December 2021

Newsletter
Save the date: 2022 Conference
7–8 April 2022

From the Board
The Global Cities New Zealand board has been looking
at potential te reo Māori names that reflect the goals
and objective of Global Cities New Zealand that will run
alongside all communications of Global Cities NZ.
There will be a discussion and decision made at theconference AGM.
Please feel free to let us know your thoughts.
Potential Names and Meanings
Piringa Taurikura

Piringa – connection, relationship,association, loyalty, commitment,
allegiance

Piringa Hapori

Taurikura – prosperous, thriving,at peace

Piringa Houtupu
HuriaoHapori – community

Piringa Huriao

Houtupu – genuine, sincere,
authentic
Huriao – global, worldwide

New Member
Season’s Greetings
The Board of Global Cities New Zealand extends ourbest wishes to all members and friends. May you all
have a restful and relaxing Christmas and New Year
break!
As we approach the end of 2021, it is a great time
to reflect back on all that's been achieved, despite
the many challenges and constraints. Our ability
to connect with friends and sister cities abroad
continues to be majorly impacted by the pandemic
but, as you will see in this issue, our members have
responded with resilience, innovation and creativity!
As the whakataukī goes: He waka eke noa - We're allin this together. The global pandemic has separated
the world in many ways, but it has also brought us
together in meeting this common challenge andcontinuing to value and celebrate our international
connections.
Take care over the holiday season. We look forward
to seeing you again at the 2022 GCNZ conference
7-8 April in Marlborough, in collaboration with the
Marlborough District Council (save the date!).
Ngā mihi o te wā
GCNZ Board

Priority One – Tauranga Moana
Te pai me te whai rawa o Tauranga Moana ki te ao
The prosperity and splendour of Tauranga Moana to the world

Priority One is an economic development enabler focusedon creating a prosperous and sustainable city and region.
Our most effective contribution to the community is tofocus on the creation of highly skilled jobs and the abilityof our own people to fill them. As a business-led economic
development organisation our direct connection to over
300 local business members ensures our effectiveness increating a high value economy that delivers social, culturaland environmental benefits to our community. We placesignificant value on international partnerships as a means
to enhance regional prosperity. The Western Bay ofPlenty International Strategy is a collaborative multiagency place-based approach to attract skills, talent andinvestment to the region. Alongside a number of sector
based global partnerships, Tauranga City has two longstanding sister cities, with which there are active work
programmes in education, trade and cultural exchange –Yantai, China (35 years) and Hitachi, Japan (33 years).
As a new GCNZ member we are excited about the future
direction of the organisation. SCNZ has always played acrucial role in fostering the people to people relationships
needed for meaningful international connections and
GCNZ is now well placed to play a significant role inhelping New Zealand cities, communities and regions
build enduring global relationships for mutual benefit.

GCNZ Newsletter / December 2021

Save
the
date

Looking forward to Global Cities New Zealandconference in Marlborough: 7-8 April 2022
By Cathie Bell, Marlborough Sister City Committee
Marlborough’s sister city committee members arelooking forward to welcoming everyone to April’s
Global Cities New Zealand conference in Blenheim.
The conference, at Blenheim’s events centre on April
7 and 8, is themed on “creating connections”, both on
how sister cities can maintain their relationships during
COVID disruptions and how those relationships might
be re-built when international travel becomes feasible
again.
Marlborough mayor John Leggett is taking a strong
interest in the conference’s planning and is keen to show
off some of the best aspects of Marlborough to guests.
“It’s important to us here in Marlborough to show goodmanaakitanga and hospitality to visitors. We want you toenjoy your stay here.”
Marlborough sister city committee chair Gerald Hopesays the conference will be a high quality one thatparticipants will get value out of as well as enjoyment.
“There will be a variety of stimulating speakers to present
to the conference. So it should be informative as well as
enjoyable.”
Recent conferences in Palmerston North and Wellington
have set a high standard, he said, and Marlborough is
keen to maintain that level of standard.
The 2022 conference will be notable for several

celebrations.
Auckland will celebrate 50 years of sister city relationshipwith Los Angeles in the United States and Christchurch
will also celebrate 50 years of a sister city relationshipwith Adelaide in Australia. Several other cities and towns
will celebrate long-standing relationship anniversaries.
The conference will also celebrate New Zealand’s
diplomatic relationships with the USA (80 years), Japan(70 years), South Korea (60 years) and China (50 years).
A range of accommodation options are available in
Blenheim, near to the events centre venue.
People wanting to look at accommodation options canfind plenty to consider at Marlborough’s regional tourism
organisation’s website: marlboroughnz.com. Listings canbe found under the visit button, through the menu ‘find& book’.
Gerald Hope said Marlborough was keen to see conference
participants stay on for the weekend to experience somemore of the great experiences Marlborough had to offer.
A range of tours to the best of Marlborough’s attractions
have been organised so that participants and theirpartners can make the most of their travel time.
“We are very proud of our district, and we like to makesure visitors enjoy their time here.”
Click here to view the draft conference programme .

GCNZ Newsletter / December 2021

40-year Anniversary between Tempe, Arizona andLower Hutt, New Zealand
By Paul Duffin, Hutt Sister City Foundation President

In 1981 Marie-Louise Blockley was tasked to travelto the USA by Lower Hutt Mayor Sir John KennedyGood, to learn about the new concept of Sister Cities.
At the conference she was attending she met Dick
Neuheisel from Tempe, Arizona and so the seeds
were sown…
Hutt Sister City Foundation, together with Tempe, wanted
to mark their 40-year connection with a celebration
event, but unfortunately COVID has prevented this.
Hopefully when the borders re-open we can celebrate
appropriately.
The suggestion was put forward to plant a tree inrecognition of the warm relationship which hasdeveloped since that first trip back in 1981. The US
Embassy was approached and was immediately on board,
with the eventual site of Camperdown, the residence of
the Ambassador, being selected.

After many emails back and forth, on Thursday 9th
December we gathered to plant a beautiful kōwhai tree.
The weather played its part, with the drizzle pausing forthe ceremony.
The guests included Marie-Louise Blockley, two former
Hutt City Mayors, along with previous student delegates,
Hiromi Morris on behalf of GCNZ as well as the current
Hutt City mayor and several councillors.
The planting of the tree was acknowledged by Peter
Jackson, as the mana whenua representative, with several
karakia being performed. This tree will be acknowledged
with a plaque so that future visitors will understand thesignificance of its placing in the beautiful grounds ofCamperdown.
As does the kōwhai tree grow, with strong roots andreaching outwards, so do the lives of the people who arepart of the Sister City communities.

Left: Local kaumatua Peter Jackson, HSCF President Paul Duffin and US Ambassador Tom Udall. Middle: Tree planting.
Right: GCNZ President Hiromi Morris, Taylor Snow, Abbie Gordon, Paul Duffin, Kiralee Cooke, Ambassador Udall, Zoe Eathorne, Isla
Hikuroa and Suzi Duffin (HSCF Student Co-ordinator HSCF).

Marking the Liberationof a Sister City in 1918
By Sue Milner, Cambridge Community
Board Chairperson
Despitelockdown
Cambridge
markedtheAnniversary of the Liberation of its Sister City inFrance. On 4th November 1918 the NZ Regimentliberated the Northern French Town of Le Quesnoy.
Cambridge has a sculpture remembering this event andagain Wreaths were laid. The Last Post sounded and the
Church of St Andrew across the road flew the Tricolour.
This wreath laying was under lockdown rules so numbers
were limited to four members of the RSA, The Chair of
the Cambridge Community Board and the Cornet Player.
Usually this is a big event attended by many, but COVID
has changed the rules for 2021.

GCNZ Newsletter / December 2021

Tauranga International
Student Wins SupremeAward for App Design
Local international student Michael Ren from Tauranga
Boys’ College recently won the senior Young Innovators
Award for 2021 for his app design.

Yantai and Tauranga
Celebrate 35 Years as
Sister Cities
Last month marked the 35th anniversary of sistercity relations between Tauranga and Yantai City in
Shandong Province, China.

Michael is also part of the recently initiated Global
Ambassadors programme - the aim of which is to engage
and empower youth from diverse backgrounds to become
local role models for diversity, cooperation and global
citizenship.
Read the full article in the Weekend Sun newspaper here.
Michael Ren. Photo: Salina Galvan

Yantai is well known for its wine and horticulturalprovidence, producing apples, pears, cherries andwine. It is also an important centre for marine related
research and commercialisation, with strong academic
and research relationships existing between Waikato
University’s Coastal Marine Field Station and the Yantai
Institute of Coastal Zone Research. In addition to marine
related research, both cities work together in areas suchas sport exchanges, trade promotion and development,
and tourism.
However, one of the most enduring relationships
is the school exchange programme that exists
between Tauranga Intermediate and Yantai No. 2 School.
This relationship began in 2002 and over the past 20 years
has enabled young people from both cities to develop
lifelong friendships and improve their knowledge andunderstanding of different cultures.
Annemieke Hart, Tauranga Intermediate’s International
Director says “Tauranga Intermediate is extremely
fortunate to have such a long-standing relationship with
our sister city Yantai. International exchanges have helped
students become global citizens while appreciating theirown culture. As well as developing lifelong friendships,
the exchanges give our students learning Mandarin,
practical opportunities to put their language skills into
practice. It has also helped Tauranga’s youth ‘sow a seed’
for future pathways, whether that be further education,
careers or travel.”
To celebrate the sister city anniversary, a video
presentation featuring Tauranga Intermediate students
kapa haka group andcity representatives
was sent to Yantai(watch it here). In
return, Yantai City
prepared a series ofartworks depicting
therelationshipbetween both cities(right).

Nelson’s Sister City
Relationships Treasured

Mayor Rachel Reese and Councillor Trudie Brand showcasing
a selection of treasured gifts from Nelson’s sister cities, Miyazu,
Huangshi and Yangjiang, which are on display in the Council
Chamber at the Nelson City Council.

GCNZ Newsletter / December 2021

Wellington Sakai Association Celebrates Running
Relationship Milestone
By Raewyn MacGregor and Roxie Orr, Wellington Sakai Associaion
At a dinner in November, the Wellington Sakai
Association hosted runners who had previously
represented our city in the Senshu International
Marathon, to thank and celebrate them for their partin supporting our sister city relationship.
We believe this running exchange in its most recent form
to be a relationship that is unique globally.
Also in attendance were His Worship the Mayor of
Wellington Andy Foster, His Excellency the Ambassadorof Japan Ito Koichi, and other dignitaries, who allgathered to commemorate 25 years of Wellington’s
running relationship with Sakai. Throughout the evening,speeches and stories were shared about the unique value
and positive impacts this relationship has, and thosein attendance renewed their commitment to seeing it
continue for many years to come.
Since 1996, a runner from Wellington has been invitedto travel to Sakai to explore the city, make personalconnections, and participate in the Senshu International
Marathon alongside runners from around the world
representing Sakai’s other sister cities. This runner
was historically selected based on an application andinterview process, with the only requirement being thatthey could complete the marathon in enough time to
avoid being picked up by the sweeping vehicle at the tailend of the runners. However, in 2016, the marathons ineach city became sister marathons and, as a result, theselection process was changed.
Now, the first person to complete the Wellington
Marathon who lives or works in Wellington and hasn’t
already been to Sakai wins the opportunity to represent
the city in the next Senshu Marathon, opening up thisrelationship to a wider group of citizen athletes. The
selection alternates between male and female runners
each year, and the same criteria applies to the Senshu
International Marathon, who have started sending theirown runner to the Wellington Marathon.

A culture of running is one of the commonalities between
Wellington and Sakai, between New Zealand and Japan.
Running creates a great sense of community where
everyone is out there doing their best towards a common
goal. The runners’ world of movement, competition, andcamaraderie cuts across cultures and languages. The
sense of togetherness of all runners at the start and endof a marathon, in many ways, is like the relationship that
Wellington and Sakai engage in as sister cities.
Both cities provide homestay, sightseeing and cultural
opportunities during their stay. During the dinner,
Stephen Day from Wellington Scottish Athletics Club,
who helped organise the event, and other previous
runners spoke of the lifelong relationships that they madewith their homestays and supporters, and how theseexperiences were in many ways the most gratifying andmemorable of their exchanges, with special hospitality
and graciousness. As was repeated many times over theevening: even more than the marathon, it’s about thepeople.
Wellington Sakai Association is proud to facilitate theongoing relationship with the two marathons and islooking forward to the exchange resuming in the future.
Special thanks go to Wellington City Council, The
Embassy of Japan, Stephen Day and the Wellington
Scottish Athletics Club, and the runners who attended
and shared their experiences.
Links to previous runners’ experiences:
Senshu International City Marathon - A Report from
Stephen Day
Miyuki’s NZ Travel Notes
Wellington’s special Japanese citizen-runner exchange

GCNZ Newsletter / December 2021

Living in a Changed
World, Senior YouthReunion and Forum
Celebrating global connections
By Jan Fitz-Gerald, President, Institute of
Global Engagement New Zealand & GCNZ
Director“Reading Beijing” Book
Display Opened at Te
Awe Library, Wellington
By Leteicha Lowry, Wellington City Council
A book display has been set up in Wellington’s Te Awelibrary to celebrate 15 years of sister city relations
between Wellington and Beijing.
A number of books were donated by the Beijing Capital
Library and Beijing Municipal Government for the display
spanning the topics of sport, Chinese literature, Chinese
history, Chinese folk tales, and children’s books.
The display invites Wellington community members, young
and old, to learn about and celebrate Chinese culture
through literary works. The display will run for two weeks
from the 6th of December 2021.
The library display will be paired with the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the
Capital Library of China and Wellington City Libraries. The
MoU will be valid for three years from its signing date andis an agreement to foster mutual support and cooperation
to benefit both libraries and their users. Activities between
the libraries may include exchanges of management level
delegations, exchanges of library staff, and cooperation on
library actives through promotion, loans of publications,and academic forums.
This project marks the final celebration to commemorate the15th anniversary of the sister city relationship. Celebrations
opened in February with an event at the Museum of New
Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, attended by Mayor Andy Foster
and, by video, Beijing Mayor CHEN Jining, Ambassador
to China Clare Fearnley and Chinese Ambassador to New
Zealand WU Xi. A series of online meetings have also takenplace between Beijing and Wellington across 2021 to discussvarious topics; “Smart City” Seminar, “Two Zones” Policy
Promotion, Tourism Promotion, and Business Environment
Seminar.
Beijing and Wellington have had strong ties for many
years as friendly cities since 1994. This status was officiallyupgraded with the signing of a sister city agreement in May
of 2006 by former Mayor of Wellington Kerry Prendergast
and Vice Mayor of Beijing Sun Anmin. The agreement was
signed during the Sister Cities New Zealand 25th Anniversary
Conference.

The Institute of Global Engagement New Zealanddelivers a series of annual youth leadership and global
citizenship events with schools and students in China
and New Zealand.
In July, and in conjunction with the Qingdao Municipal
Education Bureau and Foreign Affairs Office, Shandong,
China we hosted an online youth leader’s forum to ensure
we could all keep in touch and continue with important
relationships. The initiative brought together 75 student
participants from schools and summit alumni and 34
international education colleagues and local and central
government officials from the sister cities of Qingdao,
Auckland and Dunedin and a large delegation from
Qingdao’s Education Agreement partners in Christchurch(signed during the last youth leadership summit held in
Christchurch, 2019).
We were grateful for the wonderful support of the manycolleagues in New Zealand who attended the official opening
with a special thanks to guest speakers Miranda Herbert,
Director, Greater China for Education New Zealand Beijing,
Alistair Crozier from the Asia New Zealand Foundationand Wang Zhijian, Consul General, Chinese Consulate,
Christchurch. Managing over 100 participants in an online
capacity was somewhat daunting - we cannot wait to getback to celebrating global connections in person.

Some of the online forum participants.

Government representatives and students from Qingdao whoparticipated in the event held at Qingdao No. 9 School

GCNZ Newsletter / December 2021

JET Programme 2021
Participants Depart
By Chloe Doole, Specialist for Cultural
Affairs/JET Programme, Embassy ofJapan in New Zealand
For many years sister city relationships and the JET
Programme have been interlinked and mutually
supportive of each other.
In November, 72 New Zealanders began their new
lives in Japan as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs)or Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs) as
participants of the Programme. Nine have commenced
their respective roles in Osaka Prefecture’s Minoh City,
the sister city of Lower Hutt.
Before their departure, Minoh JETs received the kind
invitation to speak with Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry,
Hutt Minoh House Friendship Trust (HMHFT) Chair Cr
Brady Dyer, and HMHFT member Michelle Gibson on a
virtual call. This valuable opportunity helped the JETs todeepen their knowledge and perspectives of the HuttMinoh relationship, as well as realise the importance of
their roles as cultural ambassadors to encourage peopleto-people relationships.
There are also other JETs who began their work in
Nonoichi, sister city to Gisborne, and Shinagawa in Tokyo,
sister city to Auckland. Even during these uncertain times,
the JET Programme will continue to motivate young New
Zealanders to serve as a bridge between Japan and New
Zealand, and reinforce our sister city relationships.
We wish all the JETs the best of luck as they begin their
new endeavours in Japan.

Darfield High School
Japanese Exchange
goes Digital

The New ZealandJapan Sister City
Webinar Series

By Hayden de Burger, Year 12 Darfield
High School Student

By Taiki ITO, Assistant Director at
CLAIR Sydney

Over the past two weeks, we have been talking witha group of Japanese students from Yubetsu where
our sister city Hokkaido in Japan is.

CLAIR Sydney has been holding a webinar
series on New Zealand-Japan sister city
relationships for employees of Japanese
local governments that have sister city
relationships with local governments in New
Zealand.

We have been sharing stories of what we are doing, likewatching the Olympics, or showing our lunches as they
are very different from Japanese lunches. They found it
quite strange to see all of us right next to each other: inJapan, they still have COVID and social distancing. It was
hard to explain but I think we got the message across.
It has been great for
us Kiwi students topractise our Japaneseand for the Yubetsu
students to practise
their English. It has
been a great alternative;
usually, DHS would
send students on an
exchange to Yubetsu
but, with COVID-19,
thishasn’tbeen
possible.
Wewillcontinue to speak withthese students for along time to come andour speaking skills will
improve a lot.

This webinar series aims to encourage sister city
projects even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the first webinar held in late Augustthat featured a presentation by CLAIR Sydney’s
Executive Director, the second webinar was held
on 27th October.
In the second seminar, Mr Tomotaka Ishizu,
Director of the Japan Information and Cultural
Centre at the Embassy of Japan in New Zealandand Mrs Hiromi Morris, President of Sister Cities
New Zealand, talked about the sister city relations
and the current situation of the coronavirus
pandemic in New Zealand. During the webinar,
Mr Ishizu, Mrs Morris and staff of CLAIR Sydneyreceived many questions, which led to a very
dynamic exchange of ideas and an overall wellreceived session.
CLAIR Sydney will continue to engage insupporting the sister city exchange activities
between New Zealand and Japan.

GCNZ Newsletter / December 2021

Gisborne District Sister Cities Roundup Past & Present
By Jan Calder, GDSC Secretary

The Boy who
conquered Everest

Gisborne – Gamagori
photo competition

A story of a young 13 year old
Jordan Romero who climbed
Mt Everest and had climbed
the seven summits by age of
151/2 years.

An exchange of photos judged
on by citizens of the two sistercities which commenced 2000 –enriches the visual knowledge tothe citizens of both cities.

Gisborne Intermediate teacher
Anna Wright and Wainui
Primary
Schoolteacher
Storm Dunn and Abraham Lincoln School, Palm Desert
completed a two week study – both teachers had alongwith 28 other Gisborne educators over the last 20 years
attended at least once a one-week course at McCallum
Theatre’s Aesthetic Education programme – a program
where PDSCF sponsor the Gisborne educators’ entries
each year. The culmination of the two week study forthe 640 students was a presentation by Jordan Romero at
McCallum Theatre Palm Desert.

Artiste in
Residence

The Raincatcher
Bronze, 1999. located within
the Australian garden by wellknown Australian sculptor Anton
Hassell.

Japanese Garden
The Japanese Garden at Gisborne Botanical Gardens
commenced development 1996 with practical assistanceand structural advice from Nonoichi’s mayor and citizens.

An exchange programme
between Gisborne and
Palm
DesertSisterCities. Russel Jacques
and wife Linda were
hosted in Gisborne 2007
while Russell tutored
and sculptured “Spiritof Sister Cities” which
stands at street leveloutside H B Williams
Memorial Library.

Simultaneous
Golfing
To the right is a newspaper
article from a Palm Desert
newspaper
regardingagolf match to be played in
two different millenniums
simultaneously - Gisborne
9am 01/01/2000 & Palm Desert 12pm 31/2/1999
A News crew KESQTV3 spent 6 days in Gisborne setting up
a direct broadcast to celebrate the turn of the millennium
and observe any predictions of “IT failure”.

Palm Desert SC garden
Located at Gisborne Botanical Gardens, it opened inAugust 2000 has been designed to include 35 rocks
sourced from Te Puke quarry and created by Californian
artist Mike Watlin. A structure housing the Greig Cacti
collection donated in the 1970’s has most appropriately
been included in this visitor experience.

Taiko Drumming
A Palmerston North Taiko group visiting Lytton HighSchool and facilitating a Taiko drum session using
Gisborne Sister City’s Taiko Drums which are housed at
LHS.

GCNZ Newsletter / December 2021

Bastille Day
celebrations
in Cambridge

Connecting Youth Cambridge &Le Quesnoy

By Jude Dobson, The
New Zealand Memorial
Museum Trust - Le
Quesnoy

By Jude Dobson, The New Zealand
Memorial Museum Trust - Le Quesnoy

The Waikato town of Cambridge celebrated its Sister
City connection with Le Quesnoy on Bastille Day,and extended their French theme throughout the
July school holidays.
The Cambridge Le Quesnoy Friendship Association
teamed up with the Cambridge Museum, iSITE, Library,
and local businesses to enjoy some mid winter Frenchfun.
The flags flying and the Town Hall lit up in French colours
was just the start of celebrations as the Cambridge
community embraced their friendship with Le Quesnoy.
Locals could start the day with delicious crepes orcroissants, browse the French themed shop fronts andsupermarkets, stop by at cafes for French Onion Soup or
macarons and end the day with a subtitled French film atthe local theatre.
Themed dinner options serving French wines and Coq
au Vin were very popular. Diners were heard reminiscing
about their visits to France and dreaming up plans to go
again when circumstances allow.

Above left to right: Cambridge locals Zach and Ethan Harvey
and Reine and Madeleine Pryor at Cambridge Museum in theJuly school holidays about to start their Lego challenge to build
an Eiffel Tower and write postcards to children in Le Quesnoy.

The youth of Cambridge have long standing
relationships with Quercitains.
When the Cambridge Brass Band, with many teenagers
amongst them, travelled to Le Quesnoy for the liberation
centennial commemorations in 2018, they experienced
the renowned French friendship, first hand. Residents
surprised them by knowing the words to Pokarekare Anajust as well as the ones to La Vie en rose.
The recent July school holidays saw even younger ages
starting their French connection, as they played withLego.
The Eiffel Tower Lego Challenge produced many towers,
some as high as two metres tall, complete with French
Flag atop. All promoted discussion of the New Zealandconnection with France.
The "Letters to Le Quesnoy” activity introduced children
to the pen pal connection of old.
Primary aged children wrote messages and drew pictures
about their life as a young Kiwi on Cambridge - themed
post cards. They were then posted en masse to ChevrayPrimary School in Le Quesnoy, France.
With the local pre-school in Le Quesnoy 'École Maternelle
Docteur Averill' named after Leslie Averill, the first man
over the wall in 1918, the young recipients are sure toknow about New Zealand.
The special friendship between Le Quesnoy and New
Zealand that started in 1918 is not only shared between
individuals of all ages, but by community groups, towns
and cities half a world away, generation after generation.