Blog | The .IE Digital Town Awards 2023
People and towns across Ireland are being called on to enter the .IE Digital Town Awards 2023 which celebrate the digital achievements of local towns and citizens across the country.
Now open for applications, the .IE Digital Town Awards celebrates local towns and individuals who have used digital projects to enhance areas such as digital tourism, community, education, digital business, agri-tech, and sustainability. This year also welcomes a Newcomer category, specifically for projects at the early stage of development that are harnessing the benefits of digital to promote a local initiative.
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. The .IE Digital Town Awards in partnership with Vodafone 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.
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. 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, .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.”
Representing Vodafone, Sinéad Bryan, Managing Director, 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/co-working 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
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