Welcome back — to work, volunteering or whatever is occupying you now that the holidays are over. We do hope the Christmas and New Year period treated you well and we’d like to thank you again for all your help and support over 2013. Which brings us to a brand new year — and the imminent approach of Blue Monday on the 20th of January. If you haven’t heard of Blue Monday, it’s the date cited as the most depressing day of the year — supposedly the Monday of the last full week of January. Now you might wonder what scientific research backs up that theory and the answer is: not a lot. However, the concept has been eagerly picked on by media outlets keen to highlight a time when the post-Christmas blues are, supposedly, at their bluest. Well, if they're going to pick on one day to promote gloom, we thought, why not use the notoriety of that date to celebrate a more positive message? Or rather our friends at Dóchas (the Irish Association of Non-Governmental Organisations) did. They are suggesting that all of is in, or associated with, development aid get together on the 20th of January for a campaign called Beat Blue Monday. The idea is to tweet upbeat messages and share good news stories on social media. It’s also an opportunity to promote a Facebook page that does precisely that: the World’s Best News (http://on.fb.me/1gbDX0c). So get your positive stories of change and success from your programmes and projects ready and keep an eye on this page, our Facebook page and our Twitter account for more tips and reminders as the 20th of January draws closer. Let’s start the year on a positive note!