BY JACK WELCH

WITH the year now drawn to a close, I remember the day I sat on the recognisable red benches of the House of Lords as part of my project to help young people.

It was difficult to imagine how such an opportunity itself could arise in the space of a year and I could see no better place to start the project, which I produced with the charity Fixers.

The project aimed to help enable more young people to see the value of using heritage as a theme for a project and for organisations to consider ideas which explore the historical environment in their communities.

Titled ‘Generation History’, the project saw the production of what is becoming a popular booklet for diverse groups, and a short news film broadcast on three ITV regional news bulletins to promote the goals of the project.

It was a perfect opportunity to showcase the work produced from the ‘Walking in their Shoes’ project and how activities like Geocaching could be utilised as an informative, but enjoyable format to tell stories across different landmarks – which Dorset is naturally rich in.

Looking forward, being part of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day also gives a fresh start again in 2016, where I will be returning to the national ceremony on Wednesday, January 27.

Though there are many occasions throughout the year, few can be quite as significant as this one.

For Dorset too, the youth service consultation and NHS service review reminds there is plenty of work in 2016 to make it the biggest yet.