Finance Minister opens mscapeFest 08 in Titanic Quarter

Finance Minister, Nigel Dodds, today welcomed visitors from around the world including Denmark, Canada and Singapore to Northern Ireland for the third ‘mscapeFest’. This is an annual gathering of the international community who have contributed to or developed a “Mediascape”.

Speaking at the event in W5, in the Titanic quarter of Belfast, Mr Dodds said:

“It is great to see that this event has attracted visitors from over 20 countries. It is fitting that we are celebrating the development of this knowledge-based technology in Belfast’s shipbuilding heartland, where technological innovation and industry was the epicentre of the industrial revolution.

“Northern Ireland’s economic future will be aided by continuing to make developments in technology. Mobile technology is an area of rising importance, and I am delighted that my Department has taken a lead in this very dynamic and innovative field.”

A Mediascape is a new and developing method of representing local landscapes, which can play relevant sound and video to a user as they move through their location with a handheld device.

The event programme is packed with workshops mentored by industry professionals, keynotes from a range of backgrounds, community case studies and plenty of networking.

The Minister continued:

“The first mscape in Belfast was built locally by a group of cross-community children from both primary and secondary schools, and captured the cultural history of the Titanic through personal family stories and some imaginative sound effects.

Innovation, heritage and tourism are an important part of the Northern Ireland economy.”

Other examples of Ulster Mediascapes’ work are on display in W5 including the educational games for children on Devenish Island developed with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

Notes to Editors

1. mscapeFest 08 is being held at W5, Belfast on 2-3 December 2008.
2. A ‘Mediascape’ is an interactive service which is aware of a user’s location as they move through it. Maps are combined with sound, narrative, dialogue, text, music, images, videos and animation to provide a virtual landscape to users. Over the past 3-4 years the concept has been gaining traction in a range of environments including education, tourism, culture and leisure, heritage, local community and transport.
3. The ‘Ulster Mediascapes’ project is sponsored by the Delivery & Innovation Division within DFP, with the objective of proving the benefits of this technology across a range of public sector environments, including: education, tourism, heritage, and the environment. It has potential for use in transport, health, planning and housing.  Indeed, anywhere that would benefit from a multi-sourced geospatial information reference environment.
4. Media enquiries only to DFP Communications Office on 028 9052 7644 or 028 9052 7375. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.