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This event will be about mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) for non-profit and social change organizations. Facilitated by Jeremy Hefner from Avencia, it will include panelists and practical how-to guidelines.

What you’ll learn by attending:

How can you present your message geographically?

Matthew Fisher of Night Kitchen Interactive will share the upcoming PhilaPlace.org resource which is working to “illuminate the history and culture of Philadelphia’s unique neighborhoods” through an interactive map of personal stories connected to specific locations.

How can you engage the public and crowd-source the collection of data?

Katie Edwards of Clean Air Council will share the tools used to create IdleFreePhilly.org, a site for the public to report idling vehicles around the city and collectively work to reduce air pollution.

How can freely available Census data help you accomplish your mission?

Laura Blackstone of the US Census Bureau will share how to access the census data, what sort of information is available, and how you can incorporate it into your work.

How can GIS inform policy and directly engage the public in the political process?

Tamara Manik-Perlman of Avencia will discuss RedistrictingTheNation.com/Philadelphia a joint project with Committee of 70 to study the gerrymandering of legislative districts and present it to the public in an easy to use website.

….and perhaps one more thing (as Jeremy does his Steve Jobs impersonation)

RSVP via the Meetup page; tweet your followers, facebook your peeps, and pencil the date on your calendar because we’re getting our GIS on.

In advance of this event, from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, New Tactics in Human Rights is hosting an online dialogue on this very subject:

New Tactics is pleased to feature ‘Geo-Mapping for Human Rights,’ as the topic of our October featured online dialogue. Join New Tactics, our co-moderator, Christian Kreutz, and our featured resource practitioners from October 28 – November 3, 2009 in a conversation about the ways in which geographical mapping has been used to share critical information, promote transparency and engage communities.

With the growing use of satellite imagery and easy-to-use technology, geographical maps are being used more often by human rights organizations. These maps can help an organization map crises, places of heritage, visualize data, monitor the impact of conflict, uncover critical evidence, and more! The goal of this dialogue will be to take the stories shared by practitioners with experience using these tools and tactics and draw out lessons to enable other organizations to strategically apply these resources.