Digital leaders and disruptors in towns across Ireland are being called to enter the annual .IE Digital Town Awards 2022, with €100k up for grabs.

The.IE Digital Town Awards 2022 celebrate the digital achievements of local towns and citizens across the country.

The generous prize fund of €100,000 will be spread across 14 categories to honour local towns and people that have contributed to enhancements in areas such as e-health, digital tourism, community, education, and digital business through digital projects and innovation.

The.IE Digital Towns Awards 2022 is an initiative of Business All-Star Accredited company .IE who manage Ireland’s trusted online .ie address.

National Director of the .IE Digital Town Programme, Oonagh McCutcheon told the All-Ireland Business Foundation that the awards will celebrate the digital achievements of local towns and citizens across the country.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on our country,” she said. “And digital offers the opportunity to create new ways of doing things, promote innovation and breathe new life into local communities”.

“At .IE we felt it was important to recognise those who are making our towns more attractive places to live and work whilst contributing to a more sustainable future. The .IE Digital Town Awards is all about giving back to the community”.

.IE say 10 of the awards will be for digital projects in local towns and there will also be two special awards – Digital Changemaker and Digital Rising Star as well as a Digital Hero Award.

The Digital Hero Award celebrates an unsung hero in the community who works tirelessly on initiatives to promote the digital enhancement of your town. The overall winner will be selected from the category winners.

Click here to find ideas of different digital projects underway across Europe. Note that your project doesn’t need to be in one of these areas. The examples are intended to provide guidance and inspiration for the type of project you might submit.

The only type of projects not eligible for the awards are those submitted by individuals who have digitised their business in some way, be that through a website or e-commerce app.

Oonagh explained that this is because the awards are about the betterment of the town and the community – not an individual company.

She said: “The Awards are an ideal opportunity to raise the profile of your town, to help retain existing talent and attract new workers and residents”.

“A digitally advanced town can help attract investment from new employers from other areas nationally or internationally. It can also encourage additional investment from existing employers and support a start-up community”.

“The .IE Digital Town Awards also create a great sense of pride in a town for residents and act as a catalyst for creating positive change for all”.

Entry to the Awards is free, applications close at 5pm on Friday 25 March 2022.

Apply through the following link: https://www.weare.ie/about-ie-digital-town-awards/

To learn more about .IE, visit their All-Star showcase page here or scroll through their social media accounts listed below.

Twitter: @dot_IE or #DigitalTownAwards
Facebook: @Dot_IE or #DigitalTownAwards
LinkedIn @.IE or #DigitalTownAwards