AN ONLINE campaign which is attempting to harness the power of the internet to find ways out of the economic downturn received more than 1,000 ideas and messages of support in its first 24 hours.
The Ideas Campaignis the brainchild of Aileen O'Toole, the former Sunday Business Postjournalist and managing director of internet consultancy Amas.
She was prompted to launch it after an appearance on RTÉ's Prime Timein January when she appealed for more emphasis to be placed on finding innovative solutions to the financial crisis.
"After Prime Time, people contacted me and agreed that we need to have different conversations about the Irish economy – about looking forward, about recognising positive developments in the economy and about capitalising on our qualities as an economy," Ms O'Toole said. "At the very least, we're hoping that this campaign will start those conversations."
She pointed to a recent study from market research company Behaviour Attitudes which found that more than 90 per cent of Irish adults believed the country should pull together to help the economy get back on its feet while 80 per cent said people should focus on positive, not negative aspects of the economy. The campaign is built around the website www.ideascampaign.ie, which was put together in just four days last week. It runs until the end of this month and is being staffed by IT and PR people who were made redundant because of the recession. It is also being supported by a network of volunteers.
An advisory group, made up of people with extensive experience in business, academia, economics and the public sector, is advising the campaign. It will have an input into an action plan to ensure that recommendations are pragmatic and achievable.
Ms O’Toole declined to identify the members of the 10-member group but said the names would be announced next week.
All ideas will be moderated by campaign staff before they go online, she said, to ensure only legitimate ideas were made public. “If this project is to have credibility, we can’t let ideas out there unless they have legs, unless they are achievable,” she said.
The site is not looking for business plans or ideas which could become commercial enterprises but is instead focused on strategies that could benefit society. She cited one idea from a man who works with a social housing group who sees plasterers and plumbers walking past his rundown houses on their way to collect social welfare payments. He believes many tradesmen would be willing to lend him their skills for the greater good during a period of unemployment.
