Local App Developers Challenged to Help Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter Attract More Tourists
February 4, 2014
Mobile developers from across the region are being invited to put forward innovative new app ideas to help encourage more tourism in Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter. The competition, funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, is designed to help bring new tourism app concepts to market and build on the cultural and creative assets which Belfast’s Irish-speaking community has to offer.
Delivered in partnership with Forbairt Feirste, the Belfast-based Irish Language development agency, the competition is offering developers up to £15,000 to design a new app which will be launched later this year. Uniquely, the winning developers will also retain the intellectual property rights to their idea, allowing them to use the project to attract even more business from outside the region.
Jake MacSiacais, the Director of Forbairt Feirste, explained: “The Gaeltacht Quarter is an area rich with the potent and vibrant legacy of Ireland’s cultural, historical and traditional heritage, an area where Irish has flourished igniting a range of 21st century cultural experiences. We need the creative co-operation of the best in their field to help deliver these cultural experiences through the latest technologies in ways which engage and excite visitors.”
The competition is being hosted by IGNITN, the new platform for innovation challenges launched in January by Derry’s CultureTECH Festival. CultureTECH Director Mark Nagurski added: “It is really exciting to be working with Forbairt Feirste on this project. The Gaeltacht Quarter has a rich and exciting cultural heritage that goes well beyond its recent history. By connecting them with the best of local creative and technical talent, we think there’s something really special to be developed that can make a positive impact on how visitors and potential visitors engage with the area.”
“We would encourage anyone interested in submitting an idea to be creative and take some risks in their proposal. At this stage we’re mostly interested in finding the best new ideas; something that’s going to really excite us. This is a tremendous opportunity for the right developers and we want them to use it to not only create something exciting but also to use it as a launchpad for attracting new work or turning their idea into a business in itself.” Mark added.
The competition, launched today, will be open for submissions until February 28th after which two shortlisted ideas will each receive £5000 to develop their concepts. One overall winner will be selected by a judging panel in late March to receive an additional £10,000 to bring their idea to market in partnership with Forbairt Feirste.
Interested developers should visit www.ignitn.com/gaeltachttourism to download an information pack, competition rules and sample content provided by Forbairt Feirste.
CultureTECH is Northern Ireland’s largest creative and digital industries event, taking place annually in Derry-Londonderry and attracting an aggregate audience of 24,000 in September 2013. CultureTECH is committed to promoting interaction between culture and technology and is developing a range of initiatives both online and off, including NI’s new competition platform IGNITN.com. For more information visit www.culturetech.co
Forbairt Feirste is a Belfast-based Irish Language development agency which strives to unleash the economic power of Belfast’s Irish speaking community to the benefit of the entire city, to develop and fully integrate the Cultural heritage of Belfast’s Irish-speaking community into the life of the city, to create economic opportunities and to strengthen the status of the Irish Language. For more information visit www.forbairtfeirste.com
This project is funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL). DCAL is one of 11 Northern Ireland Departments created in 1999 by the Department’s (Northern Ireland) Order 1999. In Northern Ireland it is the Government Department responsible for arts and creativity, museums, libraries, sport, inland waterways and inland fisheries, linguistic diversity, archives, and for advising on National Lottery distribution. www.dcalni.gov.uk
Connor Doherty
T: 02871262379
E: connor@culturetech.co
W: www.ignitn.com / www.culturetech.co
