Dialogue: Face-to-face contacts give sister cities great value

By ANN DUPUIS* and ANNE DE BRUIN*

Brian Rudman got it wrong in his column about sister cities. He asserted that in a world of mass tourism, global television and the Internet, the people-to-people exchange of the worldwide sister cities programme is passe.

On the contrary, the very uncertainty and fragility of relationships born in cyberspace makes all the more important the grassroots, community-driven, face-to-face contact that sister city relationships are renowned for.

About 130 sister city relationships are established in New Zealand. In addition, there are numerous sister school and sister club relationships. For such an extensive network of relationships to operate, there must be benefits.

Sister city relationships initiate contact, an essential for understanding and tolerance. They bring a new awareness of other cultures and skills. Sister cities also bring new perspectives to educational and cultural exchanges. Then there's the economic benefit, difficult to measure but important.

The modern concept of sister cities stems from the mid-1950s. It owes much to President Dwight Eisenhower, who saw it increasing understanding and fostering world peace by furthering communication and person-to-person exchange. The concept took off immediately and today is an important feature of international relations at the grassroots.

In today's political and economic climate, some of the support for sister city relationships has dropped away. Detractors usually make three criticisms.

The first, the ho-hum response, says that most people don't care about sister cities and, if asked, would be pushed to name even one of Auckland's. Who are "most people?" Certainly not the librarians and many patrons of North Shore libraries who have benefited from a unique contribution by students from Konohana High School in Osaka.

In association with sister city exchanges, Konohana students have visited the North Shore nearly every year for the past nine years. They arrange for a bazaar to be set up on Takapuna's main street, where they sell gifts and souvenirs from Japan. The money raised, which has averaged $1500 a time, has been donated to strengthen the cultural sections of the North Shore libraries.

Undoubtedly, too, there are hundreds of Auckland students, their teachers, families and friends, who would have no trouble naming a number of sister cities. These are students who, over the years, have been hosted by families overseas, attending school, enhancing their language skills, sightseeing and deepening their understanding of other cultures.

Take the group of 15 Auckland students who went to Japan last year. These students, representing more than 10 Auckland schools, took part in a 10-day visit to Auckland's sister city of Fukuoka.

The second common criticism of sister cities concerns the "strange choice" of the cities selected. These are strange, however, only for those unaware of how the relationships are initiated and develop.

Let's take Ningbo, Waitakere City's sister city. Ningbo, an important commercial city in China, is not at all an odd choice. In fact, the Waitakere City-Ningbo relationship highlights some salient points of sister city relationships.

It is one of sharing ideas, knowledge and technology. It came about because of the awareness of Chinese people here and in China, of Waitakere City's reputation as an eco-city, which has implemented innovative strategies for ensuring a sustainable future and enhancing the lives of its citizens.

Ningbo city officials, especially, saw themselves facing similar problems. Their wish to know more about issues of sustainability - particularly sustainable building and technology - initiated the sister city relationship. While this has an economic base, it is broadening to include cultural and work exchanges.

A third criticism is that sister cities are just a junket for politicians, who fly to exotic-sounding places like Kakogawa, Pusan and Taichung on ratepayers' money. If critics better understood the politics of sister cities, this criticism would subside.

City councils do not enter these relationships lightly. It is necessary for the mayors of both cities to sign an agreement for the sister city relationship to become formally established. Once established, city officials must cement the links through formal visits.

North Shore City's contract with Taichung in Taiwan shows how serious the sister city agreements are. Both cities agree to "establish lasting, friendly relations." The contract also shows that both cities "shall strive to maintain their close alliance and improve bilateral understanding and trust" and "make every effort to contribute to the free and prosperous life of people in both Taichung and North Shore City."

Both cities also agree to "exchange experiences concerning municipal construction projects, to organise visits and to learn from each other" and to "promote cooperation in the area of trade, cultural, economic affairs, education and social development."

It is not surprising, therefore, that Mayor George Wood visited Taiwan last August to cement North Shore's commitment to its relationship with Taichung. This trip was not paid for by ratepayers.

Nor is it surprising that Mr Wood sent North Shore City's civil defence chief, David Keay, to Taichung in the aftermath of last September's devastating earthquake. This visit was not only a gesture of sister city support, but also an opportunity for Mr Keay to offer his expertise to help deal with a disastrous situation in which 2100 lives were lost.

The development of deeper cultural understandings and tolerance are no less important today than they were 50 years ago. Today's world is still being torn apart through conflict. Racism is rife. Any programme that aims to overcome such socially harmful impulses deserves strong community support.

* Dr Ann Dupuis is a senior lecturer in sociology and Dr Anne de Bruin is an associate professor of economics at Massey University, Albany.