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COUNTY Durham is one of the most cutting-edge places in the UK, and, with more than £3.8 billion in private sector investment underway across our county, there has never been a better time to plan a future in this beautiful county.

For several years, Durham County Council has been working hard to raise the profile of the county as a place for investment and by providing venues like NETPark and Aykley Heads, it is unlocking the private sector investment that brings us innovative companies and high-quality jobs, putting our county firmly on the map nationally and internationally.

The council has recently teamed up with The Northern Echo on a campaign called ‘My Future is Durham’ which builds on the successful foundations of its growing business reputation and aims to raise the aspirations of young people in the county, highlight future career choices, and encourage young people to see this wonderful and unique county as place in which they can thrive through to adulthood.

Durham is a county that offers a fantastic quality of life to families and the council is working hard to ensure that children not only receive a top class education, but that they remain here with their rich diversity of skills as adults, helping to enrich our county further as they join our growing economy and consider raising families of their own in our beautiful county.

As part of the campaign, local school children have visited some of the region’s successful businesses, such as Lexicon - to experience the world of virtual reality; ReViral – to introduce them to the world of science; and Atom Bank - the UK's first online only bank.

They’ve seen what is on their doorstep, and what they could achieve in the future, and they’ve been talking about their aspirations.

The next stage of the campaign sees us bring together a number of people who grew up in County Durham and who have all since forged successful careers here in the county.

As part of a short film being produced for the campaign, these advocates talk about their life here in the county and about their careers. They provide real-life examples of what can be achieved, and act as role models for the next generation. The My Future is Durham campaign will be taken into schools to engage directly with schoolchildren, teachers and parents, during week commencing the May 20. It is hoped that teachers will use the film as the starting point for conversations with schoolchildren about what they would like to achieve when they are older and where they see their own future.