When Damien announced the Irish Web Awards categories, I was very interested by the "Best Foreign Language". That is because since I came to Ireland, I've been involved with many projects in a foreign language. I launched the Irish edition of a daily for French people abroad, then created the discussion board Forum Irlande and this was quickly followed by a monthly party in Dublin.

The awards long lists were published in several posts, so I kept waiting for the one including the foreign language sites but eventually I asked Damien via Twitter if the category had be removed. And sure it was. He told me that only four websites had been nominated in the category. I completely understand that is not enough from the organiser's point of view. But what I think we should explore why there were so few nominations.

Are there not many websites in a foreign language ? Are foreigners only using websites in English ? I don't think so.

From my experience of the French community in Ireland, I know plenty of sites in French, covering all things Irish : news, photos, travel, sport, food... you name it.

There are also numerous blogs, because it is one of the best way to stay in touch with your friends and family back home and to share your experiences abroad.

And that's only for the French which represent nothing compared to the Polish community.

So I think that the lack of nominations reflects the divide between the Irish and non Irish nationals on the web.There are very few connections between them.

If you read this and you are Irish (or from an English speaking country), think about how many sites you know that are related to Ireland but aren't in English or Irish ? Probably none.

My guess is that the foreigners didn't know about the Irish Web Awards because the information was not relayed to their communities and on the sites they read. It is not that they didn't want to participate but that they probably didn't know about the award.

How can we overcome this divide?

Picture : screenshot from the Awards website.