South Mayo town aims to capitalise on post Covid economic opportunities

A new organisation, Digital Ballinrobe, aims to help the town to capitalise on the unique post Covid-19 economic opportunities presented by digitalisation and remote working.

The organisation will be aligned with similar initiatives nationally such as @DigitalDunLaoghaire and Digital Blanchardstown Village.

A meeting to formally establish Digital Ballinrobe will take place in the Maple Youth Centre, Bowgate Street, on Tuesday, November 9, at 7.45 p.m.

It will last for no more than one hour. All are welcome.

The organisers expect that some people may be unable to attend in person and have therefore set up a facility to allow for attendance via Zoom. To avail of the Zoom option, email liamhoran09@gmail.com for login details.

Digital Ballinrobe’s goals are as follows:

To present Ballinrobe as an ideal location for remote working.

To provide relevant information to those contemplating a move to Ballinrobe and to support those who already work remotely in the area.

To support the development of appropriate remote working infrastructure and facilities, such as coworking spaces, in Ballinrobe.

To promote digitalisation among local businesses, community groups, sporting organisations, education and training institutions and other entities.

To engage with relevant agencies to enhance Ballinrobe’s status as a ‘digital first’ community, including sourcing funding support.

To participate in the fledgling Digital Ireland network which puts digital growth and a new emphasis on local communities at the heart of their efforts to create sustainable jobs.

To run events for people living and working locally.

Further goals may be added based on topics that arise at the meeting.

The group currently comprises Rob Murphy, Lorraine Mannion, Emma Gill, Declan Costello, Richard Burke, Eoin Rochford and Liam Horan. It has already circulated a remote working survey.

The closing date for completion of this survey is November 1 and it can be accessed at https://bit.ly/survey-robe

“The reality is that remote workers are living in a digital world and we want Ballinrobe to be a welcoming and supportive community for them,” said a spokesperson.

“We are also very keen to support people who already reside in or around Ballinrobe or who have recently moved to the area.”

Digital Ballinrobe will fit into the Digital Ireland network currently being developed by a collaboration of organisations dedicated to the sustainable development of rural Ireland through digitalisation.

At the heart of this new network is the Digital First Communities model for enabling localities to take control of their economic destiny.

The Digital First Communities model was created and tested in Dún Laoghaire by a social enterprise called DigitalHQ and has been endorsed by Placemaking Europe, the European DIGITAL SME Alliance, ConnectedHubs.ie and Minister Damien English.

At this first meeting of Digital Ballinrobe a working committee will be established.

One of the short-term actions will be to carry out a benchmarking exercise to establish the current state of digitalisation among Ballinrobe’s businesses, community groups and other entities.

The group will function as a sub-committee of the local Ballinrobe Business & Enterprise (BEO) organisation.