2011 was a great year for the LGBT community. Every year is a rollercoaster, but this year has had many more ups than downs. A number of long-running campaigns finally hit mainstream, while some fantastic changes set in motion this year will create a better world in the next twelve months.

Join us for a quick spin through the headlines that made 2011 and see if you agree.

• In the US, Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed
• Stonewall and It Gets Better brought massive awareness of teen bullying
• Gay characters in mainstream TV programs were treated equally, if not with a little extra love and care

In the USA the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" law was repealed. Previously it was illegal to be gay in the US military and "Don't ask, don't tell" was used to turn a blind eye. The repeal, against a background of growing conservatism in the US, sparked a flurry of military coming out videos on YouTube.

Stonewall's 2007 "Some People Are Gay, Get Over It!" slogan has been hugely successful as the lynchpin of the annual Anti-Bullying Campaign. Posters, billboards, transport advertising and plenty of t-shirts spread the message once again this year. Stonewall also joined in with the It Gets Better Project by creating a number of videos of well-known UK actors, comedians, tv personalities and politicians with the twist that It Gets Better... Today.

The gay penguins of Toronto zoo became a watercooler subject this year. Buddy and Pedro had formed a homosexual couple but scientists at the zoo explained that the pair were to be temporarily separated to encourage them to mate with females. Since their separation Buddy has successfully mated with a female but Pedro hasn't. We're all waiting to see what will happen when the pair are reunited in Spring.

On all our screens this year one of the funniest sitcoms to cross the Atlantic, Modern Family, features a gay couple and their adopted daughter, and treats their relationship with the same standards as it does the other couples in the soap. Similarly, vampire hit True Blood proved that the real star was, as many of us long suspected, the glorious Lafayette. The character is not only gay but dismissive of gender stereotyping in his clothing choices, speech patterns and it's all bundled with a refreshing "I am what I am" attitude.

Finally, the It Gets Better Project became a household name and the social media hit of the year. The project was a response to a rash of teenage suicides in the US in 2010, all of them linked by homophobic bullying at school. This sad state of affairs was picked up by the international media but it was Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller who took the news and turned it around, inspiring actors, musicians, comedians, companies like Google, politicians, and right up to the President of the United States to make the most moving YouTube channel yet created. For just a taste of this, see one of the most-viewed videos from the project, in which Texan Councilman Joel Burns gives an impassioned plea to his fellow councillors to put an end to homophobic bullying.

And closer to home, Tom Dick and Sally celebrated to the sound of wedding bells, as two couples who met through the site got in touch to say thanks for bringing them together. Let's hope 2012 sees even more success stories to add to the Tom Dick and Sally Hall of Fame!

Whatever your aims for 2012 we hope you have a very happy year.