As we embark on 2019, we will be taking some time to reflect on the past 12 months and to look towards the lasting impact the project will have on our island.

The Our Island project was designed to help residents explore more and do more on the Isle of Man and encouraged us all to share more of what we love about our island.

Over the next three months we will be sharing the stories and successes from those that we partnered with and supported in 2018 through our weekly articles, reviewing the events and projects that took place in celebration of our themed months, and launching some new initiatives that have been developed during 2018.

In January of last year we celebrated our dark skies and we are delighted this month to bring you more news on work that is underway to develop further the Isle of Man’s Dark Skies Discovery sites.

There are 26 sites in total, and the team have identified some key sites to install star gazing benches and other facilities which will help you to enjoy the spectacle of the cosmos.

We are also delighted that the launch of the Manx Youth Bard, a new initiative which is the first of its kind in the British Isles will also take place this month.

The project, which has been supported by Year of Our Island, will give young people between the ages of 11 and 17 the opportunity to compete to become the island’s first youth poet.

Speaking about the project Bridge Carter, one of the creators of the Youth Bard initiative, said: ’The Manx Youth Bard will provide a fantastic opportunity for young people across the Isle of Man by way of enabling them to develop new skills and discover new ways of sharing their stories.’

And in March, Year of Our Island will conclude with festival of light which will see locations across the island come to life in a series of events across two weekends celebrating the start of spring through workshops, community art installations and performances.

The team will be sharing more about what the projects and events which we will be delivering during the first three months of 2019 in the coming weeks so be sure to follow our social media pages to keep up to date.

For more information about what Our Island has planned in 2019, go online to ourisland.im, call 687007 or email [email protected].

by the Year of Our Island Project

www.ourisland.im