A unique and innovative approach is being taken towards those skilled professionals who have found themselves without gainful employment. The intellectual enterprise zone (iez) initiative seeks to facilitate and host the intellectual talent within South Dublin County such that synergies of thought and action can be channelled into entrepreneurial areas.

In addition, the initiative is unique in terms of the cross agency approach being taken.  It incorporates the activities of South Dublin County Development Board, FAS, the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the Institute of Technology Tallaght, and South Dublin County Council.

The Intellectual Enterprise Zone will be profiled at an event during Innovation Week (October 14th - 20th, 2009).  Further details are available on www.southdublininnovates.ie

South Dublin County Council has launched the virtual presence of the Intellectual Enterprise Zone where you can find out more and get involved at their website www.iez.ie

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that the South Dublin Innovates web site has gone live at www.southdublininnovates.ie. The site will be a resource for the lead up to and events of Innovation Week (October 14th - 20th, 2009).

With this site you will be able to tune into all the news and events of the week including select case studies, videos, and podcasts as are appropriate to the week.

Event bookings are available through the site.

Have an idea for an event? Use the site’s join in facility to tell us about it.

You can read the press release on scribd announcing the weeks activities and the website.

Google today has posted a blog article on their public sector blog about “Choose the Future” - Google’s Japan’s 2009 Election Site. While we’re not native Japanese speakers the idea of it appears clear - to use mapping combined with traditional textual information and images to assist voters make up their minds in their recent elections.

Google may have undertaken this in 2009 but South Dublin County were there pre 2004. South Dublin County Council have been doing this for some time now. The Council’s latest election site is the launchpad to a wealth of local election related material. This material has evolved in the lead up to the election and the associated counting process which was undertaken in a live and dynamic manner.

The South Dublin County Council electoral register enquiry has for many years been displaying registered voters within South Dublin County maps of where their place to vote is - online and available 24 hours a day. Why not check you are on the register today? You don’t need to wait for an election or referendum to be imminent. It’s free, easy, and an interesting use of technology.

Finding out who your local democratically elected member to South Dublin County Council representing your area is easy. Candidate maps were displayed before the elections and now you can access your representatives contact information online on a geographic basis.

In June 2009 at the local elections of South Dublin County Council it was the first year which we displayed election count results to the display screens within the physical local election count centre and published the results simultaneously on the internet. To innovate some more we utilised twitter, email updates, and sms text message updates to followers of the local events.

The Social Inclusion Unit of South Dublin County Council’s Community Services Department are holding a competition for young people from 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th classes.  Children are being encouraged to tell the Council about their creativity.

Prizes which will include gift vouchers will be awarded for hand writing, imagination and creativity.

To enter you need to fill out an application form which can be downloaded by clickinghere.

The latest date for completion of an entry is Friday 23rd of October, 2009.

You can get more information from Sandra Hickey, of South Dublin County Council’sSocial Inclusion Unit on 01 4149270 or email shickey@sdublincoco.ie

South Dublin County Libraries’ new website features an exciting area entitled Re-imagine yourself where resources to help you change the direction of your life are brought together. Navigating our rapidly changing world can be difficult. Many people today are dissatisfied with their income, worried about losing their job or just need a new direction. South Dublin Libraries can help you set realistic goals, fine tune your problem solving and perhaps find new pathways for the road ahead.

There are many options out there and the place to explore them is in one of our branch libraries or online with our virtual services. South Dublin Libraries have the resources to help you redefine your lifestyle or decide what direction you should take.  South Dublin Libraries are committed to ensuring that the skills and information you need to turn dreams into reality are available to you.

If you want to

Find a new path in life, check out the lifelong learning resources to help get you started.

If you are interested in Securing your future with your own business, use our libraries as pop-up offices. Online databases such as Marketline and Lexis offer the world’s largest collection of news and business information for free from our libraries. Check out the Money Matters resources to access more information.

Health and emotional well being are central to a happy lifestyle. If you need to Recharge your batteries or manage stress, we have an excellent collection of contemporary books on mental and physical health and changing your lifestyle.  The Download zone offers digital books and relaxation music to transfer to your iPod for instant stress relief at anytime. Check out the Lifestyle resources to see how South Dublin Libraries can help you.

If you feel the need to Change your Lifestyle, South Dublin Libraries offer music, art, literary events for free as well as life long learning opportunities in all our branches. Fabulous books are yours for free on themes such as interior design, cookery, gardening, health, alternative lifestyles and travel. Check out the Lifestyle resources for more information.

Re-Imagine Yourself today. Visit South Dublin County Libraries today and discover a wealth of resources to help you change direction or get more out of your life.

It is simple to become a member of South Dublin Libraries. Join online now. Take the first step to a new you.

The Creative Dublin Alliance are a collaboration between the Dublin Local Authorities, Universities, State Agencies, Business and the Not-for-Profit sector. The purpose of the alliance is to help identify, discuss, recommend, distribute and implement solutions in response to the challenges that Dublin faces as an International Competitive City Region. You can click here to view the Introduction on scribd.com

South Dublin County Council is pleased to announce that our “Digital Books Service” of the South Dublin County Library has been recognised at EU level as a finalist of the European eGovernment Awards. The finalist position is in relation to Category 2a. eGovernment empowering citizens.

The Digital Books Service can be found in the download zone from the South Dublin County Library’s web site where you can download the best selling digital titles 24/7 to play on your PC, MP3 Player or PDA, or copy CDs to play in your car. With this service, your library never closes!

The full details of all finalists can be found on the European Union’s epractice web site.

The following is a promotional presentation in respect of what is happening in South Dublin County for Innovation Dublin week - October 14th - October 20th.
Introduction to South Dublin Innovates

The week of 14th - 20th of October will see an abundant array of activities such as;

• Launches
• Open days
• Lectures
• Seminars
• Site visits
• Competitions
• iWalks
• Virtual Living
• Digital Treasure Hunts
• Projects
• Websites
• Digital Exhibitions
• Digital Art Screenings
• Video presentations
• Demonstrations
• Video Conference

The Innovation Dublin 2009 draft programme has the makings of an exciting week throughout County Dublin. We’ll publish it as soon as it is finalised.

Innovation is the big idea. Lets begin by explaining a few things;

What’s it all about?

2009 is the European Year of Creativity and Innovation.

Innovation Dublin 2009 is an initiative of the Creative Dublin Alliance.

Prompted by South Dublin County Council’s involvement in Innovation Dublin 2009, this blog will focus on things that are innovative and highlight the activities in the lead up to the week of Innovation - this from the perspective of South Dublin County.

Who is involved / responsible for this blog?

The Creative Dublin Alliance are a collaborative organisation involving Local Government, Industry and Academia.

This blog is being curated by South Dublin County Council. South Dublin County Council are members of the Creative Dublin Alliance.

When does it happen?

Innovation week happens between 14th to 20th of October 2009.

Where will it be visible?

Events are being planned online and throughout various venues within South Dublin County during this week. Events will be highlighted through this blog and companion web site when launched in a few weeks time.

Why be involved?

South Dublin County has innovation unlimited in the fields of;

• Medicine,
• Education
• Local Government
• Technology
• Sustainability
• The Arts
• Bio Technology
• Enterprise
• Infrastructure
• and Urban Form

Innovation week (14th to 20th of October) will enable these innovations within our county to be showcased and with active participation can focus business and the citizen within our county to become exemplars of innovation.

What to expect next?

Why not follow us on tumblr or use a free online service like changedetection.com to look out for changes in our blog. You can also subscribe via rss.

We’ll announce upcoming activities here on this blog. It is also intended to profile some of the innovations within our county here.

Questions?

You can contact us at info@southdublininnovates.com