Creative ventures recognised for their digital innovation

CREATIVE ventures in Tallaght and Crumlin are among four Dublin projects recognised for their digital innovation at this year’s .IE Digital Town awards.

Tallaght’s The Positive Vibes Movement, which celebrates youth through creativity, art, poetry and music, was ‘highly commended’ in the Digital Education category.

The original art, poetry and music pieces are uploaded to a digital platform and sold as NFTs. Through the ‘Give One Gift One’ programme, there is a charitable element, helping to support children and youth across a range of countries and causes.

The award for Digital Changemaker and a prize fund of €5,000, sponsored by Connected Hubs, went to Crumlin’s Clothes Exchange.

Change Clothes Dublin is a clothes-swapping initiative to promote sustainable clothing solutions including re-learning skills such as mending, sewing and upcycling.

Local group, Connecting Crumlin’s Community, provided seed funding for the initiative and the investment was used to build a website which includes an events booking and equipment hire feature.

The group is using social media and personalised email marketing to build awareness. Preventing over 32 tonnes of carbon emissions, this local revolution has the ability to make a big impact.

.IE, the national registry for .ie domain names, created the awards in 2021, as part of a broader four-year €1 million investment in the .IE Digital Town Programme, encouraging the uptake and use of internet and digital technologies for businesses, citizens and communities.

The awards offer a prize fund of €100,000 which is split across several categories.

In total, 22 town and community digital projects were recognised at this year’s awards.

Oonagh McCutcheon, National Director, .IE Digital Town Programme said: “The quality of entries in this year’s .IE Digital Town Awards has been incredibly impressive.

“Ireland’s towns and communities are identifying and solving connectivity challenges, driving digital innovation and developing creative digital solutions to enhance the lives of their fellow citizens.”