Today is St. Patrick’s day, and like millions of people worldwide today, we at RWorks are celebrating our Irishness. Ireland has an official population of four and a half million people, (Central Statistics, 2006, Ireland’s most recent census), but its diaspora is estimated to be in the region of over 45 million worldwide. Add to this the 800,00 Irish-born people living overseas, and 3.1 million Irish citizens living outside of Ireland, and you begin to see the staggering extent of the Irish diaspora.
No wonder then, that in the depths of economic recession, on 18-20 September 2009, the Irish Government held the Global Irish Economic Forum in Farmleigh Estate, Phoenix Park, Dublin. This was to ‘explore how the Irish at home and abroad, and those with a strong interest in Ireland, could work together and contribute to our overall efforts at economic recovery, and to examine ways in which Ireland and its global community could develop a more strategic relationship with each other, particularly in the economic sector’.
We at RWorks found the Breakout Panel Discussion moderated By David McWilliams (Economist, author and broadcaster) very interesting. The panel discussed and made recommendations on proposals emanating from the July 2009 report on ‘Technology Actions to Support the Smart Economy’. The report states that:
‘Speakers noted that Ireland is in an excellent position to develop as a global hub for data/cloud computing given our high levels of expertise associated with existing and planned centres’.
We at RWorks agree, as RWorks is a cloud computing solution addressing the needs of organizations managing remote teams.
Our Taoiseach (pronounced Teeshock- the Irish name for Prime Minister), Brian Cowen, has made an optimistic and forward-looking statement to the nation this St. Patrick’s Day, emphasising the crucial importance of entrepreneurship and innovation in moving forwards out of recession, and back to growth and prosperity, stating:
“People say the best way to predict the future is to invent it. One of Ireland’s best attributes is our ability to be agile and to make quick decisions to get ahead of the game” .
Brian Cowen’s Innovation Taskforce launched their report last week, and it is very particularly concerned with positioning Ireland as a global innovation hub.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from RWorks!
Interesting Links:
Brian Cowen’s St. Patrick’s Day message
Tapping into the Irish Diaspora
Global Irish Economic Forum Report
