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Additional resources

• GeoMentors Program