Louth town and community groups invited to the .IE Digital Town Awards 2023

^{Pictured at the launch of the .IE Digital Town Awards 2023 are from left Oonagh McCutcheon, National Director, .IE Digital Town Programme; Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail Business, Neale Richmond TD; and Sinéad Bryan, Managing Director, Vodafone Business. Pic:Naoise Culhane}

.IE, the national registry for .ie domain names, says it 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 third 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 

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. 

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." 

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.