Sister Cities Air New Zealand Annual Awards

The Sister Cities Air New Zealand annual awards are announced at the time of the NZ Sister Cities Conference. Christchurch based sister cities projects, supported by Christchurch’s six sister city committees, have received a number of awards since 2000:

2006 Kurashiki Disabled Person’s Exchange Winner Youth/Education category

The Christchurch Kurashiki Sister City Committee supported by the Christchurch City Council International Relations Team and KiwiAble programme, Sport Canterbury, the Halberg Trust, and Independent Fisheries, in conjunction with Kurashiki City Hall, organised the first youth with disability exchange in February 2005, enabling people with disabilities from another culture (supported by their caregivers) to participate in and enjoy activities with a physical activity and sport focus in a specially designed 13 day programme in Christchurch.

This led to two students from Christchurch travelling to Kurashiki in April 2006 for a reciprocal exchange. Since then Christchurch has in 2007 hosted another two young people with disabilities and their caregivers from Kurashiki.

2005 International Christchurch Youth Winner Youth/Education & 2nd Cultural categories

International Christchurch Youth (ICY) was formed by the CCC International Relations Team after the National Sister Cities Conference in Christchurch in 2004, with youth ranging from 13-20 who have been involved in international and sister city exchanges.

Various events and activities were planned and took place in 2004 and early 2005, including International Days run at Merrin and Halswell Primary Schools, the inaugural Christchurch Sister Cities Young Artists Competition, with the winning entry being submitted to the Sister Cities Young Artists Competition in USA.

Their networks were used to broadcast youth opportunities and ICY advised people and committees from a youth perspective, particularly with regard to sister city exchanges and the selection of students for the annual Seattle Scholar Exchange.

2005 Merrin School / Se Ryun School Sister School Exchange(education)2nd Supported by Christchurch Songpa-gu Sister City Committee

Merrin School’s involvement in a sister school relationship with Se Ryun Elementary School in Songpa-gu goes back five years.

The objective of the relationship has grown from initially gaining understanding and insight into the Korean culture for the students, teachers and parents to actively promoting understanding of the Korean culture within Christchurch and now to promoting successful exchanges between staff and children of the two schools.

With Se Ryun students now living in the Merrin community and attending Merrin School to further their English skills, the school aims for the parents of Se Ryun pupils to view as a preferred place of study for the parents of Se Ryun pupils.

Activities started with an exchange of artworks, have included the development of a Merrin School Korean Dance Group, hosting 2 visits of children, staff and parents from Se Ryun, a visit by pupils, staff and parents of Merrin to Se Ryun, teacher visits both ways and assistance to another Christchurch school to help and support staff with a similar exchange programme at high school level.

Read more about Merrin School Education Exchanges

2004 South Hornby School Choir Visit to Adelaide Winner Youth category Supported by the Christchurch Adelaide Sister City Committee

The South Hornby Choir, supported by the Christchurch Adelaide Sister City committee and hosted by Hawthorndene School, Adelaide visited and sang to 3 Adelaide schools and the Adelaide City Council in September 2003 – the first time the school had undertaken such an international exchange.

From the initial contact made between the 2 schools in 2002 to the trip and the subsequent return visit of Hawthorndene in 2004 the whole school and the wider Hornby community from local businesses to voluntary organisations and the local media got behind the group to raise the $28000 needed.

2004 Kurashiki-Christchurch 30th Anniversary Youth Orchestra’s ‘The Sounds of Two Cities’ 2nd Youth/Education Category

Organised by the Christchurch Kurashiki Sister City Committee, the Kurashiki Junior Philharmony Orchestra of 65 young people and 20 support crew visited Christchurch in March 2003 for a seven day visit and through music, culture and friendship helped launch the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Christchurch Kurashiki sister city link.

This gave the Christchurch Youth Orchestra an opportunity to play with an international youth philharmonic. The visit took 12 month of planning and was the result of the determination of the 18 young people in the Kurashiki Ensemble, who visited Christchurch for 6 days in 2002 and vowed on leaving they would be back (bringing other children from their school music classes and newly formed orchestra).

2003 Adelaide Spheres Sculpture Winner Cultural Category

The Christchurch Adelaide Sister City Committee commissioned ‘The Spheres’ as a symbol of the Christchurch-Adelaide Sister City relationship.

Adelaide Artist Karen Genoff’s work was chosen from a limited competition commission between 2 Adelaide artists. The 2 bronze spheres decorated with eucalypt pods mounted on stone plinths were unveiled in November 2002 and gifted to the city. Deborah McCormick, of the Art & Industry Biennial Trust, in her role as a committee member, acted as project manager.

2003 ‘Kids 4 Peace’ 2nd Youth Category

As part of TV2’s Kidsfest in July 2002. the Christchurch Sister Cities Programme and Globalnet initiated and organised ‘Kids 4 Peace’.

Thousands of colourful paper cranes were paraded by local children from Cathedral Square to Friendship Corner, where they were displayed, alongside 2000 sent from Kurashiki in Japan and many more made by local school children and children from Christchurch’s sister cities.

Prior to the parade, colourful performances by young people representing Christchurch’s sister cities in China and Korea took place in Cathedral Square while sister city Adelaide entertainers ‘Ticklish Allsorts’ performed a show for over 500 children and their families.

2001 Sister Cities Gardens Opening Winner Cultural category

The opening of Christchurch Sister Cities Gardens on Saturday, 17 February 2001 was organised by the International Relations Team, Christchurch City Council, and involved around 70 guests from Christchurch’s 6 sister cities, with delegation leaders including 4 Mayors, a Councillor and a former Honorary Consul, and many local guests.

The weekend of activities ran from Friday morning until late Saturday during which times the sister city delegations intermingled, breaking down both social and cultural barriers.

The official opening ceremony involved around 000 people and the ‘real kiwi barbeque that evening at the Halswell Quarry park saw 270 invited guests enjoying something very New Zealand.

2000 Sister Cities Youth Soccer Tournament Winner Youth category

This youth sporting exchange, involving youth soccer teams from Kurashiki and Songpa-gu took place from 15-18 August 1999.

The event was organised by the Christchurch Songpa-gu Sister city Committee and the Christchurch Songpa-gu Sister city Committee and supported by the Christchurch City Council.

‘Youth from 3 nations were actively involved together, local young people were involved and benefited from unique experiences and new opportunities. A wide pool of volunteer residents became part of the sister cities support network, Christchurch businesses became of and supported the sister city activity and the media promoted one aspect of sister city involvement to a much wider audience of residents.’

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