International partnerships

Guangzhou - sister city

Background

The Auckland-Guangzhou sister city agreement was signed in 1989, in response to a strong desire by the large population of local Chinese residents from Guangdong Province to link Guangzhou (capital of Guangdong) with Auckland.

Auckland has enjoyed a very active relationship with Guangzhou, including a wide variety of tourism, trade, education, sport, cultural, municipal administration and community initiatives.

The current focus is on education and creative industries.

For information about Guangzhou, visit Guangzhou International, the official English website of Guangzhou Municipality.

Some examples of programmes

Reciprocal country focus at international documentary film festivals

In December 2009, New Zealand was selected as the focus country at the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival (GZDOC). As China's largest documentary festival, this provided a good platform for the promotion of the Auckland and New Zealand film industry. A delegation from Auckland, led by Documentary Edge directors and Film Auckland, with support from Auckland City Council, led panel discussions at the industry summit on animation, pitching forums and coproduction opportunities.

A reciprocal China country focus took place during this year's Documentary Edge Forum in New Zealand, with a particular emphasis on Guangzhou. The industry forum, which ran from 1 - 3 March, was held in Auckland and showcased the best international documentaries. This provided an opportunity for Guangzhou filmmakers and producers to showcase Chinese documentaries to an international audience. A Guangzhou delegation, led by GZDOC officials, participated in seminars and lead a panel discussion.

For more information on Chinese film coproduction and other collaborative opportunities, please contact Film Auckland's Michael Brook michael@filmauckland.com.

Auckland-Guangzhou 2020 Committee

This working group assists council with sister city initiatives, such as business missions, tourism promotions and cultural events.

The committee, founded in 1998, is represented by members from business, education and community based organisations.

Updated April 2010