Nominations under way for the first North East Digital Awards

Jan 15 2008 By The Journal

NORTH EAST England is a hotbed for digital talent – not just for businesses developing the technology, but also for those using it to take their products to new customers and markets.

With Middlesbrough and Sunderland establishing themselves as our Digital and Software Cities respectively and projects such as N-CODE – showcasing the region’s capability to become a centre for digital archiving in film and media, North East England’s flag is well and truly planted on the digital map.

E-business champions the North East Regional Portal and regional development agency One NorthEast have decided it’s high time that all this capacity and capability is formally recognised and promoted – in a celebration of all things digital.

The first ever North East Digital Awards will recognise quality across all areas of e-business and provide free online promotion of businesses across the region, both for those which are creating and developing digital technology and those which are using it in the most creative and innovative ways.

Funded by regional development agency One NorthEast, the awards will celebrate the achievements of businesses, companies and organisations that have recognised, developed and used digital techniques to generate and maintain an effective online presence.

With categories ranging from ‘Best Use of Blogging’ to ‘Best Online Security Solution’ and ‘Best Example of Game Development’, the entire nomination and voting process will take place online – with every nomination featuring extensively on the North East Digital Awards website www.northeastdigitalawards.co.uk

Emmanuelle Martinot, eBusiness Technical Adviser for One NorthEast said: “The benefits of digital business development are huge, and businesses in this region can boast some fantastic achievements in the sector.

“These awards are an opportunity to highlight and celebrate those achievements – and we’re really looking forward to seeing the nominations.”

The North East Regional Portal’s head of e-business Pascal Fintoni explained: “The rapid expansion and development of digital technologies in the North East of England is truly undeniable, and as such, successful and innovative businesses deserve to be celebrated.”

The awards are divided into three categories: Digital Users, Suppliers and Innovators. After submitting an entry, nominees will be responsible for getting votes for their entry online. Those with the most votes will be shortlisted for review by a handpicked panel of judges.

To find out more or to register your business for the awards, visit www.northeastdigitalawards.co.uk  

The closing date for entry is March 28, 2008.