A national access point for transport data, a GIS platform on health inequalities and a digital twin of Sofia's Sredets district will be shown for the first time on 18 November in Sofia, Esri Bulgaria said. They will feature at the conference for the 27th World GIS Day at the Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia.
Guests from abroad will also take part.
Earlier: Transport data, a health map and a 3D model of Sredets at GIS Day
The organisers expect more than 900 Bulgarian and foreign experts. The partners are more than 70 business, academic, non-governmental and media organisations. The motto is "GIS: The power to build a smart future together".
The Ministry of Transport and Communications will show the new access point. It is part of the "Single Information Point" platform and collects static and dynamic data on the transport network and public transport across Bulgaria. The system suggests routes and gives the public access to the data.
The Medical University of Varna built its platform in a research project funded by the Science Fund. It maps people's health and the human, material and financial resources of the health system. It also assesses the risk of natural and man-made disasters and how ready each region is to respond.
The Sredets twin will be shown live. It brings together a photorealistic 3D model of the district, urban planning analyses and real-time data in one place.
The system of the Black Sea Region Basin Directorate is interactive and tracks how reports are handled, so the work on them is transparent. Targovishte council will present a system for land-use planning and for managing properties in its industrial park.
A special guest is Mark Gilik, head of a team at the humanitarian organisation MapAction. He will talk about how maps help in disasters and crises. He will use the floods in Mozambique in early 2026 as an example. Local authorities and the UN then used GIS analysis to find more than 600,000 people cut off by water. They also planned rescue routes and helicopter flights.
Brooks Patrick, global manager for "Smart Cities and Regional Development" at Esri, is coming specially for the conference. He will talk about attracting investment to Italian cities, the Rail Baltica railway corridor and work with the OSCE.
Esri Bulgaria manager Miglena Kuzmanova says GIS technology is helping the state and business more and more, from transport and health care to the urban environment and crisis response. "World GIS Day is a chance to show the real results of how it is used," she said. Kuzmanova thinks the event shows how institutions, business and science together open new opportunities for Bulgaria's development.
Projects on the environment, local government, utilities, communications, security and education will also be shown live. A separate session will present what is new in ArcGIS, including AI assistants, digital twins, links to CAD and BIM, image analysis, real-time monitoring and mobile apps for fieldwork.
A virtual exhibition will open with projects from the national "Exploring the World with GIS" 2026 competition, held under the patronage of the Ministry of Education and Science. Teachers, schoolchildren, students and doctoral students will receive awards for the best interactive lessons and story maps.
That evening, the winners of the second National Student Hackathon "GIS and Climate: Solutions for the Future" will be announced. At the end, annual awards will go to organisations, teams and experts for special achievements in GIS.