The Sister Cities New Zealand 2016 Conference was recently held in Nelson. Every year, they invite submissions on Sister City projects from around the country and, in conjunction with the Nelson City Council, NZCFS Nelson Branch entered our 2015 RAFE funded project, the Nelson-Huangshi Schools Art Exchange.
Many Nelsonians visited and admired the colourful and beautifully-presented exhibition of artwork created by students from Huangshi and Nelson in The Refinery ArtSpace during China Week in September last year. Mayoral delegations from the two cities visited on the day the Sister City agreement was re-signed.
The highlight of the conference is the formal Sister Cities NZ Awards Dinner which was held in the Saxton Oval Lounge. The Mayor of Nelson, Rachel Reese, and project director, Christine Ward, received the Air New Zealand Award for the “Best Youth Education or School Project”. The project aimed to promote awareness and friendship between school children in the sister cities, forming a foundation for future understanding.
The next morning, Christine also presented the project story to conference delegates. This is available in pdf form (24Mb!) at: Christine Ward_Nelson-Huangshi Schools Art Exchange_30 April 2016.pdf
Christine is keen for the award money ($1,500 worth of air travel sponsored by Air New Zealand) to be used in a way that is related to the aims of the Rewi Alley Friendship and Exchange (RAFE) Fund, because it was this fund that provided support for the Art Exchange.
Great news indeed for the NZCFS Nelson Branch and all involved in making the exhibition such a success during Nelson’s China Week and New Zealand Chinese Language Week in 2015.
