Final call for applicants for the .IE Dublin Digital Town Awards

.IE has issued a final call for Dublin applicants in the inaugural .IE Digital Town Awards.

The awards, which is ran by the company that manages and maintains Ireland’s country domain name, have been designed to “recognise local community initiatives, town projects and people that have shown how digital projects have contributed to enhancements in areas such as health, tourism, education, public services, employment opportunities, citizen empowerment, and social entrepreneurship.”

The deadline for submitting entries has been extended to facilitate a growing demand in submissions.

“Since opening the application portal for the awards in March, we have received a wide variety of applications from community groups and local towns across Ireland,” says Oonagh McCutcheon, corporate communications manager at .IE.

“We have been really impressed with the responses so far and based on the positive reaction across the country, we have decided to extend the deadline by another week to ensure that all groups and projects have had the chance to submit their entries.

“For those who have already made an application, the online portal will remain open for any last-minute changes or additions that they might like to make to their submission.

“And for those who are just starting the process, we would encourage you to start your application early, so that it is ready and finalised ahead of the revised deadline.”

Eleven of the awards will be “shining a light” on digital projects, with a further three special awards recognising a Digital Changemaker, Digital Rising Star, and a Digital Hero – all of which will be decided on by independent judging panel.

For the Digital Changemaker, the judges want to see a town that demonstrates that they have taken creative digital action to create change and new ways of doing things to effect positive impacts for the community.

For the Digital Rising Star, the judges will be looking for a town that is an emerging talent in digital and will demonstrate the potential to be a future digital leader.

The Digital Hero, meanwhile, will be someone in the community who is an unsung hero, working tirelessly on initiatives to promote the digital enhancement of the town or a group in the town.

Overall, €100,000 is up for grabs across 14 award categories.

For more information on the awards or submit an entry, you can visit here.