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Inishowen Co-Op
INISHOWEN CO OP
Spraoi agus Spórt
Inishowen Co-Op is supporting award-winning social enterprise Spraoi agus Spórt to bring high end digital creative technology to schools across the peninsula
Helen Nolan, CEO, Spraoi agus Spórt
Collaboration between business and community has always been part of life throughout Ireland and never more so than within the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal.
Inishowen Co-Op group have been supporting and serving the Inishowen community for almost 60 years. They continue to expand with branches in Donegal, Sligo and Northern Ireland and are one of the largest employers in the region. In 2021, the Co-Op stepped forward as one of the primary sponsors of award-winning social enterprise, Spraoi agus Spórt.
Spraoi agus Spórt is based in Carndonagh , a rural town with a population of 2,500, in the heart of the Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal. Their initiative, the FabLab, brings high end digital technology to the Inishowen community. One of only nine FabLabs across the country, it has its origins in MIT in Boston and links to the crossborder Nerve Centre in Derry.
It brings the region to the forefront in terms of providing easy access to all types of digital technologies and is helping to regenerate the community and ensure that it is sustainable into the future.
BRIGHT FUTURE “We are ensuring our rural future is bright and it is so important that organisations such as Inishowen Co-Op work with their local social enterprise so we can all make it happen together,” says Helen Nolan, Co-founder and CEO of Spraoi agus Spórt. “We are delighted that the team in Inishowen Co-Op are being recognised for their support of the work that we do together.” Building on the principle of “leaving no one behind”, both organisations aim to achieve sustainable development for all in their region. “As a disadvantaged area and one which has high unemployment, high youth emigration and now faced with the MICA humanitarian crisis it is more important than ever that our children and young people are supported with a quality education,” says Nolan.
“We bring high end digital creative technology to schools across the peninsula to bridge the digital divide and ensure the children and young people of Inishowen have every opportunity to access the latest technology. Often access to digital technology is limited to those who can afford it, however with our model we bring the skills and resources to the schools, so everyone has an opportunity to take part.”
Inishowen Co-Op General Manager Gareth Whitmore says, “By supporting Helen Nolan, CEO, Spraoi agus Spórt and Gareth Whitmore, General Manager, Inishowen Co-Op
the availability of digital skills and resources to our young people we hope to encourage them to pursue careers in STEAM which in turn will lead to sustainability of the area and decent work and economic growth.” Both Spraoi agus Spórt and Inishowen Co-Op are united in the belief that their union will offer their community a foundation for technological advantages in the future. They are focused on building a sustainable model and approach, one that can be embraced by other communities.
