Building people-to-people and economic relationships
www.sistercities.org.nz
ISSUE 10 - 2014
FROM THE BOARD GOODBYES AND HELLOS The Board sadly says goodbye to: n Marcia Jones (Board Member from Christchurch) who has taken up a yearlong professional development opportunity associated with mentoring and supporting teachers. n Thomas Appleton was our Board Advisor representing MFAT from June 2011 to March 2014. He worked hard across the whole organisation and in particular as part of the organising committee for the 2012 SCNZ Conference in Wellington. He and his family left for Taiwan in March to complete his 2 year language training, then he will be assigned to the NZ Embassy in Beijing. His contribution to SCNZ Board was greatly appreciated and we wish him and his family all the very best.
The Board thanks both Marcia and Thomas for their considerable input, expertise and assistance over their time with us. The Board extends a very warm welcome to Board Members - Bingying Lou, Jordan Lee and to Board Advisor, Edon Hoppener.
Bingying Lou My name is Bing and I’m a recent graduate of Victoria University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations, Political Science and Media Studies. I grew up in Wellington but I was born in Shanghai, China and moved to New Zealand at the age of four. Although it’s great having two countries to back in the Olympics, I’m definitely a Kiwi at heart. I’ve travelled around America, Canada, China, Malaysia and Australia and I’m still itching to go to Europe, Africa and South East Asia. I currently work at the Ministry for Primary Industries, and have been a member of the Wellington City Youth Council for the past four years. Part of the reason I decided to join Sister Cities New Zealand was to give back to a community which generously provided me with a sense of home and belonging for the past 17 years. I hope to bring huge passion, enthusiasm and a youth perspective into Sister Cities New Zealand, so as to encourage others to immerse themselves in diverse cultures, and help promote the development of multi-cultural networks.
Jordan Lee Jordan graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese and a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting. Jordan has also studied at the University of Melbourne and Fudan University in Shanghai. He has experience with working in both China and Vietnam.He currently works at Fonterra Co-operative Group in Auc kland. Within the company, he has held roles in Commercial Global Sales and Group Finance and his current role supports the Sales Excellence team. He is also an Associate Member of CPA Australia.Jordan is a member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s Leadership Network, he was a recipient of the New Zealand- China Scholarship and he is the current Chairman of their scholar’s network, and he is also the current Chairman of the New Zealand China Trade Association’s younger contingency – the NZCTA Young Associates.
Edon Hoppener Kia ora Koutou! I am extremely excited to be a part of the Sister Cities network this year in an advisory capacity. As a brief introduction, I work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the North Asia Division, specifically on Japan economic issues. At University I studied law, history, political science and international relations where I wrote my dissertation “He iwi tahi tatou: An historiographical account of Māori Assimilation” for my honours degree in history. I also studied French law and European business law at l’Universite Jean Moulin in Lyon, France and was the assistant national leader for the Ship for World Youth programme in 2012, which sailed from Tokyo to Sri Lanka and back. I look forward to actively participating in the network and seeing greater sister city relationships created in the year to come.
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NEWS & EVENTS GORE CONFERENCE The Gore District - a rural heartland - was privileged to host nearly 60 delegates at the 2014 Sister Cities conference at the Heartland Hotel, Gore. Showcasing world famous Bluff oysters, prime Southland lamb, famous cheese rolls, Stewart Island salmon and locally made cheese amongst the dining treats on offer and with tastings of Hokonui moonshine whiskey, delegates were suitably kept well fed and watered during the 2.5 day event. Day one got off to a comical start with Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt recalling stories from his early political days through to the long standing and successful sister city connection that city has with Kumugaya, Japan. The founder of Contiki Travel John Anderson provided a very enlightening tale of how his business began in London in the 1960s. He told of the risks he took and beliefs he had in ensuring the success of his first minibus trip with 11 other passengers around Europe, through to the global tourism venture Contiki became. The Contiki experience has become synonymous with over two million young people having travelled on a Contiki tour. His address was truly inspiring and very well received. A Mayoral reception at the renowned Eastern Southland Gallery was thoroughly enjoyed by all and was followed by a casual dinner at a local restaurant. Friday got off to a great start with Rex Capil from Venture Southland speaking about the outstanding success of the work done by Education Southland in attracting hundreds of international students to Southland secondary schools, including the wide range of benefits that accrue for both host families and the students themselves. Gore was honoured to have two delegates from its own sister city in Tamworth, Australia attend the conference. The link has endured since July 1992 and is growing stronger with new opportunities being taken by both Councils to foster the
relationship that started simply with a mutual association through country music. Both John Sommerlad and Tony McCann provided an interesting and insightful presentation on Tamworth’s links particularly with Gore and also it latest connection, Nashville, Tennessee. The Air New Zealand awards dinner capped off what had been a full and busy Friday. Delegates enjoyed presentations from four young Rotary international exchange students on Saturday morning. They all spoke very well and were complimentary about their time spent in Southland, enjoying the many opportunities that had been presented to them. Several other speakers gave interesting accounts throughout the conference including the Australian High Commissioner, CLAIR, Real Journeys, Dunedin City Council on its Shanghai link and the Asia New Zealand Foundation. The conference ended with lunch on Saturday before farewelling others and fitting in a quick visit to the Hokonui Moonshine Museum and onwards to airports for flights home. I was especially appreciative of the generous sponsorship received and of the support forthcoming from the SCNZ Board and the Gore District Council. The Board sincerely thank the Gore conference organising team, especially Susan. In addition we express our thanks to the Councils of Gisborne, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Southland for their financial support to offset the travel expenses of Board members, which they incur personally, to attend the conference. As the Board is a voluntary body this support is much appreciated. - Article by Susan Jones, Conference Convenor
SCNZ ART COMPETITION – EXTENDED ENTRY DATE!
Attention all schools! Sister Cities New Zealand challenge you to capture the essence of global friendship as an image. We’ve launching a competition to find two inspiring, creative and original images to print on our greeting cards. Your name, school, and image will then be seen by 100’s of people in New Zealand and around the world! Winners will be notified by email and confirmed on our Facebook page!
COMPETITION DETAILS n n
The competition is open to all New Zealand high schools.
Artworks must be A4 size and received no later than Sunday 31 August. A short description of your image – what it represents – should be included with the image. No entries will be returned to the sender. n n n
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Artworks must be an original design.
Categories: 13-15 years old and 16-18 years old.
The winners will be confirmed by the Board of SCNZ – no further correspondence will be entered into.
The winners in each category will receive a $100 book voucher and their design will be printed on SCNZ greeting cards with a full credit. The runner-up in each category will also receive a $50 book voucher.
LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION? http://sistercities.org.nz https://www.facebook.com/sistercitiesnz?fref=ts
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NEWS & EVENTS AIR NEW ZEALAND AWARDS 2014 The SCNZ Board would like to congratulate all of the entries in the 2014 Air New Zealand Awards. Sharing ideas and inspiring each other is an important part of Sister Cities and these awards are a celebration of the many exciting projects our members are involved in. It is never too early to start thinking about your entries for next year!
2014 Results Category 1: Youth, Education or School Project 1st place: Global Leadership Exchange, Christchurch England Sister Cities Committee Category 2: Cultural, Sport or Recreation Project 1st place: “How are you, my dear sister?” Christchurch China Sister Cities Committee Runner-up: Wellington Citizens Delegation, Wellington Xiamen Association Category 3: Business or Commercial Project 1st place: Wellington China Business Symposium, Wellington City Council Runner-up: Waka on the Waitemata Event, Auckland City Council
MINOH CITY AND LOWER HUTT STUDENTS BECOME VIRTUAL BUDDIES Hutt City Council has partnered with NEC New Zealand and Sister City Minoh in Japan to install ‘Live Skype Windows’ to allow for cultural exchange in real time. The link was launched on March 19 with a Skype-based event between the Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace, Mayor Tetsuro Kurata of Minoh City, dignitaries and school children of the two cities at Epuni Primary School. Hutt City Council has had a Sister City relationship with Minoh City for 19 years. Mayor Wallace says, “Our relationship with Minoh encompasses a significant number of educational, business, cultural, sporting and council exchanges so it’s wonderful to be able to add to that a digital exchange.”
Project Manager for the Sister City Skype Program, Linda Goss-Wallace of Hutt City Council said, “The launch was highly successful and pleasing to see the connections working well with students from both cities performing traditional song and dance activities between translated speeches from the Mayor’s and dignitaries. After two years of organisation and planning with Minoh City Office it is great to see the opportunities the “live Skype windows” will create for students and our community will be endless and I look forward to seeing how we can grow this program.” The schools connect via Skype Monday to Friday and the Library portal is available weekdays and weekends with exceptions on some Public and School holidays.
“We have portals at two local schools and one at the War Memorial Library which allows members of the community to share and exchange with the Minoh community at their Multicultural Centre.” NEC New Zealand Managing Director Mr Leonard Dench says, “The conferencing technology is a great opportunity for students from the Tui Glen and Epuni Primary schools to engage with the sister Japanese schools in Minoh every day and become virtual classmates.” The links have been established between n Epuni Primary School in Lower Hutt and Todoromi No Mori Gakuen in Minoh n Tui Glen School in Stokes Valley and Saito No Oka Gakuen in Minoh, and
Mayor Wallace and Mayor Kurata communicating via SKYPE
Lower Hutt War Memorial Library, with the Multicultural Centre in Minoh. n
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NEWS & EVENTS PRESIDENT SCNZ PROFILE ON ASIA NZ FOUNDATION WEBSITE The Asia NZ Foundation is one of SCNZ’s supporting partners and to support this relationship they have put Hiromi Morris (our President’s) profile onto their website. Visit the link to learn more about Hiromi:
http://asianz.org.nz/newsroom/insight/crossing-borders-sister-cities
CELEBRATING 600 YEAR OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS Many braved the wet and windy Wellington weather to celebrate the 600th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Poland earlier this month. SCNZ also attended this celebration at the National Library in Wellington, where Turkish Ambassador Damla Yeşim Say and Polish Ambassador both welcomed His Excellency Andrzej Ananicz, former Ambassador of Poland to Turkey, to speak about the centuries of diplomatic ties. Poland and Turkey in comparison are very different nations, both with distinct history, politics and culture. However, diplomatic relations between the two countries has always been unique and is one of the world’s most long-standing, dating back to the 1400s. From Left: Beata Stoczynska, Andrzej Ananicz, Damla Yeşim Say, Hiromi Morris
GISBORNE – GAMAGORI SISTER PORT PHOTO COMPETITION The 14th annual Gamagori Gisborne Sister Port Photo Competition is underway with the 2014 theme - Out and about in Eastland. Gisborne’s entries were recently despatched to Gamagori for public display and voting and Gamagori’s photos are being readied for public voting in Gisborne. Key to this competition is that images captured by the photographer are true, that means they are not reliant on post-production techniques. Our relationship with Gamagori is all part of extending the connections we have around the world. says Pam Murphy (President of Gisborne District Sister Cities). ”
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For six centuries, Poland and Turkey have continued to show strong political, economic and cultural ties and it is no doubt an inspiration for many others to follow.
SOUTHLAND YOUTH WORKSHOP On Thursday 13 March 2014, 40 students (most district and city secondary schools) attended the Southland Youth forum held in the Southland District Council Chambers. During a fun, interactive day some of Southland’s finest young people were introduced to Sister City concepts and the benefits of international relationships. A Chef from the Southern Institute of Technology involved everyone, youth and support adults, in making an international dish as part of the BBQ lunch. Yum. The forum included seven exchange students speaking and a RAP (Respect for All People) entertainment group made up of teens from James Hargest and Southland Girls’ Colleges. A very positive day with very successful outcomes for the Friendship Committee going forward.
NEWS & EVENTS KILBIRNIE STREET BRIGHTENED BY JAPANESE MURAL - Article credited to Asia New Zealand Foundation
School children from Wellington and Yokohama have created a stunning new mural on the streets of Wellington on the theme of friendship between New Zealand and Japan. The children painted the 100-metre long, 2-metre high wall during the last week of March and the mural was opened on Wednesday 2 April by Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown. For full article click HERE The Maori Maui myth depicted by local schoolchildren
GISBORNE MAYOR LEADS BUSINESS DELEGATION TO CHINA During April Gisborne’s Mayor Meng Foon led a delegation of local business leaders to visit a large Shandong wood processing company - Bohui Ltd – following three visits to the city by Bohui’s General Manager. The trip will combine with a visit to Gisborne’s Sister City, Rizhao in south-eastern Shandong province, to see its aquaculture, seafood industry and small farm holdings. Further opportunities for Gisborne’s wine industry will be investigated.
WELLINGTON MAYORAL LED DELEGATION TO CHINA AND JAPAN This month Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown will lead a delegation of business representatives and education providers from all over the Wellington region to China and Japan. The purpose of the delegation is to facilitate economic development opportunities for the delegates, and to raise Wellington’s profile offshore. Sister cities are a critical way of achieving these goals, and as such, the delegation will be visiting two of Wellington’s sister cities: Beijing (China) and Sakai (Japan). The delegation will also visit Tokyo, Tianjin and Hangzhou. In this Mayoral-led delegation more than 25 businesses
and education providers will make the most of the opportunity to conduct business with Wellington’s sister cities, with the support of Wellington City Council. Wellington and Sakai are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their sister city relationship in 2014 and it is expected that this delegation will increase the level of business and education collaboration between the two cities. The delegation will be capitalising on economic development events and other opportunities in Beijing, notably the China Beijing Interna-
tional Fair for Trade in Services and the Wellington Day at World Tourism Cities Federation Park. These events present Wellington with an incredible opportunity to showcase itself and raise the profile and image of Wellington in China. Mayor Celia Wade-Brown will also be meeting with the recently appointed Mayor of Beijing Mr Wang Anshun. This will be the first time the two have met and is a fantastic opportunity to further strengthen the sister city relationship between Wellington and Beijing.
GISBORNE CULTURAL VISIT TO JAPAN
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On 11 April, twenty-four students and four staff members from Gisborne’s Lytton High School departed for a 14 Day visit to Japan. This is an official cultural interchange with the Sister City of Nonoichi and the Sister Port in Gamagori. Students and staff experienced a wide range of activities such as sightseeing in Tokyo, riding the bullet train, visiting the Golden and Kiyomizu temples, visit modern buildings such as Skytree (the tallest tower in the world) and of course Universal Studios. Staying with a Japanese host family was a highlight of the visit. The Mayor of GisLytton High School Cultural Exchange Group borne, Meng Foon and the CEO of Eastland Port, Matt Todd, joined the group for Gamagori City’s celebration of its 60th Anniversary.
FROM THE BOARD
This diary of events is only as good as the information we receive. If you would like your activities for 2013 or 2014 listed here please contact us
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Newsletter contributons to: editor@sistercities.org.nz