N E W S L E T T E R
Special Edition - May 2021
CONFERENCE 2021
CELEBRATING 40 YEARSof Global Connections and Diversity
TE PAPA TONGAREWA, WELLINGTON
15 & 16 APRIL 2021

From the SCNZ Board
Sincere appreciation by Hiromi Morris, SCNZ President & Conference CoordinatorOn behalf of the Board of Sister Cities New Zealand, I would
like to thank you, all the participants for attending thespecial 40th Anniversary Annual Conference.
We trust it was a success with over 100 people attending, witha high standard of programme and distinguished speakers toreflect the theme “Celebrating 40 years of Global Connections
and Diversity”. This year’s Conference was special , notonly celebrating the 40th anniversary, but also meetingwith participants in person after the 2020 Conference wascancelled due to the Covid Pandemic. Technology has allowed
us to connect with overseas participants as well through Zoom
while the borders are closed.
Special appreciation to our patron The Rt Hon Dame Patsy
Reddy for hosting the Welcome Reception at the Government
House and to Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan, Minister for
Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities for inspirationaland encouraging speech at the Reception.
We would like to acknowledge the following organisations fortheir generous sponsorships:• Office of Ethnic Communities• Local Government New Zealand• Asia New Zealand Foundation• Wellington City Council• Ministry of Foreign Affairs& Trade• Embassy of Japan• CLAIR Japan Local
Government Centre• Nautilus Estate• Moore Wilson

I also would like to acknowledge a retired board member,
Bernard Duncan, after six years’ contribution to SCNZ,
particularly for researching and compiling an excellent
summary of 40 year history of SCNZ for this special
Conference. The conference booklet and the 40 year history
summary is available to read - please click link here.
For your information, the structure of the Board is as follows
for 2021/2022 year:
President: Hiromi Morris (Wellington)
Vice President: Ray Wallace (Lower Hutt)
Directors: Grant Smith (Palmerston North), Jan FitzGerald (Christchurch), John Christie (Dunedin), Toni Grace(Palmerston North) and newly elected Taylor Marston*(Auckland). *Please see profile below.
The 2022 year is a significant year for New Zealand’s diplomatic
relationships with USA (80 years), Japan (70 years), South Korea(60 years) and China (50 years) and the SCNZ
Conference will be held in Blenheim 6-7 Aprilin partnership with Marlborough District Council.
We all look forward to seeing you there.

Introducing new board member
Taylor Marston
Taylor has an academic background in sistercities having completed his master’s thesis onsister city relationships shared between Japanand Aotearoa New Zealand. Taylor lived in Kobe,
Japan for three years while completing his master’s
degree but currently resides in Tāmaki Makaurau and ispursuing a PhD in the field of community development, looking
at the role of community in sister city relationships.
Taylor has a strong passion for the “think global, act local”
doctrine and is eager to promote the actions of sister cities
and their importance in contemporary society, especiallyto today’s youth. Being a ‘youth’ himself, Taylor hopes to use
this opportunity as a director of the board to help promote
youth involvement in sister cities and to bring youth into thediscussion table. Taylor is also an assistant lecturer at AUT
teaching both Japanese and social sciences.

Introducing new SCNZ memberŌpōtiki District Council by Mayor Lyn Riestrer
In July 2019 the three Eastern Bay Mayors (Kawerau,
Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki) travelled to Nanchang,
Jiangxi Province of China, to formalise a Sister
Province relationship as well as three sister city
relationships within the Jiangxi Province. Ōpōtiki
District has begun our sister city relationship withXin Yu. Unfortunately through 2020 and Covid issues
we have not been able to reciprocate our sister city colleagues
coming to visit us but we are hoping to get to this in the future.
We are keen to pursue educational, cultural and economic
opportunities between Xin Yu and Ōpōtiki District.
As Mayor, I wanted to join Sister Cities New Zealand to learn how
best to grow inter- city relationships as well as extend cultural
understanding by being involved in the organisation. With avolunteer background in intercultural student programmes(AFS NZ) I think this is a logical step to make from a local
government perspective. I look forward to learning more.

N E W S L E T T E R
Special Edition - May 2021

Reflections on SCNZ Conference
By Jan Fitz-Gerald, SCNZ Director

By John Christie, SCNZ Director

We were immersed into the wonderful cultures thatreflect the nature and purpose of Sister Cities.

During the recent Sister Cities 2021 Conference, I
was privileged to chair the session on investing in
relationships and economic development.

Beginning with a beautiful mihi by Te Papa staff andpowerful opening remarks by local iwi Kaumatua Kura
Moeahu this served as an excellent introduction to thetheme of Day One.
The theme of ‘globally-engaged communities’ wasintroduced by Anusha Guler from the Office of Ethnic
Affairs and followed by recorded messages of greetings by
NZ Ambassadors to China and Japan, and special friends
from Sister Cities International (USA), CLAIR (Japan) and
CPAFFC (China).
The afternoon’s theme changed to one of celebration
where a number of 40 and 45 year anniversaries wereacknowledged. These were for the cities of Dunedin,
Napier, Nelson, Gisborne and Lower Hutt and theirrespective sister cities.
The highlight of the day most certainly was the welcome
reception at Government House hosted by Her Excellency
The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy Governor
General of New Zealand. This was a truly memorable
occasion with many delegates delighted to experience
visiting such a special and important location and home.
The day concluded after the reception but this certainly
set the scene for the next day’s work.

The focus of this session was looking at how establishedsister city relationships can be used as a platform foreconomic development and the opportunities thatenhance this through regional and national collaboration.
This is a topic close to my heart, after being involved
with Dunedin’s sister city programme for more than 25
years. Progressing these relationships from a purely civic
and cultural approach to include economic and social
outcomes takes foresight, planning and commitment.
There were three projects that stood out to me as bestpractice examples of this at the Conference, including:• Marlborough’s support of the Ningxia wine industry
which has yielded a 30:1 return on investment throughwine technology export and expertise, marketing andeducation;• The Auckland, Guangzhou and Los Angeles tripartite
alliance promoting trade, investment and people-topeople connections;• The Selwyn District sister city project with Toraja,Indonesia, assisting coffee farmers.
For me these are very tangible examples of the close
link between community development and economic
development.
I think Wikipedia’s definition captures it best when it
states, ‘economic and social development is the process
by which the economic well-being and quality of life ofa nation, region, local community or an individual are
improved according to targeted goals and objectives.’
These projects all demonstrated great examples of thevalue sister cities have in improving economic
and social outcomes for our mutualcommunities.
If you want to check out thepresentations further follow this link.

N E W S L E T T E R
Special Edition - May 2021

2021 Sister Cities Awards
By Ray Wallace, SCNZ Vice-President
Congratulations to all the nominees who entered in the 2021 Awards. We had a range ofmembers’ groups who did great things in strengthening their sister city relationships.
The awards evening was a splendid affair held at the Te Papa Marae. The evening
included speakers Bernard Duncan, SCNZ Director and John Strevens, former SCNZ
President, giving some of the 40 year history of Sister Cities New Zealand. There
was also great entertainment from the Conference's MC.
The many volunteers who contributed to the great success of sister city relationships
were also acknowledged at the awards evening.

Award Category Winners
Best Local Government Award
WINNER: Selwyn District Council: Toraja Relationship
RUNNER-UP: Whanganui District Council: Covid-eoing
with NagaiZoomi ProjectBest Project (Corporate or Commercial Focused)
WINNER: Christchurch Songpa-gu Sister City Committee:
Songpa-gu Korean Garden Project
RUNNER-UP: Enterprise Dunedin: City Council Project China
Best Project (Community and School)
WINNER: Marlborough District Council: Ninqxia Sister
Region Wine Technology Project
RUNNER-UP: Taylor Marston
Supreme Award
WINNER
Selwyn Sister Cities Committee: Toraja Relationship

SIGNIFICANT ANNIVERSARIES

2021

2020

Nelson - Miyazu, Japan (45 years)

Napier - Tomakomai, Japan (40 years)

Gisborne - Palm Desert, USA (40 years)

Dunedin - Otaru, Japan (40 years)

Lower Hutt - Tempe, USA (40 years)

N E W S L E T T E R
Special Edition - May 2021

Feedback from Conference Participants
Neil Henry, Economic Development
Manager at Marlborough District Council

Teresa Chan, Chair, Dunedin Shanghai
Association

SCNZ 2021 at Te Papa was my first Sister Cities conference.
In my role as Economic Development Manager at
Marlborough District Council I have been fortunate
enough to be closely involved with Marlborough’s sister
region relationship with Ningxia, China which hasconnected me to SCNZ and its work. Marlborough waswell represented at SCNZ 2021 as our Mayor and membersof our Sister City sub-committee attended to promote
Marlborough as the host of SCNZ 2022, and I presented
on our Ningxia relationship. I was very impressed withthe conference as it was very well organised, the venue
and catering were outstanding and mostimportantly the content was relevant anduseful, and I made many new contacts.
I particularly liked the sessions on
the Friday which talked about thestrategic
approach,economicdevelopment and youth engagement,
and I’m sure everyone enjoyed thevisit to Government House, the Gala
Dinner, and the skills of the MC Chris
Gallavin. The Marlborough group werevery proud to win the award for best
corporate or commercial project on Friday
evening, which finished off a very good coupleof days at SCNZ. We look forward to seeing you all in
Marlborough in 2022.

From Sister Cities to Global Cities- 2021 Conference.If theConference was to provide us with food for thought, wewere treated to a colourful feast.

Adam Curtin, Chair & Simon Oe, Deputy
Chair, Christchurch Songpa-gu Sister City
Committee
The Sister Cities Conference 2021 was a very memorable
experience for us as first time attendees. We enjoyedlistening to the range of speakers who shared theirvaluable insights and experiences, the catering wasoutstanding and there was a great balance of topics
to foster some meaningful discussion between thosein attendance. The conference was also an invaluable
opportunity for us to network and immerse ourselves
amongst those who have been involved with Sister Cities
for many years.
Everyone at the conference was very welcoming and it
was fascinating to hear everyone's different stories as tohow and why they became involved with Sister Cities. We
felt there was a great sense of passion and community
amongst those in attendance, and hearing everyone's
different experiences with Sister Cities has motivated us
to look further into how we can contribute to the growthof Sister Cities New Zealand. At the end of the two days
we were lucky enough to take home an award, which isa fantastic acknowledgement for all the hard work ourcommittee members have put in. We look forward tobeing involved in future events and will do our very best
to make a valuable contribution to Sister Cities' growthand success in the future.

Sister Cities NZ celebrated its 40th anniversary byillustrating the diverse approach which cities andregions can take to their sister cities’ relationships. From
Marlborough’s relationship with Ningxia which provided
a 30-fold with economic benefits to their investment, to
the Selwyn District’s relationship with Toraja in Indonesia
where the motivation was the warm friendship between
two farming regions, there was plenty to inspire.
I was especially pleased to see the focus on youth
engagement and the invitation for young people to tell us
what they are looking for.
I welcome the rebranding from Sister Cities NZ to Global
Cities NZ. The new branding is more inclusive, and allows
opportunities for cities and regions to work together, in
NZ and internationally. It will also be more appealing to
our youth.
I congratulate the Board and especially Hiromi inorganising such a delightful conference. We look forward to
implementation of the strategic plan adopted at the AGM.

Paul Duffin, Chair, Hutt Sister City
Foundation (HSCF)
The 2021 Conference and 40th Anniversary celebration of
SCNZ was special to HSCF as it highlighted that the Sister
City movement is still alive and well - despite the issues
we are all facing in regard to funding and connecting with
our SC people around the world. A special highlight forme was the enthusiasm shown by Taylor Marston- whoknew you could get a Masters in Sister City Relationships,
culminating in Taylor being elected on to the SCNZ Board?
Congratulations Taylor! Another highlight was the young
councillors who attended the conference and provided
their views on what SC relationships can do in their areas.
It was a wonderful coup to have Marie-Louise Blockley
and her husband Peter attend part of the Conference. It
was great to catch up with them. Marie-Louise Blockley
was instrumental in setting up the Sister City programmein New Zealand 40 years ago when she was sent overseas
to the Sister Cities conference in the US. A special thankyou to Dame Patsy Reddy for hosting the function at
Government House at the end of day one of the conference.
Te Papa as a function venue for the conference dinner wassecond to none especially having
the awards on the
Marae. Thanks goout Hiromi Morris
who put together
theprogramme
and function on
the last night.

N E W S L E T T E R
Special Edition - May 2021

Amy Trigg, Senior Policy Analyst,
Hamilton City Council

Robson Liang, Director, International
Education Fund Ltd.

As a first time attendee, the conference provided a great
setting to be able to test ideas, make connections, listen
and learn from the successes of other Councils andcommunity organisations in building and expanding theirinternational relations and sister city relationships, manyof which had been through a similar journey to our own.

Please accept my sincere congratulations on such a
successful event. The SCNZ 2021 conference was, without
exaggeration, a long-awaited event for many.

Hamilton City Council is working to revitalise ourSister City relationships and re-examine their strategic
opportunities following several years of lower activity. Our
team is small, with just two staff members working parttime on international relations and sister cities.
One of my key takeaways for Hamilton is that it wasevident that Councils who have a good understanding of
their value proposition are in a strong position to establish
meaningful connections with cities that provide strategic
opportunities, and that these relationships had a higher
chance of being successful and providing tangible benefits.
On a personal note, the passion from those who havedeveloped deep and enduring personal relationships
through Sister City bonds resonated with me. I spent a year
abroad in high school and still have a strong connection
to Sweden and to my hostfamily.
Hiromi, the Sister Cities
New Zealand board andstaff ran a wonderful event,and I am looking forward
to attending in 2022 in
Marlborough.

As a corporate member and a long-time supporter of
SCNZ, we have engaged in the promotion of International
Education, and sister schools facilitation programs
between NZ and China for over 20 years. I greatly
appreciate the Organisation’s endless effort to put together
such a successful event and proving us participants witha wonderful opportunity to get together and share pastexperience and future opportunities. It was very wellorganized, both logistically and in terms of its contents(reports, panels, etc). Over the years, IEF too has been
focusing on nurturing the future Citizen of New Zealand.
Like SCNZ, we too care about the social value of new
migrants and want to help them create a positive wave insociety. Based on the in-depth relationship developed withour clients and their family, we have attracted not only
human capital but also substantial investment to NZ andcontribute to both economic and social benefits for New
Zealand. It was my great pleasure to be able to participate
and reconnect with the association members, it was evenmore exciting to see so many bright-eyed and fresh-faced
young members on board.
I really do think that SCNZ has the ability to becomea great platform for various international cities to get
together and share existing resources, to promote mutual
economic growth and strengthening relationships. This isespecially vital during this COVID-19 pandemic, where theglobalization process is slowly coming to a halt and somehow
global fragmentation has become the norm. We have manydifferent ethnic communities here in NZ, and SCNZ could
definitely assist with engaging these communities together
so that we can work out any potential conflicts to create a
unified society so that we have a stronger power to lobby
the ideas that we want to achieve.
I look forward to seeing how SCNZ will lead us members
to become the best and leading advocacy platform forinternational relationship policy; as well as becoming a
powerful brain for our central government. I also cannot
wait for our younger members to proactively engage
and find innovative ways reunite the World again postpandemic.
Once again thank you for all you did to make participationin this Conference so easy, pleasurable and rewarding! I
look forward to exploring further avenues of collaborationand engagement with SCNZ.

N E W S L E T T E R
Special Edition - May 2021

Feedback from Zoom Overseas Participants
Tim Quigley, Chair Emeritus and
Kevin O'Donnell, Young Professional
Representative, Board of Directors. SCIAKAIWA Hirotomo, Executive Director,
CLAIR Japan Local Government Centre
SydneyThrough the wonders of technology, some of us from
Sister Cities International were still able to join in
Sister Cities New Zealand's 40th Annual Conference.
We felt privileged to be asked to deliver video messages
during the International Segment, and were delighted
to participate by Zoom on the actual conferencedays! We commend
you all for putting
on a high-quality, inperson/virtual hybrid
conference
despitethis being a newendeavor and in the
middle of a pandemic,
to boot.

On behalf of all the staff at CLAIR Sydney, I would liketo express our warmest congratulations on the 40th
anniversary of Sister Cities New Zealand. SCNZ and CLAIR
have a remarkable collaborative partnership in supporting
the sister cities between New Zealand and Japan. We lookforward to seeing the people of New Zealand and Japan
continue to learn from one another through the sister city
activities supported by SCNZ and CLAIR for many more
decades to come.

Our compliments also on the high caliber of yourplenary dignitary speakers and for the thoroughly
knowledgeable panel presenters. We thought the
subject sessions were on point; two in particularwarrant further comment. As Sister City linkages cansource and stimulate economic development, thecomparative discussion between representatives from
Auckland (large city) and Selwyn (rural community)
was very informative. The Youth Engagement Session
was definitely our favorite. We intend to follow up with
Taylor Marston on his Japan study results.
We cannot wait to join you in-person for next year's
conference and invite you to join our 2021 virtual SCI
Annual Conference on July 15th and 16th.
And, as soon as we can travel again, look forward towelcoming you to your U.S. sister cities soon!

Paul Cranch, Lead-Trade andInvestment, Local Government
Association of Queensland
I found the event very entertaining and welcoming.
The relaxed atmosphere allowed opportunities forparticipants to share their challenges and opportunities
which in turn made the event engaging and interesting.
The key take away that I had from this event was theimportance of involving youth to shape and drive theinternational programs for exchange.

At the recent 40th Anniversary SCNZ 2021
Annual Conference, eight members of CLAIR
attended virtually, including an executive
member from our Tokyo Headquarters.
It was a great opportunity for us to hear
about the knowledge and experiencesof the presenters and panellists for the
future development of our relationships
with SCNZ and local governments in New
Zealand. We deeply appreciate the efforts of
SCNZ and those involved in the organisationof the conference for extending the conference
engagement to those abroad.
The trans-Tasman travel bubble has begun between
Australia and New Zealand. We sincerely hope that the staffof CLAIR Sydney can meet with the exceptional team at
SCNZ and representatives from local governments in New
Zealand at upcoming events and meetings soon.

David Liu, CPAFFC (Chinese People's
Association for Friendship with Foreign
Countries)
Warm congratulations and big applauds on the 40th
anniversary of Sister City New Zealand and the conference
as well! With immense participation from New Zealand andabroad, the conference discussed issues of our common
concern and demonstrated the eagerness and passion at
the sub-national level to sustain international engagements
and recover their economies in the face of COVID-19.
I was fortunate to be a witness of the growth of China-New
Zealand people-to-people ties over the past few years. I missthe old days when joining your annual conferences, visiting
beautiful cities, meeting friends face-to-face, enjoying
Maori and New Zealand cultures and sharing experienceson our sub-national exchanges. The happy moments spent
with SCNZ friends on the China International Cities Forums
are also in my mind.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the solid friendshipbetween our two organizations, with heart-warming
sympathy letters and PPEs to each other. Only by solidarityand mutual assistance can we ride over the difficult times,
especially for sub-nationals and locals.
Looking forward to meeting SCNZ and other New Zealandfriends in China when the COVID-19 situation eases!

N E W S L E T T E R
Special Edition - May 2021

Save the Date
2022
BLENHEIM • 7 & 8 APRIL

Photography: Simon Hoyle | Newsletter Editor: Caroline Pope