May 2024

Newsletter
From the Board
Message from President Mayor Grant Smith
Kia ora and welcome to our second GCNZ newsletter forthe year.
I want to acknowledge the past year, which has been oneof ‘reconnecting with the world’, the theme of our recent
conference in Blenheim, and how true is this.
Right around the country we are now seeing citydelegations, trade missions, and international students
starting to come back, along with tourists.
For the first few months of the year, getting ourconference and awards underway was our No 1. priority.
So, thank you to our hosts - Marlborough District
Council who delivered a wonderful event, and there ismore detail later in the newsletter on the conference andawards where the Christchurch Songpa-Gu Sister City
committee took out the supreme award.
We also held our AGM meeting in Wellington recently at
the Wellington City Council chambers, where it was good
to see 20+ turn-up in person and another 30 online, fromaround the country. At the meeting, the Board reported
on GCNZ business throughout the year, including;responding to members enquiries, Youth workshops,
Government/MFAT and other ministries’ enquiries,
along with preparation for the GCNZ conference. There
was also much interaction with the Diplomatic Corp,
as well as attending National Days, numerous eventsand community festivals along with welcoming Tradeand Business delegations. Financially the organisation
survived solely on membership fees but cut its cloth withexpenses, making a small loss of $320. This is something
we must address in the future, and the incoming Board
will work hard seeking external funding from new extra
members, as well as partnering with Ministries, agencies
and international institutions.

Can I thank our voluntary Board:
Wellington Deputy Mayor Laurie Foon
(who is stepping down), returning members
John Christie, Taylor Marston and Beth Knowles, and a
big acknowledgment to our Emeritus President Hiromi
Morris, as well as our hard-working administrator Sally
Ho. This year we are joined by new Board members: PhilipColes (Cambridge), Deborah Dalliessi (Marlborough) and
Danielle Caudwell (Whakatāne). Thank you all for putting
your names forward.
Also want to acknowledging our sponsors/funders fromthe past year: Ministry for Ethnic Communities, Air New
Zealand, CLAIR, and the Japanese Embassy.
Already the 2024 year feels better for internationalism,
and the stories in this newsletter reflect that.
Our organisation GCNZ has a 40+ year heritage, anincredible network of Sister Cities, councils, community
committees, schools, businesses and organisations
with internationalism at the heart. Our status overseas,
especially in Asia, is significant, often above our own
Government, MPs and Ministries. But our challenge is toharness this and promote our organisation better. One way
is better connection and networking between members
and organisations that are working internationally, so
the Board has initiated two one-day Regional Forums, in
Christchurch (September) and Cambridge (November).
Details are further in the newsletter and we hope as manyof you as possible plus non-members can attend.
Wishing all members and potential members all the bestfor the second half of 2024.
Ngā mihi nui,
Mayor Grant Smith, JP, GCNZ President

Delegates at the 2024 GCNZ Conference – Blenheim, MarlboroughGCNZ Newsletter / May 2024

Recent GCNZ conference a success in Blenheim
By John Christie, GCNZOn March 14-15 Marlborough District Council hosted
the Global Cities conference. It was a great opportunity
for members and invited guests to come together toexchange ideas and discuss their interactions withsister cities and other global connections.
A full two-day programme was prepared with an excellent
keynote speech from Sir Don McKinnon followed by arange of diplomatic speakers from the Australian andBritish High Commissions, and Chinese, Korean, Japaneseand United States Ambassadors.
There were good updates provided on youth exchanges,
along with presentations on post-Covid activities froma range of sister cities. Marlborough District Council
were excellent hosts and allowed plenty of networking

opportunities for attendees including a trip to Harling
Park. This park showcases an example of the generosityof a partner city, having been designed and paid for by
Blenheim’s Japanese sister city Tendo.
The conference concluded with a wonderful night at
Wither Hills winery, acknowledging entrants and winnersof the Global Cities Awards, and a special presentation to
Emeritus President Hiromi Morris.
It was great to be able to finally get back together as a
network of cities interested in global connections, andto hear the examples of what communities are doingaround the country. I highly commend attending these
conferences as you get share some wonderful stories ofactivities happening through our global connections.

GCNZ Newsletter / May 2024

GCNZ 2024 Awards Celebrates Outstanding Initiatives
By Ray Wallace, GCNZ Awards Co-ordinator
The 2024 Global Cities New Zealand Conference
concluded with the GCNZ Awards ceremony held at the
fabulous Wither Hills Estate and Winery.
The packed-out awards dinner was a resounding success,honouring ten exceptional nominations that exemplify thestrong bonds fostered through Sister City relationships.
Among these remarkable initiatives, Christchurch’s
Songpa-Gu Sister City Committee emerged as thesupreme winner. Their progress showcased the powerof international collaboration, cultural exchange, andcommunity involvement with the installation of a
traditional Korean Pavilion to compliment the SongpaGu Korean Park along with marking the 60th Anniversaryof diplomatic ties.

Dinner guests at Wither Hills.

Simon Oe, Deputy Chair of the Songpa-Gu Sister City
Committee who accepted the award on behalf of theCommittee said the Committee was honoured to havebeen chosen amongst some amazing nominations andthat the project had been extremely fulfilling for the
many people involved. It also further strengthened therelationship with the Songpa-Gu.
The Global Cities New Zealand Awards celebrates
the efforts of communities dedicated to promoting
understanding, cooperation, and friendship between
cities around the world. This year’s nominees
demonstrated a remarkable commitment to fostering
these principles, enriching their communities throughdiverse cultural exchanges, educational programmes,and collaborations.
The success of the 2024 Global Cities New Zealand Awardis a testament to the dedication and passion of individuals
and communities across New Zealand promoting better
cultural understanding and cooperation. As GCNZ looks
to the future, it is confident that these initiatives will

(L to R ) Ray Wallace (Awards Co-ordinator), Reuben Levermore(Air New Zealand), Simon Oe (Songpa-Gu Sister City
Committee), Mayor Grant Smith (GCNZ).

continue to strengthen the bonds between NZ towns andcities and their international counterparts.
Start thinking about what project could be yournomination for the next GCNZ Awards.

Winners
Nominations for 2024 Best Project Community & Schools:
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Christchurch Songpa-Gu Sister City Committee (Category Winner)
Creative Bay of Plenty (Runner-Up)
Selwyn Sister City Committee
Wellington Sakai Association
Gisborne District Sister Cities

Nominations for 2024 Best Project Local Government:
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•
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Enterprise Dunedin - Dunedin City Council (Category Winner)
Nelson City Council (Runner-Up)
Palmerston North City Council
Cambridge Community Board
Selwyn Sister City Committee

Supreme Winner•

Christchurch Songpa-Gu Sister City Committee

GCNZ Newsletter / May 2024

Cross-Pacific Game Jam wins GCNZ award
By James Hall, Enterprise DunedinEnterprise Dunedin was recently presented the Global
Cities NZ award for Best Local Government Project forthe 2023 Cross-Pacific Games Jam.

and this student event is part of our fit-for-purpose,
high-value education pathway to help supply the indemand skills needed for digital game development.

Enterprise Dunedin and Otago Polytechnic co-hostedof the inaugural Cross Pacific Game Jam last May, which
saw local teen game enthusiasts team up with Japanesecounterparts to create fully playable games in 48 hours.

“We brought together local and prospective offshore
talent who can go on to contribute to Dunedin’s nicheand flourishing game industry – where game studios arein need of qualified people like programmers, 3D artists,game designers and 2D artists.”

Approximately 40 teenagers aged 16 to 17 from Dunedin
and Tokyo learned to collaborate and create as they
applied their emerging developer skills, while continuing
to strengthen Dunedin’s bilateral ties with Japanese
students.
“The first Cross Pacific Game Jam represents an important
step in a path that Dunedin is carving with international
talent,” Enterprise Dunedin Manager John Christie said.
“Dunedin has cultivated a special relationship with Japan,

Dunedin is home to the New Zealand Centre of Digital
Excellence (CODE) and represents an education hub
where young people interested in a game development
career can begin honing their skills at secondary school
before heading into custom-made game development
vocational pathways at the city’s tertiary education
providers, and eventually into employment.
The Game Jam was designed to be collaborative rather
than competitive, with local and international mentors
helping to guide the teenagers during the challenge,
including local developers Stef Animal from Spookysoft
Games, Anna Barham from Balancing Monkey Gamesand Mr Ken Kawashima from JP Games in Tokyo, with
Otago Polytechnic Bachelor of IT and Bachelor of Design
lecturers, Adon Moskal and Edwin McRae.
Japanese student numbers are among Dunedin’s top 10
markets and an increasingly key target for New Zealanduniversities. The event was part-funded by Education
New Zealand.

Enterprise Dunedin Business Development Advisor Chanel
O’Brien with pupils in Tokyo during the Cross Pacific Game
Jam. Photo: DunedinNZ“Strategically designed events like this continue tobuild lasting value to the city. As the world reconnects,
it’s an exciting time for Dunedin as we take anotherstep towards building a national and international hubof excellence in gaming technology, and we believe
attracting international talent will help Dunedin achieve
this ambitious goal,” Mr Christie said.

Save the Date

Southern ForumOne Day
TSB Space, Tūranga Central Library, Christchurch
Monday 9th September 2024 (start times, agenda TBC)
Members and non-members welcome
Supported by Christchurch City Council & Ministry for Ethnic Communities

GCNZ Newsletter / May 2024

Selwyn celebrates Rewi Alley’s 126th Anniversary
By Allison Rosanowski, Selwyn Sister City Chairperson
Rewi Alley, who was born in Springfield in Selwyn,
Canterbury, lived and worked with the rural poor in
China for sixty years.
His legacy has been the foundation for Sister City
relationships between the Selwyn District Council andShandan County in Gansu Province, Christchurch City
Council and Gansu Province and Wuhan plus Hurunui
District Council and Hong Hu. In all of these areas in
China Rewi Alley worked to establish schools or do flood
rescue work.
Prior to the 126th anniversary celebrations on the 2-3
December, a delegation from Shandan spent two daysin Selwyn cementing aspects of the Memorandumof Understanding between the two Sister Cities. The
delegation led by Wen Yong, Shandan’s Head of Publicity
visited four of the Malvern primary schools whose
Principals visited Shandan in September and agreed
to Sister School relationships with Shandan primaryschools. They also visited Darfield High School which
has had a Sister School relationship with Shandan Bailie
Vocational College for 26 years. A further education visit
to Rolleston College explored developing a relationshipwith Shandan Number One High School.
Other aspects of the MOU were explored including
agribusiness and water management. Sheep milking
for cheese making sparked interest as Rewi Alley
imported sheep from Hurunui and sheep farming
remains an important farming activity in Shandan.
Water management for irrigation using scopes inserted
into the soil and data relayed back to cellphones wasdemonstrated along with seed production. Making herbal
products from an organic garden business showed thevisitors a small-scale agribusiness.
As two of the Shandan delegation worked for themagnificent Alley Memorial Museum in Shandan, theGlentunnel Museum volunteers introduced the group toa locally run heritage museum - a museum on a different
scale. The heritage displays incorporated into Te Ara Ātea,Selwyn Library, gave an insight into ways the changing
displays can be made easily accessible to citizens.
This Shandan delegation stayed in local homestays andexperienced local cuisine and family life.
2nd December is Rewi Alley’s birthday and on this day the
Shandan delegation was joined by Madam He, Christchurch
Chinese Consul General, two delegations from Lanzhou
Foreign affairs in Gansu Province (Christchurch’s Sister
City), leaders from the Beijing Bailie University, Hurunui
Mayor Marie Black and Councillors and trustees of theRewi Alley Foundation of New Zealand.
The programme began with a visit to ARA, the Christchurch
campus of Te Pūkenga. ARA have hosted interpretersfrom both Christchurch and Selwyn for six month andthree month English courses for several years. BethKnowles, the International Manager, discussed English
courses, nursing and architectural courses taught at thepolytechnic.
The next visit was to Springfield, Rewi Alley’s birthplace.
Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton and Wen Yong laid awreath at the Rewi Alley Memorial statue, before hostinga gathering of over 90 people. Speakers included Bob
White, one of the remaining local volunteers who
assisted Lu Bao to construct the statue at the Rewi Alley
Memorial Park. Lu Bao is the wife of Rewi’s foster son. It
was a privilege to hear recollections from Jocelyn AlleyWatkin, a Alley relative. Members of the Selwyn Sister
City Committee along with Springfield residents served
a welcome lunch to the gathering.
From Springfield the group travelled to Amberley. At the
Hurunui District Council’s headquarters, Mayor MarieBlack introduced the district to all assembled. The Rewi
Alley Foundation of New Zealand, led by Michael Hart
and Jocelyn Alley-Watkin was formally launched before

GCNZ Newsletter / May 2024

Alley cousin Michael Duane, made a generous donation
to the Foundation. Time pressure meant delegations did
not have time to explore the Chinese garden and see
the Alley home occupied by the Alley family while Rewi’s
father was headmaster of the local school.
The evening banquet was preceded by an outstanding
display of photographs brought to New Zealand by the
Shandan Alley Memorial Museum. Haeata College andMairehau High School’s kapa haka groups gave powerfulperformances for all the guests to enjoy. The Principals
of both these schools were members of the Principals’delegation to China in September. While there theyagreed to Sister School relationships in Lanzhou andWuhan.
Sunday’s programme allowed visitors to visit the
Suffragette Statue in Christchurch, Rewi’s motherwas a Suffragette, before visiting the graves of Rewi’s
grandparents at St Paul’s Papanui. This was followed by
the official opening of the Chinese gate at the LanzhouWuhan Chinese garden at the Halswell Quarry Park. The
visit began with a powerful performance by the Mairehau
High School kapa haka group. A BBQ lunch, in the hotsun, followed.
The two Lanzhou Sister City groups also managed tovisit the Christchurch City Council, Tūranga (the central
city library), meet with Fonterra officials and visit a dairy
farm.
Canterbury Sister Cities can celebrate a successful
anniversary visit and a strengthening of relationships
with their Chinese counterparts.

Gisborne searching for new Taiko tutor
By Jan Calder, Gisborne Districts Sister Cities Committee
Gisborne District Sister Cities Committee are requesting
the services of a regular Taiko drumming tutor.
This opportunity would suit a tutor who is a residentof Gisborne or an experienced Taiko drummer who
visits Gisborne on a regular basis. The tutor would beinterested in furthering the skills of a Taiko group ‘Kai
Kyo’ numbering 35+ who include a nucleus of 15 very keen
and regular attendees.

All drums are permanently onsite at the tutorial venue
which is located within the city centre and includes three
off-street parks. The venue is available for tutorials after
6pm some weekdays, after 12pm Saturday, and anytime
Sunday.
Tutors would be recompensed at an agreed hourly rate.
Please email secretary.gdsc@gmail.com for details.

Left: Visiting tutor Jessie Gibbs from ‘Narukami Taiko’ in Wellington. Right: Taiko drums are unloaded in 2013. The purchase wascoordinated between Sister Cities Gamagori and Gisborne, and channeled through Juken Nissho associates in both cities.
Photos: Ann Osler

GCNZ Newsletter / May 2024

First steps to friendly city status
By Melanie Crawford, Wellington City Council
In 2023, Wellington City Council voted to initiate
friendly city link with Ramallah in Palestine.
Recently the two Mayors met online, the first formal
engagement between the two city mayors. Over thecourse of the meeting, Mayor Issa Kassis and Mayor
Tory Whanau discussed ways in which the two cities
can strengthen connections on the journey towards
becoming friendly cities.
Located about 16km from Jerusalem in the heart of theWest Bank in Palestine, Ramallah is the administrative cityof the Palestinian Authority and home to approximately
75,000 residents. Considered one of the most attractive
places for living and working for the residents of the West
Bank, it is also home to a burgeoning cultural and arts
scene, and in 2019 became a UNESCO City of Music.
Ramallah also holds city to city relationships with Bordeaux,Johannesburg, Dublin, and Oxford amongst others.

The meeting was positive, with both sides learning
about each other, sharing key information and ideas anddiscussing what tangible things we can do to build theconnection.
Of particular interest was innovation and enterprise,especially supporting young people in social enterpriseand start-ups. Sustainability and resilience were also
topics of interest with Mayor Kassis sharing the efforts
Ramallah is undertaking through its resilience strategy,
which uses an integrated approach to realising sustainable
development in the city.
It is hoped that the two cities will continue to learn andshare from each other and look to increase opportunities
for exchange and cooperation on a number of initiatives,
including arts and culture, local government, enterpriseand innovation, youth and education.

Left: Issa Kassis, Mayor of Ramallah. Right: Face to face, Mayors from Wellington and Ramallah meet online. Photos: Damon Keen, WCC

Save the Date

Northern ForumOne Day
Lake Karapiro Events Centre, Cambridge
Friday 8th November 2024 (start times, agenda TBC)
Members and non-members welcome
Supported by Waipa District Council & Ministry for Ethnic Communities

GCNZ Newsletter / May 2024

Palmy features at Smart City Summit in Taipei
By Kunal Chonkar, Palmerston North City Council
Leaders from around the world engaged in in-depth
dialogues on smart city and net zero initiatives, bringing
together innovative solutions and strategies aimed at
helping cities create more sustainable and livable urban
environments.
Mayors representing 27 cities gathered at the Net ZeroCity Leaders Conclave during the 11th Smart City Summit
and Expo (SCSE) 2024 in Taipei on March 19, uniting ina collaborative effort to explore and advance smart cityand net-zero initiatives. Leaders from diverse cities
engaged in comprehensive dialogues, sharing insights,
and exchanging best practices to tackle the urgent
challenges of urbanization, green technology, smart
governance, and environmental sustainability.
The conclave provided a platform for mayors and city
leaders to spotlight innovative solutions and strategies
aimed at fostering more sustainable and livable urban
environments. Discussions revolved around harnessing
technology, data-driven insights, and community
engagement to drive positive change and nurture
inclusive growth.
A pivotal theme of the summit was the imperative ofembracing smart city technologies to bolster urban
resilience and efficiency. Mayor Grant Smith ofPalmerston North exemplified this in his presentation,
showcasing how his city deploys smart infrastructure,including IoT sensors and digital platforms, to enhanceservice delivery, optimize resource utilization, andbolster public safety. Notable initiatives highlighted by
Mayor Smith included Palmy’s deployment of computer
vision traffic monitoring systems, establishment of alow-carbon internal investment fund, and proactive

partnerships with local education providers to foster
new open-source models and public value.
Palmerston North’s notable contributions, particularly its
status as New Zealand’s leading contributor to 85 percent
renewable energy generation, garnered recognition frominternational attendees. Applause also echoed for thecity’s achievement as the first in New Zealand to attainfull 5G access for mobile and broadband, along withboasting the nation’s sole fleet of fully electric-powered
public buses.
Presentations from mayors across the United States,
United Arab Emirates, and beyond underscored theimperative of combating climate change and curtailinggreenhouse gas emissions. City leaders exchanged insights
on implementing renewable energy projects, enhancing
energy efficiency in buildings and transportation, andpromoting sustainable urban planning practices.
Collaboration emerged as a central theme throughout
the summit, with mayors underscoring the importanceof partnerships with the private sector, academia,
and civil society in propelling smart city and net-zero
initiatives forward. By fostering collective expertise andresources, cities can accelerate progress towards sharedsustainability objectives.
The Mayoral Summit provided an invaluable opportunity
for global leaders to convene, share knowledge, andco-create solutions to the multifaceted challenges
confronting urban areas. Through a dedication to
innovation, collaboration, and sustainability, cities canchart a course towards a more resilient and inclusive
future.

PO Box 965, Palmerston North 4440, New Zealand
Sally Ho - National Administrator 022 528 2364
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