FINGAL STUDENT ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME

The 10th Annual Fingal Student Enterprise Awards Ceremony was held
recently in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown. With over 1,100
students from 10 Primary and 15 Secondary schools throughout Fingal
participating this year – it was the biggest event in the programme's
history. The Fingal Student Enterprise programme is co-ordinated by
Fingal County Enterprise Board and Engage Ireland has been running the
programme on their behalf for the last five years. Well done to all the
students and teachers involved and we look forward to working with you
again in September.

DUBLIN CITY STUDENT ENTERPRISE FINAL!

Engage Ireland doubled its involvement in Student Enterprise this year when it won the contract to implement the programme in schools for Dublin City Enterprise Board. We were delighted to be able to involve a record breaking 21 schools across Dublin City to enter the programme, and the City Final which was held at Croke Park on March 10th had the greatest number of entries ever - with a whopping 41 stands competing to represent Dublin City in the National Final in Croke Park on 14th April. Thanks to all the teachers and students involved for all their hard work, and good luck in the National Final.

NATIONAL STUDENT ENTERPRISE AWARDS!

Engage Ireland are currently involved providing Public Relations Services for the National Final of the Student Enterprise Awards on 14th April. Students representing 35 County & City Enterprise Boards will compete for the title of Student Entrepreneur Of The Year. Some of the finalists have already had a taste of the’ big time’ when they appeared on the Late Late Show on 18th March to talk to Ryan Tubridy about their Student Enterprises. It was a wonderful opportunity for these young entrepreneurs to appear on the show, and they did themselves, their schools, and the enterprise boards that supported them, very proud!

The Greater Blanchardstown Response to Drugs has once again asked Engage Ireland  to help organise the ‘Let’s Talk About Drugs’ Media Awards competition on their behalf. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of this competition, students from primary up to college level can have their newspaper article, cartoon strip, audio feature or film/animated video published or broadcast.

The three official themes this year are:
Theme 1:     Prescription Drugs – problem or solution?
Theme 2:     Alcohol – is cost the only price?
Theme 3:     Drug Rehabilitation – recovery is possible?

The 2011 Media Partners are the Dublin People Group, City Channel and Phoenix FM. County Dublin VEC and the Health Service Executive are generously sponsoring the prize-fund for the competition.
For further information about this year’s Drugs Media Awards, please visit the new-look website at www.gbrd.ie

Student Entrepreneurs all over Dublin City are busy putting the final touches to their enterprises ahead of their schools finals, which will determine who will represent their school in the City Finals at Croke Park next March. The 10^th of March next year is D-Day for these young business people, as students from 20 schools will compete to represent Dublin City at the National Student Enterprise Awards which take place in April.

Engage Ireland is delighted to co-ordinate the schools programme with Dublin City Enterprise Board. We deliver classroom presentations, mentoring and support to all the students involved. We wish all participating students the very best of luck with their enterprising ventures!

The 2010 County and City Enterprise Boards’ National Enterprise Awards took place in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin on November 11^th. A.B.C Nutrition, from County Clare, was chosen fom the eight finalists on the night to clinch the overall title. The Shannon-based company, which is supported by Clare County Enterprise Board, was set up by Sean McNamara and Willie Wixted in 2007, and currently employs nine people.

Engage Ireland handled for the publicity for the event, and was responsible for ABC’s achievement being featured on the nine o clock news on RTE 1.

For National Women’s Enterprise Day recently, organisers at the County and City Enterprise Boards put together a series of keynote speakers, case studies, an enterprise support exhibition and mentoring clinics to inspire and to encourage more women to consider setting up a business in Ireland.

Engage Ireland handled media relations for the day, which was featured on RTE and in the Irish Times, Irish Independent and Irish Examiner.

More information about supports on offer to women in business is available at www.enterpriseboards.ie

The search is on for young entrepreneurs, through the Fingal Student Enterprise Programme. Co-ordinated by the Fingal County Enterprise Board and supported by County Dublin VEC, the programme involves over 1000 students across primary and secondary schools.

Engage Ireland organises the programme on behalf of Fingal County Enterprise Board, scheduling classroom presentations and mentoring clinics with teachers and students all over the county. The Fingal Student Enterprise final is due to take place in March.

The Blanchardstown Traveller Development Group is running a ground-breaking scheme, aimed at helping traveller women find jobs in the labour market. The ‘Bridge to Work’ programme will be co-ordinated by Engage Ireland and is funded through the Equality for Women Measure at the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs and POBAL.

The first participants are due to graduate from the pilot programme in May 2011.

The Student Enterprise Awards National Final takes place in Croke Park this year, with over 280 student entrepreneurs taking part. Organised by the County and City Enterprise Boards, it’s the biggest student enterprise competition in the country with over 10,000 students taking part in the programme nationally. Engage Ireland is handling the media relations for the competition and co-ordinated the student entrepreneurs’ appearance on the Late Late Show on RTE recently.

Further information about the Student Enterprise Programme is available at www.studententerprise.ie. The 2009 Senior Category Winners are pictured here (‘DigiMusic’ from Kildare).

Engage Ireland won a tender recently, to co-ordinate the monthly e-zines for the Dublin City Enterprise Board. With over 7,000 subscribers, the e-zine has an impressive readership base. You can check out thee-zine content and news items at www.dceb.ie

The Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Enterprise Week took flight on the southside recently.

Aimed at entrepreneurs, micro-enterprises, the recently unemployed and other people thinking of setting up a business, the busy calendar of events included innovation and e-Business seminars, networking evenings, open days and idea generation talks. An estimated 2,000 people attended the fourteen scheduled events, most of which are completely free of charge.

Engage Ireland handled the public relations for the initiative, which included interviews on Newstalk, RTE Radio One and City Channel, aswell as substantial national press coverage.

The County Final of the Fingal Student Enterprise Awards was held in Blanchardstown recently, with a record number of primary and secondary schools taking part. Co-ordinated by Engage Ireland on behalf of the Fingal County Enterprise Board, fifteen secondary schools and eleven primary schools set up enterprise exhibition displays, before their interview session with the judges.

The County Final was supported by GameStop, Fingal County Council, the Blanchardstown Centre and County Dublin V.E.C. ‘Trinket Charms’ from Loreto College in Swords, ‘PlanetDood’ from Coláiste Choilm in Swords and ‘Credit Crunch Coupons’ from Coolmine Community School are representing Fingal at the Student Enterprise Awards National Final.

Further information about the Fingal Student Enterprise Programme is available at www.fingalceb.ie

Over 250 female entrepreneurs braved the floods to attend National Women’s Enterprise Day in Mullingar recently! Organised by the County and City Enterprise Boards and co-funded by the European Social Fund and the Irish Exchequer, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms. Mary Coughlan TD was the keynote speaker, along with Jo Fairley from Green & Black’s Organic Chocolate, Rita Shah from Shabra Recycling and Social Media Author, Krishna De.

Engage Ireland handled publicity for the event, which was featured on ‘Nationwide’ and ‘The Afternoon Show’ on RTE. Radio interviews were also carried out on RTE’s ‘Morning Ireland’ and Newstalk’s ‘Breakfast Show’. Further information about National Women’s Enterprise Day is available at www.nwed.ie

The search for budding entrepreneurs is on! Engage Ireland is delighted to announce that we are co-ordinating the Student Enterprise Awards on behalf of Fingal County Enterprise Board again this year.

With a record twenty seven primary and secondary schools from Fingal taking part in the programme this year, it is an exciting (and busy) time for all involved. We are delighted to welcome Gamestop as the new sponsors of the programme and we look forward to the Fingal Student Enterprise Awards in March 2010. For more information on the Fingal Student Enterprise Programme, please visit www.fingalceb.ie or e-mail schools@fingalceb.ie

Engage Ireland are co-ordinating the fourth annual ‘ Let’s Talk About Drugs’ Media Awards, on behalf of the Greater Blanchardstown Response to Drugs. The winners across the Youth and Adult Categories will have their articles published in the Northside and Southside People, in addition to winning a laptop. The closing date for articles is January 31^st 2010 and the two themes this year are:

‘Head Shops – legal, but potentially fatal?’

‘Tackling Drugs – real cost of budget cuts.’

Further information is available at www.gbrd.ie or by e-mailing awards@gbrd.ie

Joe O’ Donovan and Paul O’ Beirne from Callan Technology in Co. Clare won this year’s National Enterprise Awards, which were organised by the County and City Enterprise Boards.

Callan Technology, which manufacture and export direct current motors, were amongst eight finalists shortlisted from around the country. Engage Ireland handled the publicity for the National Enterprise Awards and Callan Technology’s success was featured on RTE One’s Nine News.

Winter Fair at Dalkey Castle

The magnificent surrounding of Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre was the setting for this year’s Winter Fair, which was organised by the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Enterprise Board. Featuring the work of nearly forty craftspeople and designers, a record number of visitors attended this year’s Fair.

Engage Ireland handled the publicity for Winter Fair, organising a feature on TV3’s ‘Ireland AM’ programme with five exhibitors .

D15 Chamber Awards

Congratulations to all the winners at this year’s D15 Chamber Business and Community Awards, which were held in the Park Plaza Tyrrelstown recently, and sponsored by the Dublin Airport Authority.

Awards were presented across eleven categories including ‘Customer Service,’ ‘Best Sales and Marketing Team,’ ‘Environmental Award’ and ‘Innovation in IT.’

As active members of the D15 Chamber, Engage Ireland organised the publicity for the awards, helping to secure several first-time sponsors.

D15 Chamber

Engage Ireland have been selected to provide PR support to the newly re-launched D15 Chamber. Formerly known as the Blanchardstown Chamber, the organisation represents the business interests of its members, which
include sole traders, professionals, large multi-national companies, SMEs and third-level institutes throughout the region.

Soaring to new business heights

The Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown Enterprise Week will be taking place from March 23rd to 26th this year, with a host of events and seminars planned for existing businesses and new start-ups in the region.

Engage Ireland will be responsible for providing PR support in the run-up to the week and more information is available from www.dlrenterpriseweek.ie

Business Support Win

Engage Ireland has won a competitive tender to deliver several marketing workshops on behalf of the Blanchardstown Area Partnership.

The workshops, which are called "Marketing on a Tight Budget" and "Designing and Delivering Effective Promotional Material" will be delivered in April and October 2009.

Enterprising Students

Enterprising students all over the country have been given the opportunity to run their own virtual G.A.A. Sports Store through a new computer game www.businessgame.ie.
The game was launched recently by the County and City Enterprise Boards, Microsoft and Ulster Bank.
By playing the business simulation game, which is free of charge, the students are given the opportunity to learn important business and enterprise lessons every week throughout the 52 ‘virtual’ weeks of the game.
Engage Ireland were responsible for delivering a series of nation-wide demonstrations, on behalf of the County and City Enterprise Boards.

Golden Spider Nomination For TidyTowns.ie
Tidytowns.ie, which is the official website for the TidyTowns Unit at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, has been shortlisted for a Golden Spider Award in the ‘Best Community or Charity Website’ category this year.
Engage Ireland provides a weekly news service to TidyTowns.ie and was responsible for co-ordinating their entry submission.

Business Soars at National Enterprise Awards
Simtech Aviation International, based in Dublin Airport, has won the National Enterprise Award this year. Organised by the County and City Enterprise Boards, the National Enterprise Awards took place in Dublin Castle and publicity for the awards were handled by Engage Ireland.
Simtech’s founder, Fergal Keogh was interviewed on RTE TV and on Radio One’s ‘Morning Ireland’ programme and the story also appeared in the Irish Independent, the Sunday Business Post and in the Irish Examiner.

Engage Client Is “Best In Fresh”

Engage Ireland would like to congratulate Fresh – The Good Food Market in Smithfield Village, who have won a prestigious national retail award in the annual ‘Best in Fresh Awards’.
The award was for “Ireland’s best fresh fruit and vegetable offering”. The supermarket, which is part of the Fresh – The Good Food Market group, was judged on quality of food; organic sourcing policy; store layout; display presentation; freshness guarantees; breadth of ranges; customer service and staff attention to detail.
Engage Ireland was responsible for researching and drafting the entry submission and for providing publicity services, after the award announcement.  

New Clients For Engage
Engage Ireland has been chosen by the Dublin City Enterprise Board, McInerney Saunders and the Blanchardstown Local Drugs Task Force to provide PR support for various projects this year, including:
Dublin City Enterprise Week
McInerney Saunders Merger Announcement
Blanchardstown Drugs Awareness Week 2008

TidyTowns News

When the new-look TidyTowns website is launched later this year, Engage Ireland will be responsible for updating the news items, keeping the content updated for the thousands of TidyTowns website visitors.

Safe to School – On Your Bike!

The second phase of Safe to School campaign with MACE and the Road Safety Authority kicked-off in early 2008. The focus of this campaign is “Cycling to School Safely” and Engage Ireland co-ordinated the promotional materials and campaign website with Campaign and Combined Media.

For more information about Safe to School, please visit www.safetoschool.ie

Fresh comes to Camden Street

Fresh-The Good Food Market is going from strength and strength and the latest store on Lower Camden Street in Dublin 2 opened its doors to the public recently. Fresh –The Good Food Market are planning to open a fifth store shortly at the IFSC in Dublin 1.

Engage Ireland provide on-going PR and Marketing Support to Fresh – The Good Food Market and have also co-ordinated a new corporate website for the Irish supermarket chain at www.freshthegoodfoodmarket.com

National Enterprise Awards – 10 th Anniversary

The tenth National Enterprise Awards were held in Dublin Castle recently and Engage Ireland provided national and local PR support. The awards ceremony received substantial coverage from the business media, including Morning Ireland (RTE Radio One), Irish Independent, The Irish Times and the Sunday Business Post.

Students encouraged to “Explore Enterprise”

The County & City Enterprise Boards and Second level Support Services (SLSS) have come together to create a new resource book called ‘Exploring Enterprise' to enhance the teaching and learning of enterprise in second- level schools. Engage Ireland was responsible for organising the official launch of ‘Exploring Enterprise' at the National Concert Hall in Dublin with the Minister for Enterprise , Trade and Employment, Michael Martin T.D

Immunisation DVD Launch

An educational DVD called “To Save Lives- Immunise” was created for members of the Traveller Community to highlight the importance of immunising children against certain diseases. The pre- production, production & post production was organised by the Engage Ireland Team and the project was funded by the HSE (Health Services Executive) and the Dublin Bus Community Support Programme.

Record-breaking year for Student Enterprise Programme

A record number of secondary school students took part in this year's Fingal Student Enterprise Programme. Over 700 students from 11 schools participated in the programme, which was co-ordinated by Engage Ireland on behalf of the Fingal County Enterprise Board.

For further information about the Fingal Student Enterprise Programme, please visit www.fingalceb.ie

Lord of the Rings!

Congratulations to Eanna McCarthy from Co Cork on winning our recent website competition. Eanna wins a Creative MP3 player, courtesy of engage Ireland!

Question: engage ireland was set-up in 2003, but which film scooped the Best Picture Oscar at the 76th Academy Awards in the same year? Answer: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

A First For Fresh

Engage Ireland organised the inaugural suppliers conference for Fresh – The Good Food Market in Dublin recently , co-ordinating presentations, PR and a two-minute multimedia production. Held in the Hilton Hotel near Dublin airport, over 130 Irish suppliers were in attendance.

New Projects for Engage Ireland

The Engage Ireland offices are set to be very busy over the coming months with recent contract wins, including:

• Student Enterprise Programme for Fingal County Enterprise Board
• Immunisation DVD for Blanchardstown Traveller Development Group
• PR support for Cavan Drug Awareness

3 is the magic number for Fresh – The Good Food Market
Fresh – The Good Food Market recently opened its third supermarket in Dublin, with local marketing support from engage ireland. With store locations in Smithfield, Northern Cross and Grand Canal Square, Fresh – The Good Food Market is set to become a household favourite in Dublin.

The first advertising campaign for Fresh - The Good Food Market across radio and outdoor, was co-ordinated by engage ireland.