About This Project
The Ballinamore Historical and Cultural Society supports the preservation and promotion of Ballinamore’s history, culture, and community life. Through the STRIDE Programme, the organisation found that information about local events, groups, heritage, and activities was fragmented across websites, Facebook pages, WhatsApp groups, posters, and word of mouth. Following the Design Thinking process, the agreed solution was a simple, mobile-friendly Community, Heritage and Events Digital Hub developed using Laravel Filament. The platform provides one central place for residents and visitors to discover what is happening in Ballinamore while remaining manageable for community volunteers.
Design Thinking Workshops
13 participants attended the Design Thinking Workshop on 20th May 2026 in Ballinamore. The workshop explored how people currently discover events, organisations, culture, and heritage information, identifying information fragmentation as the main challenge.
The agreed challenge was: “How might we create a clear and accessible digital way for people to discover Ballinamore’s events, culture and history across the town’s different groups?” The workshop prioritised a shared digital hub, an events calendar, improved visibility for community groups, heritage and tourism information, and location-based details. The workshop report was officially signed on 30th July 2026.
Deliverables
STRIDE deliverables included:
• A central community, heritage, and events website featuring a shared events calendar and community group directory.
• Dedicated sections for heritage, cultural, tourism, and visitor information alongside an interactive map.
• News and community updates managed through a secure Laravel Filament administration portal.
• Mobile-friendly public website design featuring search, filtering, and QR-linked information.
• Moderated community submissions to allow residents to contribute to the events calendar.
• Backup and data export functionality.
• Digital handover and user guidance for community representatives.
Note: The platform is designed to complement, not replace, existing community websites and social media channels.
Results & Impact
The project provides Ballinamore with a single digital point of discovery for events, community organisations, culture, heritage, and visitor information. The shared calendar and group directory greatly improve the visibility of activities across the town, while heritage and tourism content makes local information much easier for visitors to discover.
The Laravel Filament administration system allows authorised community representatives to manage content easily, without requiring advanced technical skills. The project avoids over-engineering—explicitly excluding native mobile apps, private messaging, or full-scale archive digitisation—and instead provides a practical, sustainable approach to digital transformation that volunteers can maintain and expand over time.