Last year, the world came together. We assembled greetings from all over the globe and artist Mick Stephenson put them together in a stunning illuminated sculpture for the Durham Lumiere festival. Colourful messages of friendship were encased in recycled plastic bottles and formed into a tree structure.

Today, the whole world faces a terrible crisis. Many children are unable to go to school or see their friends. Neighbours and family members may be lost as a result of this pandemic.

It would be wonderful if our friends and colleagues across the world would engage in an action of solidarity and demonstrate that we all care about our global neighbours.

I am writing to ask you to write a message of friendship to young people. Your message should be in the following format.

Simple message in either English OR in your own language AND English. A small colourful drawing. The name of your town and country.

Once your message is ready, please take a photo of it and email it to international@durham.gov.uk Could large school communities, please make a selection and send up to 5 messages per school.

I will then upload to our instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/durhamlumierefriendshiptree/ for all to see and take comfort from the knowledge that across the world, there are people thinking about them and that we are truly part of a global community.