Geography Awareness Week – November 16-21

The Office of the Prime Minister/Spatial Data Management Division, in collaboration with the Land Information Council of Jamaica (LICJ, will this year celebrate Geography Awareness Week/Geography Information Systems Day (GIS), from November 16-21.
Jamaica’s theme for this year’s celebration is “GIS: Driving Response – Ability” and is celebrated worldwide in order to raise awareness about the ways in which GIS and its many applications can assist in improving response time in areas such as emergency services, disaster management and security.
A series of activities will be highlighted throughout the week, which include an Executive Forum at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on November 12; Church Service and brunch on November 16 which will feature various artistes including the group SLR of Digicel Rising Stars.
There will also be a GIS Exposition at the University of the West Indies in Kingston on November 19, where numerous activities will take place such as a GIS Bee, technical presentations, map competition, Global Positioning Systems treasure hunt, and many other geospatial activities. LICJ member organisations will also be hosting GIS Open House sessions during the week.
The primary goal of the Geography Awareness Week/GIS Day is to promote the awareness of geography education, while demonstrating its relevance and also to increase awareness and educate children, adults and the general public about GIS technologies and related career paths.
“The public and private sectors are challenged to deliver improved services at low cost. GIS is just one of a variety of tools that we can use to help us succeed”, according to the National GIS Co-ordinator, Ms Cecille Blake. She has extended an invitation to the public to participate in the week of activities to learn more about the GIS and its role.