The Nominet Internet Awards, which are now in their eighth year, are dedicated to honouring the very best innovation and achievements on the UK internet. A celebration of the successes by an individual, UK business, charity or public and private sector organisation, the Nominet Internet Awards highlight the projects that are helping to drive the UK's internet economy.
You can read more about the aims of the awards here, but to illustrate further, here's a recap of the well deserved winners from 2013.
Innovative internet business:
The winner of this award was My Mummymade It, a service that delivers fresh, homemade baby and toddler food straight to your door. It makes affordable homemade food for busy parents and the food is cooked to order – tailored in taste, size and texture to the child's preferences. It also supplies nurseries with daily hot deliveries, producing around 80 covers per day.
Natalie Rodner, the founder of My Mummymade It, set up the site after having her second daughter and found that she no longer had time to purée food during mealtimes. She found shop-bought baby food expensive and unappetising, and saw an opportunity to create a product that other mums would be happy to feed their children.
Online skills and training
The winner in the online skills and training category was Brightside, a charity that provides online mentoring: structured and supported online contact between young people and a trained mentor, who can support them in making important decisions about their future education and employment options. Brightside has also developed a suite of skill-building activities for mentees around important topics such as money management.
Tessa Stone, the chief executive of Brightside believes that it should be talent, not background, that determines the education and career opportunities available to young people.
She stands firmly behind the idea that online mentoring can be just as effective as face-to-face meetings, and celebrates the successes and impact young people have made on the mentoring scheme through the organisation's own Online Mentoring Awards.
Making the internet a safer place
The 2013 winner for this category was Oii My Size, a youth-led campaign focused on raising awareness among young people about a number of issues, including the intimidating and unacceptable manner in which some young men communicate with young women, both in person and online.
The website, which has been presented to over 3,000 young people in schools across London, discusses the dangers of sexting and sharing unsuitable content online. It advises young people on the possible consequences of their actions and encourages them to think carefully before clicking send.
Doing good online
The winner of this award was GlobalGiving UK, a digital charity that has created a dynamic, virtual marketplace to unleash people's potential to make positive change happen. It uses technology to innovate in the giving of time, skills and money and provide online training to benefit local communities worldwide.
Eleanor Harrison, the CEO for Global Giving UK, believes that a critical part of the organisation's philosophy is that local solutions to global problems are best, as they are proven to be more sensitive, long lasting and cost effective. By supporting smaller charities, GlobalGiving UK aims to put them centre stage and give partners, donors and volunteers access to in-depth, up-to-date information so that informed choices and direct connections can be made.
Digital innovation in public services
The 2013 winner for this category was Lambeth Library Challenge, a richly-illustrated, interactive budget simulator that enables residents to build their own library. Lambeth Council wanted to create a tool that would help to build a more equal relationship with its residents and give them genuine influence on how to spend library budgets. Lambeth is pioneering new approaches to be more transparent and open with residents so that more people can be involved in designing and delivering services that meet local needs.
Are you involved in an innovative online project that deserves recognition? Read more about the awards and find out how to enter here
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