Digital Dublin Day will engage public with technology across the city

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Dublin March 7th 2013 Digital Dublin Day (DDD), showcasing the city as a dynamic leader in digital technology, takes place across the city tomorrow, Friday March 8th. This is a key event in the development of a Digital Masterplan for Dublin, with events happening in a specially constructed pop-up event space at the Mansion House, Dawson Street. Here the public will be able to take part in workshops, presentations, and where digital businesses will showcase their creativity, with other events taking place at hotspots across the city. The day will show Dubliners how technology can positively impact on their lives and its potential to enhance the quality of life in the capital.

Part of the event, which coincides with International Women’s Day, will feature a ‘DigiWomen’ presentation at 5pm at the Mansion House. This event sees the official launch of the DigiWomen community with a website to promote upcoming events and a video starring women in Ireland who are working in the digital space. The DigiWomen website will be key to the community’s aims of promoting members’ work and providing educational supports and information, all the while addressing the gender imbalances that exist today in tech. Speakers will include Pauline Sargent, Managing Director Social Zavvy; Rita Tobin, online marketing consultant and principal of Asar; and Siodhna McGowan, founder of inspiredthinking.ie

As part of Dublin Digital Day, ESB eCars will be running eCar test-drives around Dublin. The test-drives will run between 12 noon and 3pm and feature two 100% electric Nissan Leafs and two 100% electric Mitsubishi iMiEVs, supplied by ESB eCars. To be in with a chance to drive an eCar simply register through the eCar test-drive application form on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/ESBecars. Registration is available to anyone over 25 with a full driver’s licence, which will need to be produced on the day. 25 drivers will be chosen at random to test-drive the eCars.

The Mansion House will be open to members of the public from 10am-1pm and Ms. Una Loftus, former Lady Mayoress of Dublin, will give a talk on the history of the Mansion House from the Oak Room at 1pm. Events at the Mansion House include a video project by Techspace, who will live-edit and display video interviews with Dubliners digitally recorded on the day, and new company Soundwave displaying what music Dubliners are listening to with their innovative technology. Other activities include: ‘Coder Dojo’ involving groups of local schoolchildren; free public WiFi in Mansion House area; a display of ‘Apps For Fingal’ which showcases the use of Open data; eCommerce demonstrations; a showcase of digital stories, including the story of the Mansion House, via StoryMap; onsite bloggers; and a ‘vibes of Ireland’ twitter visualisation to coincide with International Women’s Day.

Lord Mayor Naoise Ó Muirí commented, “This is a day of fun with digital in Dublin City and all are welcome to attend and take part, so join us at the Mansion House and right across the city. It’s designed to demonstrate to Dubliners the impact that technology has on their lives and the potential of modern digital technologies. Working with our partners, it will encourage innovation and creativity in the ways in which we plan to harness technology in the city. Dublin Digital Day will take place not just at the Mansion House but across the city centre at public WiFi locations, on mobile ‘Digital’ buses where digital memories can be created and showcasing mobile eLearning, at the Digital Hub and in many Dublin city businesses.”

The Dublin Digital Masterplan was announced at the Digital Dublin Leadership Forum in November by Lord Mayor Naoise Ó Muirí. This masterplan will be modelled on similar digital development plans in place in New York and Barcelona. The Lord Mayor of Barcelona will attend the Digital Dublin Day on Friday and take part in activities. This event is part of a series of activities, Roadmap to a Digital Dublin, that will lead to the publishing of the Digital Masterplan for the Dublin city region in June this year.

The publication of the Digital Masterplan is the beginning of a continuous effort by Dublin City Council and partners to ensure the city becomes and remains at the top tier of Digital Cities worldwide. The Lord Mayor continued, “Achieving this goal will ensure much increased economic prosperity for the Dublin City region and guarantee a greater quality of living for residents of Dublin.”

See www.digitaldublin.ie for more information, follow on Twitter @DigiDublin or get Facebook updates at Digital Dublin.