The international GIS day – analysis of celebrations in Poland and its importance to geographic education

Geographic Information Systems were classified as one of the most important technological „inventions” of the 20th century for geography. GIS, as the content of lectures, and later as a university subject, was introduced at Polish universities and colleges relatively late - only at the beginning of the 1990s. At first, it was an extension of the content scope discussed within the framework of cartography and topography, and only later - as independent lectures and practical classes. An excellent supplement to the content of lectures and practical workshops, as well as an indication of proper students' attitudes towards geoinformation is the International GIS Day organized every year in November for more than 10 years in Poland and worldwide. The objective of this event is to popularize the knowledge about geoinformation systems and their broad applications. The first celebration of this day took place on the 18th of November 1999 in several countries at the same time, and the proposed theme - 'application of GIS is limited only by the imagination of people who use it' - remains valid until now. Since the first shows, one can observe an increasing number of countries and academic, institutional and commercial centres introducing the modern geography to all who are interested in it through this open and interesting form. The research aimed at analysing the previous celebrations of the GIS Day in Poland (2000-2010), as well as making an attempt to determine the significance of this form of sharing the knowledge and skills in geographic education