N E W S L E T T E R
June 2020
NOTICE FROM THE BOARD• Regrettably the 2020 Annual Conference inAshburton has been cancelled due to the impact
from COVID-19.

• The 2021 Annual Conference to celebrate the 40th
Anniversary of SCNZ’s establishment will be heldin Wellington 15th-16th April.

COVID-19 and Racism 2020 - Statement from Sister
Cities International Chairman and President/CEO
We are greatly saddened and angered by recent eventsin our country. Protests continue across the U.S. andaround the globe highlighting the systemic racism andprejudice that have plagued our nation for far too long.
The senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor,
Ahmaud Arbery, and no doubt,
many others whose names we don’tknow, remind us that we still haveso far to go. Our hearts break forthe victims. Our hearts break fortheir families. Our hearts break forour communities and our world.
At the core of Sister Cities International is the belief thatpeace can be obtained through people-to-people andsustained community-to-community connections basedon mutual respect and understanding. This message
is more important now than ever before. We are at aprecipice and our communities must now come together

to answer the calls for social justice and reform.
Now is not the time for us to remain silent. Now is thetime for us to lean in and open up dialogue around what ishappening in our cities. It is only by encouraging discussions
around institutional racism and ethnic inequity that we will
begin to see the change that ourcommunities are demanding.
SisterCitiesInternationalis
committed to diversity, equity, andinclusion. We stand in solidarity with
our Black community and we willcontinue to promote peace, respectand mutual understanding within our local communities
and with our sister cities around the world.
Ron Nirenberg, Chairman of Sister Cities International &Mayor of San Antonio, Texas
Leroy Allala, President and CEO of Sister Cities International

Dunedin Edinburgh Sister City Society hosts
fortnightly radio show ‘OARFM’
By Simon Vare, Dunedin Edinburgh Sister City Society‘Kilts and Kiwis’ is annual fortnightly radio show fromDunedin on Otago Access Radio created by Marion
O’Kane and Simon Vare from the Dunedin Edinburgh
Sister City Society, on every Friday fortnightly until theend of November.
Members of the Society, and wider Scottish community
explore the connections between Dunedin, Edinburghand Scotland, culminating in November’s St Andrews Day
Celebrations in the Octagon. This year’s will be held on
Sunday 29th November 2020. (Continued on next page)
Right: Jock Walton playing button accordion live on air with cohost James Macandrew

N E W S L E T T E R
June 2020

Dunedin Edinburgh Sister City Society hosts fortnightly radio show ‘OARFM’ - continued...
The show contains lots of chat, music, history andgiveaways, and is proudly supported by Dunedin City
Council Events, Community Development and Harraways.

OARFM on Otago Access Radio 105.4FM and 1575AM
Every fortnight Friday from 11am or via live stream or
podcast (see website for details)

Marion and Simon would be happy to hear from any other
Sister City groups with Scottish connections or activities
that they run over the year - please contact Simon on 027
440 3058.

‘Kilts and Kiwis’ radio show features Scottish music, interviews
and regular Harraways product giveaways.

oar.org.nz/kilts-and-kiwis
facebook.com/DunedinEdinburghSisterCitySociety

The Proclaimers with members of Dunedin Edinburgh Sister CitySociety before their Dunedin Regent Theatre show.

Mihara announces “Kia Ora Square” naming
By Toni Grace, Palmerston North City Council
Mihara City has announced that they will be naming
their new downtown development “Kia Ora Square” inrecognition of the city’s relationship with Palmerston
North.
Scheduled to open in late July, Kia
Ora Square will be a central cityhub, located in front of Mihara
train station and connecting tothe city library, plaza, a hotel anda number of commercial facilities.
The name was selected through apublic competition, with over 700
entries made from around thecountry. The winning submission- Kia Ora Square- was suggested
by Mei, a 13-year-old Mihara highschool student.
In the submission, Mei notedthat “Kia Ora Square” would be agood name for the development
because it acknowledges the city’sconnection to Palmerston North,
New Zealand, and will also be ameeting hub where people greet, gather and deepen
their friendships.
Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith expressed his
delight at the name.
“The deeper meaning behindthe expression “Kia ora” is towish someone good life andhealth, so I hope that Kia Ora
Square will serve as a special
place of union, vitality andwellbeing for the people ofMihara.”
Mihara and Palmerston North
haveenjoyedcommunity
exchange for well over a
decade and formalised thisrelationship at the 2019 Sister
Cities NZ conference lastMarch.

Left: The logo for Kia Ora Square to
be opened in Mihara in July.

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June 2020

Sister City donates 10,000 face masks toPalmerston North
By Toni Grace & Sandra Crosbie, Palmerston North City Council
Palmerston North’s Chinese sister city, Guiyang,donated 10,000 face protection masks to Palmerston
North’s COVID-19 response effort in a show of global
friendship and cooperation.
The distribution of the masks was managed by thePalmerston North Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
They have been used where there was an identified needfor frontline workers or people in the city requiring
protection.
“We appreciate the generosity of the donation of masks
and the spirit in which they were sent,” said Palmerston
North City Emergency Operations Centre Controller
Tom Williams. “It’s been comforting to know we havethis supply on-hand to meet our needs.” In a letter toPalmerston North Mayor Grant Smith, Guiyang Mayor
Chen Yan said,“The epidemic respects no boundaries and is the common
challenge for all humankind.
We will overcome difficulties and donate some medical
supplies to Palmerston North within our power, toexpress our support.”

Guiyang is the capital city of Guizhou Province insouthwest China and has been Palmerston North’s sistercity since 1992. The relationship between the cities
stemmed from an agricultural science cooperation
between Massey University and Guizhou Universityin 1982, with ongoing environmental and agriculturalacademic collaboration continuing between our regions
over the decades.
“This generous gesture from Guiyang demonstrates
the enduring friendship between our cities and thevalue of Palmerston North maintaining strong global
relationships”, PNCC International Relations Manager
Toni Grace says.
In February, Mayor Smith sent a letter of support toMayor Chen Yan and a video message of support to thepeople of Guiyang during the height of their lockdown.
Youth volunteers from the Palmy Global Ambassador
programme helped to make lanterns with sister citymessages of support for Guiyang to be part of Palmerston
North’s Festival of Cultures lantern parade.

Mayor Grant Smith and PNCC International Relations Manager, Toni Grace, thank Guiyang for their mask donation.

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June 2020

China New Zealand education programmes
By Emeritus Associate Jan Fitz-Gerald, President of Institute of Global Engagement
New Zealand and founder of the China New Zealand Youth Leadership Summit
Kia ora koutou katoa. The team at IGENZ has beenvery busy during lockdown working with international
partners and designing new programmes.

China New Zealand Youth Leadership
Summit 2021
We are pleased to advise that the SCNZ award winning
Youth Leadership Summit is planned for July 12 – 22, 2021
in China for emerging leaders from senior high school.
This could not be a better time for our future leaders toreflect, share and discuss the impact of COVID-19 has had
and how the world responded.
The summit days will be in Qingdao and hosted again
by the Qingdao Education Bureau and Foreign Affairs
Office. Special topic days of culture, history, ancient artsand crafts, technology and innovation will be in Beijing,Shenzhen and Zhuhai. This is also open to schools from
Qingdao’s sister cities in the USA, Australia and Canada.

Sister School Agreements
School relationships, study tours and recruitment efforts
usually always begin with a sister school agreement. Thisis a highly regarded requirement by the Education Bureau
in Chinese cities and supports each school’s efforts to workwith and visit schools abroad. We currently have eightschools at junior and senior high level from Shenzhen and
Qingdao seeking New Zealand school interest. All schools
have been assigned to us by the local Education Bureau
and are of outstanding quality.

Study group tours to China
From 2021, IGENZ is offering customised educational
study tours for school groups and individual students toChina to gain a better insight into the hearts and minds ofthe Chinese people, their country and culture.

Principals’ Visit Programme, Sister Schools
A School Principals’ Exchange Programme to China ispending final approval and support for hosting. This isa new school relationship programme where Principals
spend quality time in assigned friendship schools toensure long term outcomes for students are met andmeaningful reciprocal recruitment and relationshipactivities delivered.

Left: Jan Fitz-Gerald at Qingdao No.
67 School with student delegates andschool Chairman and Vice Principal who
attended the 2019 Leadership Summit
held in Christchurch. Photographer: AmyZhou, Qingdao office of Shinyway Study
Tours.

Right: NZ delegation visit to Shenzhen
Bao’an Education Bureau, Bao’an. Led
by Miranda Herbert, Regional Director ofEducation, Greater China. NZ Embassy
Beijing. Accompanied by Shelly Xufrom ENZ Shanghai and Jan FitzGerald. Photographer: Shenzhen Bao’an
Education Bureau member of staff.