Find out more about .IE Digital Town Awards
Prize fund of €100,000 available to help towns develop digitally
For the second year running The Western Development Commission are proud sponsors of The Community Digital Award which will shine a light on initiatives and projects that support improvements in communities across the country. Our Connected Hubs Project is sponsoring the Digital Change Maker category.
.IE, the national registry for .ie domain names, is delighted to announce that entries are now open for the .IE Digital Town Awards 2023. This year the awards also welcomes a new partner, Vodafone. The awards, now in their 3rd year, recognise and reward 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. The .IE Digital Town Awards promote awareness, knowledge, use and understanding of digital by citizens, businesses and communities. Winners will be announced at a Gala event on Wednesday 24th May.
The .IE Digital Town Awards have ten categories for entry:
- 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
- Digital Local Hero
Welcoming the announcement Allan Mulrooney, Interim CEO of the Western Development Commission said;
We are delighted to be supporting the .IE awards in 2023 and in particular, highlighting new initiatives and projects that support improvements for local communities. With many people choosing to relocate to towns and villages in the western region, it is often the local community who are the driving force behind changes that support both the locals and those newcomers to an area.
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. 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”.
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.
Closing date for entries is Friday 3rd March 2023.
More information on the .IE Digital Town Awards, key dates, entry guidelines and FAQ’s can be found here
Follow .IE on Twitter and at #DigitalTownAwards
The .IE Digital Towns Awards is an initiative of .IE, the national registry for .ie domain names.
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