The awards will recognise and reward the best of UK Internet achievement and innovation

03/02/2010

Nominet, the national registry for .uk domain names, today launches the Nominet Internet Awards 2010 (previously known as the Nominet Best Practice Challenge). The awards will raise awareness of groups and individuals who have embraced the challenge of making the Internet a secure, open, accessible or diverse experience and will reward winners with global exposure to parliamentarians, academics and the wider Internet industry.

Nominet calls for applications from UK companies, charities, individuals and other public and private sector organisations who are raising Internet industry standards and making a difference on, or through the Web.  Entrants will be reviewed by an eminent and independent panel of judges chaired by the Rt Hon Alun Michael MP. 

The award categories are:

• Getting people online
• Making the Internet safer
• Opening the world of knowledge
• Empowering young people and citizens
• Nurturing powerful local partnerships.

Lesley Cowley, CEO at Nominet comments: "Over the last three years we have seen some great examples of inventive grassroots projects that are using the Internet to make a real difference to society. These projects coupled with the work that some of the more established organisations are doing showcase how the web can be progressive and used as a force for good. Nominet is keen to highlight and share these examples with the wider Internet industry to spark further Internet innovation and help make the Internet a safe and trusted place for all."

The awards will be launched at the UK Internet Governance Forum (UK IGF), which takes place at the Business Innovation Skills Conference Centre from 2pm on 3rd February 2010.

The UK IGF will summarise the findings from the previous international Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Sharm el Sheikh in November 2009, as well as, encourage lively and informative discussions on the future of the IGF.  The IGF is a discussion group that was set up by the United Nations to provide a forum for Internet stakeholders to discuss Internet policy and governance issues. Discussions are centred on four key themes: security, access, diversity and openness.

To enter the Nominet Internet Awards go to www.nominet.org.uk/go/internetawards

Notes to Editors

About Nominet

Nominet operates at the heart of e-commerce in the UK, running one of the world’s largest Internet registries and managing over eight million domain names. Nominet maintains the register of .uk domain names and runs the DNS infrastructure that keeps .uk working.

It runs the technology that locates a computer in the Internet hosting the web site or email system you’re looking for when you type in a web address or send an email to an address that ends in .uk.

Nominet is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee that has members not shareholders, pays no dividends and its charges only cover its running costs. Anyone with an interest in the Internet may become a member. Nominet has over 2,800 members representing all areas of the Internet industry.
 
Nominet also runs the Tier 1 registry for UK ENUM, a service that combines telephone numbers and the Domain Name System to simplify the way telephone calls over the Internet work.  ENUM lets callers know that you have the capability to receive VoIP calls, so allowing them to take advantage of free calls over the Internet.

For Further Information please contact:
Gemma Griffiths/ Alex Bishop at Racepoint UK
Tel: 020 8752 3205 / 3204
Email: nominetuk@racepointgroup.co.uk 

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