N E W S L E T T E R
September 2018 - Special Edition

From the Board

2019 Annual Conference
Please save the dates: 21 - 23 March 2019

Save theDate

The next annual conference will be held in Palmerston
North, 21 - 23 March 2019 in conjunction with their annual
International Festival of Cultures event on 23 March.

The theme will be “Prosperity Through Partnership”, witha special focus on the economic development benefits ofinternational relations for cities and districts.

New Board Member

Cities, plus other innovative forms of global partnership.

The Board co-opted Toni Grace, International Relations
Manager of the Palmerston North City Council, to be a
Director at the latest Board meeting held in Wellington
on 7 July.
Toni will bring her strong work
experience
andacademic
background in the areas ofinternational relations, strategy
and policy advice, stakeholder
engagement,
andevent
management to SCNZ.
Prior to working for the Palmerston
North City Council, Toni was Senior
Advisor, International Strategy, for
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
The appointment means that the Board now includes
representation of Council staff, as well as elected
members and Sister City community groups, from a rangeof cities and regions across North and South Island.
Toni is keen to join the SCNZ Board as per her statement:"I think there is a great opportunity for New Zealand cities
and districts to better understand and benefit from Sister

Coming from a central government background,I also
have ideas about how better coordination at a local andnational level can help this.
I also look forward to being actively involved withplanning and preparation for the 2019 SCNZ conferencein Palmerston North."

New roles for board advisor
Luke Qin JP elected President of the Wellington Chinese
Association and joins the national executive of the New
Zealand Chinese Association.
Nominated by 8 committee members, our board advisor
Luke Qin was recently elected President of the Wellington
Chinese Association to succeed retiring President andformer National President of the New Zealand Chinese
Association Steven Young, who has lead the New ZealandChinese community with distinction over a long periodof time. Sister Cities New Zealand would like to extend
our warmest congratulations to Luke, and look forward
to an ongoing and mutually beneficial partnership withthe Wellington Chinese Association and New ZealandChinese Association to foster understanding, friendshipand mutual economic growth between sister cities.

N E W S L E T T E R
September 2018 - Special Edition

My recent visit to Japan
By Hiromi Morris, SCNZ President
NZ White Sox - National Softball Team with
Grassroots Spirit
It was a great opportunity for me to spend time as anassistant with the NZ White Sox, “National Team with
Grassroots Spirit” for their training in Ichihara City(Chiba), my hometown, prior to the World Women’s
Softball Championship held early August.
They are all fine, well-mannered young women and I wasvery impressed with their humbleness and politeness.
They are top athletes representing New Zealand, butalso they are enthusiastic to learn a different culture andtradition and promoting Kiwi culture through interactingwith local people. Despite their hard training schedulethey were willing to spend time at softball clinics andfriendly matches for school children and a local softballteam with disabilities. This experience assured me
the importance of people-to-people connection at agrassroots level.
Ichihara City is registered as a host town for New Zealandfor the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Gamesparticipating in their national initiative promoting
exchanges.

Top left: NZ White Sox TeamTop right: Shinagawa Mayor Takeshi
Hamano and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff
Right: Utsunomiya Mayor Eiichi Sato(middle) with NZ Ambassador Stephen
Payton (to his left) and Auckland MayorPhil Goff (to his right)

Auckland Mayor’s visit to Tokyo
Coincidentally, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff visited Tokyo
while I was in Japan and it was a real pleasure to be able
to accompany the Mayor for meetings with Utsunomiya(Tochigi) and Shinagawa (Tokyo) Mayors, as SCNZ
President and to assist with some interpreting.
ATEED Chief Executive Nick Hill, David Taipari - Chairmanof Independent Māori Statutory Board and Marty Rogers- Tāmaki Makaurau Regional Manager, Te Puni Kōkiri also
attended these meetings.
Both relationships have remained strong through student
exchanges over 36 years with Utsunomiya and 25 years
with Shinagawa respectively. Nearly 2,000 Utsunomiya
students have visited Auckland over the years.
Lynfield College has taken a big role for Auckland/Shinagawa student exchanges with an educational andhomestay programme that started in 1990 and a Summer
School programme in 1994. For the 25th anniversaryof their Friendship City relationship, on behalf of theSCNZ Board, I presented certificates to acknowledge
the effort and contribution by the Mayors and Citizensof both cities. Lynfield College Principal Cath Knell andInternational Education Director Gill Austin joined thisspecial occasion.

N E W S L E T T E R
September 2018 - Special Edition

Kōrero 2018 Christchurch
By Caroline Pope, SCNZ Newsletter Editor
Kōrero 2018 Christchurch was held in late June as the thirdin a nationwide series of panel discussions. These were
designed to encourage people-to-people links between
young people across ethnicities as well as between
generations and different groups within the community.
Events had been held in Auckland and Wellington soChristchurch was next on the agenda.
Kōrero enabled SCNZ and partners to bring together
future leaders to talk about challenges and opportunities
of being global citizens and what benefits international
connections and cultural diversity have for ourcommunities.

we hope that this conversation inspires future action
towards better connections both internationally as wellas in our own communities.

It was inspiring to hear from a diverse group of our youth
and community leaders, as well as words of wisdom fromMP Michael Wood (pictured top right). Our panelists were
Philomena Petaia, Kirsten Marsh, Earl Magtibay, Candy
Zhang and Ashlyn Oswalt (above right, L-R).

SCNZ board member Marcus Boshier moderated theevent and while unfortunately there wasn’t enough time
to discuss as many topics as we would have liked, it wasa great way to open lines of communication and see agenuine and tangible interaction.

Some of the questions put forward to our panellists
included: Do you consider yourself a global citizen?
Should secondary languages be compulsory in schools?
The panelists gave us some fascinating insights andRepresentatives from council, Sister City groups, local
diplomatic staff, ethnic community groups and youth
attendees meant that networks were mingled, insights wereshared, voices are heard and opportunities were created.

2019 will mark the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism
By Katherine MacGregor, Event Manager, MBIE
To coordinate Year of Tourism activities across
New Zealand, MBIE has launched a website(www.cnzyot.govt.nz)
toadvertise
information
on events and provide information
concerning the Year of Tourism tointerested parties.
The Year of Tourism is an opportunity togrow and develop New Zealand’s reach
into the Chinese market and to build
on cross-cultural links via this joint
diplomatic initiative. The website contains
resources outlining how to cater for

Chinese visitors and basic Mandarin phrases; as well aslinks to further resources developed by New Zealand’s
tourism industry. It also has an application form foruse of the Year of Tourism logo which isendorsed by both the Chinese and NewZealand governments – Sister Cities
and affiliated organisations across New
Zealand are welcome to apply to use thelogo throughout 2019 and in the buildup to the 2018/19 peak summer season.
If you would like to get involved pleasecontact MBIE’s tourism policy team atcnzyot@mbie.govt.nz.

N E W S L E T T E R
September 2018 - Special Edition

Fukuoka Garden wins national awards
By Pamela Jamieson, Global Partnerships and Strategy Advisor, Auckland Council
The Fukuoka Garden in Western Springs Lakeside Parkhas won Best Overall Project and Best Local GovernmentProject at the Sister City New Zealand Awards – anannual programme recognising outstanding sister city
initiatives that foster international understandingand friendship.
The Fukuoka Garden is a redevelopment of the original
garden built in Auckland Zoo, which was gifted toAuckland in 1989 from Japan’s Fukuoka City in recognitionof the sister city relationship. The relocation of thegarden from its original site was part of an expansion
plan for the zoo.
Mayor Phil Goff says the awards are a testament to thestrong relationship between Auckland and Fukuoka.
“It’s great to see the Fukuoka Garden project, and theAuckland/Fukuoka relationship, recognised at thisyear’s Sister Cities New Zealand Awards. Auckland andFukuoka have been sister cities for more than 30 years
and in that time our relationship has gone from strength
to strength,” says Mayor Phil Goff.
“The garden’s redevelopment was an opportunity todeepen our ties with Fukuoka City and create a spacethat all Aucklanders can enjoy. Together we havecreated an authentic Japanese garden that incorporates
salvaged materials from the original garden, along withsome modifications to suit its new location and enhanceaccessibility.
“I look forward to discussing the success of this project
during my visit to Fukuoka,” he says.

Community good sorts
President of Sister Cities New Zealand Hiromi Morris
praised the level of community involvement in theproject, particularly the active role the Friends ofFukuoka Garden group played.

The community group played a fundamental role inlobbying for the reinstatement of the Fukuoka Garden
and was highly involved in the planning, design andconstruction of the new garden.

Central Auckland oasis
Albert-Eden-Roskill Ward Councillor Cathy Casey,
who chaired the project steering group, was a strong
advocate for the garden’s restoration.
“The restored garden remains true to traditional
Japanese design and is a real oasis in central Auckland.
It’s bigger, better, free of charge and offers a beautiful
space for people to enjoy some peace and tranquility,”
she says.
“There was close collaboration between many areasof the council, together with the Friends of Fukuoka
Garden and valued input from Fukuoka City Greenery
Department and Professor Kubota, the designer of theoriginal garden, to bring this new garden to life.”

Fusion of cultures
The Fukuoka Garden opened at its new location in July
2017 and is a fusion of Japanese and New Zealand nativeplant species. It has a tea pavilion, waterfall and pond.
Some features of the original garden that have been
incorporated include four bonsai trees, paving stones,lanterns, a water basin and the entrance feature.
The design of the new garden was created by Fukuoka’s
ZEN Environmental Design Ltd with Fukuoka City
Greenery Department and Professor Iekatsu Kubota.
Auckland Council’s landscape architects also worked
closely with the Japanese-based designers to ensure thegarden remained true to traditional Japanese design.