Award-winning ways: Our night at the Northern Power Women Awards
Did we mention we won an award recently? We know we’ve been posting about it A LOT, but that’s because awards mean a lot to smaller organisations like us. We got to go to a lovely ceremony, there’s a ton of free publicity, we’ve connected with brilliant new people and as well as all of that, we were publicly recognised for work that we’re immensely proud of; who doesn’t enjoy that?
The Northern Power Women Awards are Europe’s biggest celebration of gender equality and this year Digital Voice was a finalist in the Inclusive Innovation: Tech for Good category. We were shortlisted for our creative approach to using the latest AI technology in existing programmes like DigitalMe and brand new projects like DreamIt. Our approach to using this new technology is aligned with our organisational values of empowering people who don’t always have a voice and providing creative digital opportunities for those considered digitally excluded.
“It’s very important to us as an organisation, that young people in our region have the opportunities to make meaningful work and learn new skills. Our aim to work longer-term, along with the support and scaffolding of our team of professional artists, ensures that their ideas can be fully realised in a high quality product that they authored and can be so proud of. It’s important to remember that we never set out to teach them how to be creative, they already are, Digital Voice’s role is to create the conditions for their creativity to flourish.”
- Julie Nicholson, Managing Director, Digital Voice
We were shortlisted for the award alongside some incredible people and companies, so much so that when our name was called, Julie couldn’t quite believe it and had to be nudged to actually get up and collect the award. And what a beautiful award it was.
This is what the panel had to say about why we won:
“Digital Voice for Communities revolutionises digital inclusion through AI, empowering vulnerable individuals in the North East. Programs like DigitalMe and DreamIt build skills, challenge barriers, and enhance digital storytelling. By anonymising voices while preserving accents, they inspire creativity, confidence and future tech careers, driving true innovation and inclusion.”
Huge thanks to Simone Roche and her team at We Are Power for not just throwing a brilliant party but for welcoming us into a community of purpose-driven, supportive and inspiring individuals.
We’re off to look for a trophy cabinet …
