Finalists: Digital Rising Star
Athlone – Digital TV station for the Polish community
Polish TV has created a pioneering opportunity to use digital technology to tell the stories of the community in a modern way. It has over 50 recordings and live streams available on the internet channel which provide informative programmes for Polish migrants, consisting of interviews with experts who talk about various aspects of Irish civil society.
Boher – Let’s all code together
All things digital have been embraced in Boher by introducing inclusive, creative coding for children and their families in the community digital hub and primary school. It allows people learn new skills in a collaborative and fun way. The programme broke down the barriers of fear with regards to computing and coding with user friendly, colourful workshops.
Drogheda – Drawda Urban Art Trail and Digital Legacy
Drawda Urban Art Trail was developed to reinvigorate lesser visited spaces in the town with public art bringing to life stories of characters from mythology. The murals and art installations are promoted through the use of QR codes, audio trails, digital maps and brochures as well as on social media and websites of partner organisations. To ensure longevity of the project and provide a behind-the-scenes view, videos recordings of the ‘making of the murals’ were published on YouTube.
Enniscorthy – Enjoy Enniscorthy Virtual Hub – a community based digital initiative
The Enjoy Enniscorthy initiative is a community based digital project with the aim of promoting Enniscorthy as a smart and sustainable place to live, work, invest and visit. The town has struggled economically and the community decided that digital innovation was needed to reimagine Enniscorthy’s story.
Julianstown – Agri-Kids farm safe fun App
AgriKids is a leader in farm safety education for children. This social enterprise promotes farm safety messaging through the Farm Safe Fun App. The website also has a range of downloadable classroom materials, story books and clothing accessories with safety features. A virtual reality game allows children to travel around a farm and place safety signs at key locations. A multimedia game zone was created which is compatible with classroom whiteboards. To date, 70,000 children have taken part in farm safety webinars and online events addressing the important issue of farm safety in Ireland, where more than 4,500 farm accidents take place each year.
Tinahely – The Bee Sanctuary – a digitally focused project with international reach
This bee sanctuary was set up to tackle the biodiversity crisis and raise awareness of the current threats to bees. The website has a booking feature for farm tours. With clever use of Twitter hashtags the bee sanctuary has reached a global audience. Now featuring in the Metaverse, they continue to educate the public on sustainability practices. Within 5 years, they have gone from a ‘bricks and mortar’ project advocating for bees and nature locally to a digitally focused project with international reach.