08/03/2004

Minister launches cultural atlas of Northern Ireland

Culture, Arts and Leisure Minister, Angela Smith today welcomed the establishment of a new website to showcase Northern Ireland’s cultural assets in the international arena.

The Minister was speaking at Belfast City Hall, where she was launching Culture Northern Ireland www.culturenorthernireland.org an initiative supported by the department, at a cost of almost £400,000.

Praising the partnership forged between the Nerve Centre in Londonderry and the Linen Hall Library, in Belfast, for making the venture possible, Angela Smith said: "This very imaginative website has been described as a cultural atlas, which takes internet surfers into the very heart of Northern Ireland’s rich cultural heritage.

"Although still in its infancy, it is designed to provide a wide range of information on topics such as the arts, sport, industry and commerce. It will give the browser a real insight into what over 300 of our villages, towns and cities can offer both the visitor and local people alike and supports my Department’s aim of raising awareness of the Province’s many cultural treasures."

However, the Minister stressed that the success of the website would depend on the quality of its contents and appealed to those individuals and organisations around Northern Ireland, with local expertise, to help build up the store of information it held.

She said: "To give a fuller picture of the individual areas, I would urge people around the Province to pay the website a visit, at www.culturenorthernireland.org and forward their local knowledge to the designers, so that as many details as possible can be included."

The Minister said she also intended to explore the possibility of a similar launch in Washington to maximise the promotion of Northern Ireland’s cultural assets in the United States. She added: "I am confident that this website will project a positive image of Northern Ireland at home and abroad and that it has the potential to encourage more visitors to consider holidaying here."

The Minister was welcomed to the event by the Librarian of Linen Hall Library, John Gray, and by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Martin Morgan.

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