The Star: May 31, 2018

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday May 31 2018 9
News
HORNCASTLE ARENA
June 29 - July 1 10AM - 5PM
TICKETS ONLINE: starhomeshow.kiwi
Chch – city of opportunities
• By Julia Evans
THE CITY of opportunity.
That’s how Christchurch is
being marketed through the
development of a new education
website.
The city council’s “city of
opportunity” project team has
developed a web page for young
people to locate and take advantage
of “education opportunities
and information”
within
the city.
“Christchurch
aims to
be a city of
opportunity
where
anything is
possible and
John Filsell
that concept
of endless opportunity
needs to be available
to children and to young people
as well,” city council head of
community sport, governance
and partnerships John Filsell
said.
He said the website, which
will be an overview of all “out of
school” education opportunities
in the city, is due to be launched
in June this year.
“Promotion and marketing
will commence after the 300-
INNOVATION: Christchurch is becoming an innovation hub
with the launch of a new website featuring educational
opportunities across the city. PHOTO: MARTIN HUNTER
plus learning opportunities are
uploaded,” he said.
Mr Filsell said last April
and May a scoping report was
completed to investigate learning
experiences and opportunities
available for children and young
people in the city.
“Currently there is no holistic
overview of these learning
experiences and opportunities or
the community of providers and
supporters who create, sustain
and deliver them,” he said.
Which is where the website,
yet to have be named, comes in.
City councillor and innovation
and sustainable development
committee chairwoman Vicki
Buck said the launch is “very
exciting.”
“There are huge numbers of
amazing educational opportunities
for kids in the city that they
can take advantage of,” she said.
Cr Buck said the new website
embodied the term “city of
opportunity” and offered it to
young people.
“It’s a city of opportunity
. . . where anything is possible
and that’s true for anyone from
four-years-old right up to 25,”
she said.
But where did the term “city of
opportunity” come from?
A ChristchurchNZ spokeswoman
said the city of opportunity
had been used for a
while and was part of the city
council’s strategic framework in
the Long Term Plan and within
the Christchurch Economic
Development Strategy, adopted
last year.
It originally came from the
work that the airport undertook
with key leaders across the city
to develop “The Christchurch
Story” marketing campaign.
“More recently Christchurch-
NZ and our local government
partners have embraced city of
opportunity and exploration as
this celebrates our history and
future,” she said.
But she said the Garden City
was still used “within the wider
narrative” used to describe the
city.
Growing
role as an
Antarctic
gateway
• By Julia Evans
THE CITY is moving to
strengthen its role as a gateway to
Antarctica.
The city council has endorsed
the Christchurch Antarctic Gateway
Strategy, developed through
The Antarctic Office and handed
leadership for the project over to
ChristchurchNZ
ChristchurchNZ will work
with the city council, Christchurch
Airport and the Lyttelton
Port Company, as well as the
scientific community, tertiary institutes
and arts organisations, on
plans which include redeveloping
McMurdo and Scott bases.
Other proposals include working
with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade to establish
the city as the permanent home
of the Council of Managers of
National Antarctic Program by
2021. An impact study by Lincoln
University estimated that in 2016
Antarctic-related activities make
a $253 million contribution to
the Canterbury economy.
A new look.
A new experience.
Come take a look today.
Tower Junction, Addington