Do you love maps? Welcome home!

Who are we?

  • We’re a professional association for people who create maps, study them, support mapmaking technologies, teach about maps, and simply love the world of mapping. As a former executive director liked to say, “Ooh! Aah! NICE!”
  • We’re a curious, collegial, and supportive community, with a diverse mix of students, early professionals, and seasoned experts. People join us because they want to learn how to make better maps and better understand mapping. As some of our members say, “NACIS is nicest!”
  • Much of our work involves spreading information and tools to encourage better maps and better cartographers, both for our members and across the wider community. We emphasize generosity and spreading knowledge—volunteering and open access run deep in our culture.

What do we do?

  • Each October, we hold an annual meeting where our members can connect, share knowledge, network and build relationships, and exchange tricks of the trade.
  • We publish Cartographic Perspectives, a top open-access journal of cartography, and encourage members to participate.
  • We run an annual mentorship program open to members, connecting cartographers and related professionals at various stages of their career.
  • We publish the biennial Atlas of Design, the most prominent global showcase of cartographic design.
  • We host Natural Earth, the most widely-used set of open-source geographic data for small-scale mapping
  • We provide over 1000 videos from past conferences on all aspects of cartography in our YouTube library

How can I get involved?

  • Become a member! We are committed to keeping membership affordable to all, and welcome you to our community.
  • Come to the annual conference: this is the heart of what we are, and while it can be a lot packed into just a few days, we’d love to see you there!
  • Donate to NACIS. Help support our annual meeting and operations through gifts and donations.
  • You can volunteer. We are an all-volunteer organization, and we are always looking for people passionate about what we do.
  • Spread the word! Do you have colleagues or classmates whose cup of tea this sounds like? Send them a link!