.IE, the national registry for .ie domain names, is calling for town and community groups to submit their entries for the .IE Digital Town Awards 2023.
Now in their third year, the awards recognise projects created by town groups and local communities that have a digital element, supporting Ireland’s digital development.
They offer a prize fund of €100,000 which is split across the 10 categories: Digital Education; Digital Tourism, sponsored by AIB Merchant Services; Community Digital, sponsored by the Western Development Commission; Digital Business, sponsored by Vodafone; Agri-tech; Digital Sustainability; Newcomer; Digital Rising Star; Digital Change Maker, sponsored by Connected Hubs; and Digital Local Hero.
The .IE Digital Town Awards promote awareness, knowledge, use and understanding of digital by citizens, businesses and communities. The closing date for entries is Friday, 3 May, and the winners will be announced a gala event on Wednesday, 24 May.
Welcoming the launch of this year’s awards, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Neale Richmond said: "I’m delighted to be here today to launch these awards which celebrate the efforts made by local groups to embrace digital and their work to give back to their towns and villages.
In Association with
"Digitalising towns promotes innovation and breathes new life into our communities, making them more attractive places to live and work as well as contributing to a more sustainable future. I would encourage local groups to apply and wish all applicants the best of luck."
Oonagh McCutcheon, national director of the .IE Digital Town Programme, added: "The purpose of our .IE Digital Town Awards is to reward and honour local towns, community groups and volunteers who go above and beyond for their locality, driving digital development and innovations.
"The strength of the entries year on year show how digital innovation is happening in towns across Ireland, driving those towns forward and fuelling local economies. With ten distinct award categories this year, we are excited to see what Ireland has to offer.
"We are also delighted to welcome our new partner, Vodafone, who share our passion for ensuring technology continues to enable and empower communities across Ireland to thrive.”
Sinéad Bryan, managing director at Vodafone Business, said: "At Vodafone, our goal is to be a connectivity and technology partner to our customers the length and breadth of Ireland.
"We are delighted to support the .IE Digital Town Awards 2023 which cements our commitment to powering inclusion through technology and enabling a better Ireland through use of digital."
Projects submitted for consideration could include building a new town website, launching an app, developing a digital hub/coworking space, investing in digital signage or providing digital training and workshops for the local community.
The overall winner from 2022 was Piltown, Co Kilkenny – ‘Broadband 4 our community’. Gleann Cholm Cille was winner of the Digital Tourism award and the Digital Local Hero winner was Eoin Costello of DigitalHQ Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
Photo: (l-r) Oonagh McCutcheon, Sinéad Bryan, and Neale Richmond. (Pic: Naoise Culhane)
