(Miami, Florida) — The City of Miami’s GIS Team will host a full day of activities in celebration of 2008 Geographic Information System (GIS) Day. The event will be held on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008  from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Miami Riverside Center Lobby, 444 SW Second Avenue, Miami, Florida. This year’s theme is Discovering the World through GIS. The event is free and open to the public.

Mayor Manny Diaz has proclaimed Wednesday, November 19th as GIS Day as part of National Geographic Society’s Geography Awareness Week celebrations. 

Held as part of the National Geographic Society’s Awareness Week and Geography in Action! initiative, GIS Day is an international grassroots event to promote geographic literacy in schools, communities, and organizations.  In celebration of 2008 GIS Day, students from Center of Life Academy will join City of Miami employees to learn hands-on how GIS technology is used to better understand how suitable a particular location is, enabling planners, analysts, and others to make informed decisions about their communities.

Other activities surrounding 2008 GIS Day include:
• City of Miami’s map gallery from several City of Miami departments including Sustainable Initiatives, Public Works, Planning, Elevate Miami, Police, and more
• GIS Theater
• Informational sessions
• Demonstrations
• Raffles and more 

GIS Day provides an opportunity for those curious about GIS to see its applications in action. A GIS is a computer-based mapping tool that takes information from a database about a location, such as streets, buildings, water features, and terrain, and turns it into visual layers. 

For more information, contact Regina Hagger at gisday@miamigov.com or 305- 416-1749.