Applications are now open for the .IE Digital Towns Awards 2022, an initiative of .IE, the managers of Ireland’s trusted online .ie address.

The .IE Digital Town Awards honour local town projects and people that are using digital to transform or enhance their communities for the betterment of local people, services, and society.

Now in its second year, there is a total prize fund of €100,000 across 14 award categories including Digital Business, Community Digital, Digital Rising Star,Digital Changemaker, and Digital Local Hero.

Oonagh McCutcheon, National Director of the .IE Digital Town Programme: “We are excited to see how towns and communities are using digital tools and innovative thinking with transformative results for citizens and local society. Last year’s winners set the bar exceptionally high, and we are looking forward to shining a light again on the towns, digital champions and smart ideas that are breathing new life into communities and their people.”

“Whether this is creating an online visitor experience to drive tourism in a town, or a digital voucher scheme to encourage local commerce, there are many inspiring examples of everyday champions and digital leaders in our communities that are transforming local life andsociety in innovative and creative ways.

“The ambition of our awards is to recognise these people and projects that have created opportunities against the odds, as well as inspiring and motivating others to see how digital tools and technologies might benefit their towns and communities too.

“As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, we are excited to see how towns and communities have continued to embrace digital tools and are applying innovative digital-first thinking with transformative results for citizens, business, and local society. Last year’s winners set the bar exceptionally high, and we are looking forward to once more shining a light on the towns, digital champions and smart ideas that are breathing new life into communities and their people.”

“We are delighted to welcome our category sponsors Western Development Commission, Connected Hubs, Vodafone and AIB Merchant Services”

Stephen Carolan, Hubs Programme Manager at Connectedhubs.ie said "As a result of the pandemic a lot of people have moved to more rural communities and have discovered a new found appreciation for what rural Ireland has to offer. The next step is the digitizing of these localities and the .IE awards will shine a light on those that are leading in this space." 

Last year, Dingle Peninsula was the overall winner for its innovative project ‘Reimagining Creatively Through Digital’. The focus of the Dingle team was on promoting innovation and imagining new ways of doing things through digital.

Among the highlights of the Dingle Peninsula project was a pilot initiative to increase sustainability and productivity by collecting ‘real-time’ data using sensor technology such as current and predicted weather and soil conditions, and grass growth rates. Localised ‘real-time’ weather data also enabled tourism providers to tailor tourist packages based on changing weather conditions.

Enter HERE.