On the final day of Shine week, Welcoming the World featured a day of workshops designed to share experience, talent and skills achieved throughout the Creative Partnerships programme. Content generated by young people and their teachers, including images, films, music and stories of the people and the local environment the participants wish to share with the rest of the world was showcased throughout the day.

Tim Campbell, 2005 Apprentice winner and founder of The Bright Ideas Trust met with a group of young people who had submitted ideas to the Ideas That Can Change The World project. As part of Shine week these talented young people had the opportunity to seek advice in relation to their idea from the very experienced entrepreneur Tim Campbell.

On day three of Shine week, over 2000 children from 27 schools across the North East took part in the Big Sing "Cry for Freedom" event at The Sage Gateshead, performing freedom songs after learning them in their schools throughout the term.

The inspirational setting of historic Creswell Crags is providing the back-drop for "The Meadows" - an ambitious week-long festival of creativity for Shine week, featuring over 800 talented pupils from 24 schools all over Bolsover, Ashfield and Mansfield engaging in a number of different activities including dance, art and creative writing.

Arts Award celebrates creativity and leadership! Over 600 schools and colleges offer this new qualification which recognises young people's achievement as artists and arts leaders. 170 of these have already supported students to gain Arts Awards, and we congratulate them in the Times Educational Supplement on Friday 4 July (PDF file, 37kb).

Joshua, 10, Matthew, 9 and twins Luke and Ruth, 6 Cook from Leigh On Sea in Essex are proud authors of a book called Summer Holiday Adventure. The children sold copies of the book to raise money for charity.

19 year old Cassandra Saunders-Dodd from Southend was inspired to make clothes by her mother. She has a passion for costume design and will be starting at Wimbledon University to study Costume Interpretation in September 2008.

Three schools in Northumberland have joined together under the banner Castle Federation Schools to really make the most of the Shine festival. For the past two months Cambo First School, Walton C of E First School and Longhorsley St Helen's C of E School, all in Morpeth, have been working collectively on an Around the World in 80 days project, metaphorically visiting countries around the globe from China to Africa.