IA Labs takes centre stage at awards shows and conferences
Last weekend marked a hectic but exciting time at IA Labs: the team were shortlisted for the National Digital Awards 2022 and the Spiders 2023, and our QA and Customer Success Lead Adela Buliman was invited to speak at the annual Women TechMakers Belfast conference. Read on to find out more about what we’ve been up to recently.
Hosted by Digital Business Ireland and sponsored by Permanent TSB, the National Digital Awards highlight the very best of what businesses working in the Irish digital industry have to offer, including innovations, websites, and people. The 2022 ceremony was held on 3rd March 2023 at the Gibson Hotel.
IA Labs and NCBI were delighted to be named as finalists in the Education Website and Not-For-Profit Website categories respectively. Members of both teams attended the three course luncheon and took the opportunity to network with the huge number of attendees present. We were especially thrilled to see our Director Kyran O’Mahoney win Digital Trailblazer of the Year! Kyran’s leadership and forward-thinking in the field of digital inclusion deserves all the recognition it gets.
At the same ceremony, Kyran also presented IA Labs’ sponsored award for Excellence in Digital Accessibility, which celebrates an organisation making strides towards having accessible digital content. The finalists, which included the National Disability Authority, PRM Assist, and Discount Health Store, made for tough competition, but the award ultimately went to New Graphic for the Údarás na Gaeltachta website with Davy as the runner-up. IA Labs would like to congratulate all of the nominees and the winners and encourage them to continue on their journeys towards full digital accessibility.
After the National Digital Awards, our team went straight to the Spider Awards 2023 in the Mansion House. Now in their 26th year, this prestigious event is the longest-running digital awards programme in Ireland. The Spiders highlight organisations and individuals who are leading digital excellence. IA Labs were honoured to be nominated for Small Agency of the Year and Best Event Campaign for the launch of the Digital Accessibility Index.
Although we didn’t secure an award on the night, the team warmly congratulates all of the winners at the Spiders, especially NCBI Labs for winning Digital Team of the Year!
Double win for NCBI Labs at 2023 Spider Awards and National Digital Awards
The final event of the weekend was Women TechMakers Belfast on 4th March 2023. This annual summit is part of Google’s Women TechMakers initiative, which focuses on supporting and empowering women in the technology industry. The event featured talks and workshops from industry leaders and experts, as well as opportunities for attendees to connect with mentors and peers.
QA and Customer Success Lead Adela Buliman spoke at the summit about digital accessibility gaining traction after UK and EU legislation came into law. IA Labs have led research into the level of digital accessibility in Northern Ireland across principal sectors; Adela’s talk discussed the findings of this research and how much access users with disabilities have to online platforms.
Attendees of the summit walked away from her talk with an understanding of what digital accessibility is, why it is so important, the current barriers faced by people with disabilities online, and how to achieve compliance with the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The summit was a great opportunity not only for Adela to make connections with organisations and individual women in the field, but also to share her expertise about digital accessibility.
Conclusion
You can see the full list of winners for the National Digital Awards and the Spiders at the following links.
If you would like to get in touch after meeting us at an awards show or conference or if you need help with any digital accessibility issue, please don’t hesitate to contact IA Labs.
