Executive Summary In 2014, Bankstown City Council celebrated 25 years of its Sister City relationship with Suita City, Japan. The special milestone provided Council with an opportunity to celebrate the Silver Anniversary by organising a number of activities to introduce Japanese culture to our wider community and create a unique Japanese experience for our residents. The challenge for Council was informing our community of the longstanding relationship, which only a number of groups were aware of based on being involved in events between the two cities. As part of our Silver Anniversary Celebration, Council prepared a year-long celebration including displays, events and activities which showcased the benefits of our Sister City relationship and the beauty and majesty of the Japanese culture to Western Sydney. The Experience Japan Silver Anniversary Celebration was a huge success, with thousands of residents and visitors participating in the various activities and programs organised throughout the year. The success of the Japan program has led to it serving as a blueprint for similar programs to highlight our other Sister City relationships which include: Broken Hill, NSW since 1986; Suita, Japan, since 1989; Colorado Springs, USA since 2001; and Yangcheon, Korea, since 2002. The Silver Anniversary event not only involved a large cross section of our community but also worked as a tourism strategy by engaging Western Sydney and visitors to Bankstown. We therefore submit this award application into Category 1, Community Involvement and Category 5,.
Aims of the project The goals and objectives of the Sister City and Partnership Program are: Attract tourism; Connect Bankstown to local and international markets; Increase organisational capabilities; Improve access to information; Provide professional development opportunities for staff; and Empower our local youth through educational, cultural and sporting exchanges. 2014 marked the Silver Anniversary of Bankstown s relationship with Suita, Japan. Though many have benefited from the 25-year-long program; our exchanges and initiatives targeted specific students and teachers from the education sector leaving many in the community unaware of the sister city relationship between Bankstown and Suita. Bankstown saw the Silver Anniversary as an opportunity to celebrate our strong relationship with Suita and, at the same time provide all residents and visitors with an opportunity to participate in Japanese cultural programs and activities. Our goal was to provide a unique, fun and enjoyable cultural experience without having to leave the country while simultaneously engaging both Cities. The objectives of the Silver Anniversary Suita Sister City Celebrations were to: Raise community-wide awareness of our Sister City relationship with Suita, Japan; Increase knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture; Showcase Bankstown City s diversity to Suita residents and Western Sydney Attract new visitors to our city; and Add value to existing Council events, initiatives and programs.
The Campaign As part of our Silver Anniversary Celebration, Council prepared a year-long celebration including displays, events and activities which showcased the benefits of our Sister City relationship. The Program included: Silver Anniversary Branding The event was branded with a graphic treatment and the slogan: Bankstown & Suita, Japan, Silver Anniversary, Sister Cities since 1989. The brand introduced a consistent look and linked all Sister City anniversary events and initiatives. Residents were able to interact with the brand through four life-sized Japanese stands which held iconic Japanese images including a geisha, sumo and children in traditional clothes. The stands appeared at locations across Bankstown and residents and visitors were invited to take photographs and upload them to their favourite social media platform and tag Council s digital media platforms including @ourbankstown and #sistercities.
Japanese Clothing Experience The Suita International Friendship Association (SIFA) donated 18 Kimono and Yukata pieces to Bankstown for use during the Silver Anniversary Celebrations. Participants were able to try on and dress in the kimono at various events including our Bankstown Bites Food Festival, various library events and at the Bankstown Arts Centre. Council also negotiated an extended loan of the collection to a local community group for a Japanese themed camp. The collection of traditional costumes allowed residents and visitors to see the intricacies of wearing traditional Japanese clothing, and to learn of the importance of each piece and how they linked to the ancient traditions followed by the Japanese. It was a fun activity for our residents, particularly families, and increased their engagement with Council and Bankstown. This activity proved to be very popular with people from diverse cultural backgrounds who came together to try on and experience Japanese culture. World on a Plate Photography Competition Bankstown is home to some of the most diverse culinary delights to be found in Australia. With more than 130 languages spoken around the dinner table, the world is literally on our doorstep. Japan on the other hand, has iconic food instantly recognisable as uniquely Japanese. The World on a Plate Photography Competition was created to gather imagery of our people and our food and share them with residents of Suita in a parallel competition. We opened the competition to everyone who lived, worked or dined in the Bankstown LGA (over half a million people). Our target audience for the exhibition period was food lovers within the Greater Sydney area with a focus on the Western Sydney suburbs.
Key objectives were to celebrate our food culture through imagery and then use that imagery to promote the Bankstown LGA as a culinary destination of choice. The competition was also used as a teaser for our upcoming annual Bankstown Bites Food Festival, which attracts around 15,000 people each year from across New South Wales. The World on a Plate Competition and subsequent photography exhibition was promoted in advertisements and media releases to local print media and ethnic newspapers and in Council s community newsletter which is distributed to more than 69,000 households. Posters were distributed to local shopping centres, clubs and sporting organisations, local community centres, pools and libraries. Direct mail was also sent to schools across Bankstown (more than 60 primary and 23 high schools), community groups (Lions, Rotary etc.) and the Bankstown Arts Centre clients. Information was also posted on the Bankstown City Council website, our specially dedicated Bankstown Bites website and through our digital media platforms. In addition to winning some great prizes, the top entries also formed the World on a Plate Photography Exhibition which was held at the Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre and, concurrently in Suita, Japan. Council successfully secured three sponsors for the competition - Fantastic Furniture who provided a $1,000 dining setting to the winner of the competition, Beefeater who provided a $600 Bugg Barbecue as second prize, and Sunshine Meats who provided $500 for the third place getter to spend in its meat specialty store.
The top 10 images from the Bankstown and Suita competitions were announced at the Bankstown Bites Food Festival on Saturday 9 August 2014 and exhibited at the Bankstown Arts Centre. The top 10 for Bankstown and Suita can be view at www.bankstown.nsw.gov.au/wop In order to increase our media reach for this competition, Sydney-based bloggers were invited to an exclusive Food Styling and Photography master class to launch the competition. Renowned food photographer Tania Zouev conducted the session, with 12 bloggers attending including the Jugernauts. Their report on the master class can be seen at http://jugernauts.com/sydney-2/world-on-a-plate-food-photography-bankstown/ Tania Zouev was also the judge for the competition. People to People Exchange Twelve members of the Bankstown Unit of the NSW State Emergency Service were supported by Council on a self-funded study tour to Japan from 12-27 July 2014. The tour included a two day visit and home stay experience in our sister city of Suita, where the SES group met with officials from City Hall and other agencies and emergency services to look at the flooding issues in an urban environment. The group visited the Disaster Prevention Park in Tokyo and also travelled to Sendai, an area amongst the worst hit by the Touhoku Tsunami and earthquake. This provided an opportunity for the two groups to exchange stories and learn through their different experiences with natural disaster crisis management. The success of this exchange was largely due to Council s strong relationship with Suita, and the support of Bankstown City Council.
Bankstown Bites Food Festival Bankstown Bites Food Festival is Bankstown s premier food festival. 2014 marked the festival s 10th anniversary and attracted more than 15,000 visitors from across NSW. To enhance the event, and to celebrate the Sister City Silver Anniversary, Council introduced visitors to Japanese cuisine by devoting the main stage to a special cooking demonstration by Japanese Chef Raita Noda. Born in Tokyo and trained in Sydney, Raita has become one of Sydney s most celebrated Japanese chefs, and is known for his Asian and Mediterranean inspired seafood feasts. At the event, Chef Noda demonstrated how to slice a 35kg tuna and hosted two special master classes on the day. The 40 places at each master class were snapped up by keen food lovers. Sun Masamune, a local sake brewery also attended the master classes, matching their sake to Raita s dishes, and helping to create an authentic Japanese experience for visitors and master class participants. Both the cooking demonstrations and master classes provided residents and visitors the opportunity to try Japanese cuisine, be part of the demonstration and hear Chef Noda s personal experience growing up in Japan. The Japanese stand and costumes were also on display at the event for participants to try on and enjoy making the event an all-round Japanese experience.
Experience Japan Library Event Two of our local Library and Knowledge Centres, Padstow and Panania, introduced Japanese culture to their members throughout the month of October 2014, with a special Experience Japan event. The top entries from the World on a Plate Photography Competition were displayed and the community was encouraged to get involved by voting for their favourite images. A Japanese BBQ was set up outside Panania Library and Knowledge Centre on the day and more than 300 Japanese food samples of Okonomiyaki were handed out for visitors to try. Both libraries also ran Japanese-themed preschool story time and origami sessions, with the Japanese Kimonos and standees also set up for the members to enjoy. Budget for the Silver Anniversary Council was mindful of achieving the most reach of the project on a small budget. The major cost of the projects were: Chef Raita Noda, cooking demonstrations and ingredients $1000 Bankstown Bites infrastructure (marquee) $1500 Standee characters, print and cut $1500 My Place Photography event launch, photography with Tania Zouev and food styling with Janette Mitchell $2000 Advertising $2000 Sponsorship Fantastic Furniture, 1 st prize for World on a Plate $1,000 Beefeater, 2 nd prize for World on a Plate $600 Sunshine Meats, place getter prizes $500 Torch media, 1 fee add per paid advertisement $2000 In Kind Sponsors The Suita International Friendship Association donated 18 Kimono The Bankstown SES self-funded their travel to Suita, Japan All additional advertising was provided by linking to other events including the large reach of the Bankstown Bites Food Festival. Income A modest amount was made from the Master Classes by Chef Raita Noda $1200
Key Outcomes and Evaluation When Council started preparations to celebrate out 25 year Sister City relationship with Suita, we discovered that not many people in our community were aware of the long relationship between the two cities unless they had been involved in one of the targeted events during this period. With this in mind, Council was determined it would not let such a significant milestone go by without a concerted effort to reach out to the community and raise awareness of this substantial connection. The Experience Japan Silver Anniversary Celebration involved thousands of residents and visitors participating in the various activities and programs organised throughout the year. These activities included: More than 100 entrants from Suita and Bankstown contributed images to the World on a Plate Photography Competition; 100 people participated in the Bankstown Bites Experience Japan master classes; 20 bloggers and photographers participated in the World on a Plate Food Styling Workshop; 12 member of the Bankstown SES travelled to Japan for their study tour; 250 local children participated in Experience Japan at Padstow and Panania Library; More than 300 visitors took advantage of the free food samples distributed at the Experience Japan event; and Around 15,000 people attended the Bankstown Bites Food Festival with the opportunity to see Raita Noda on main stage and visit the World on a Plate Exhibition at the Bankstown Arts Centre. Awareness of Council s Silver Anniversary events was achieved through the establishment of a uniform brand, easily identifiable as an initiative organised by Council and through the overlap of events which reinforced the message.
Stands were strategically placed at various locations throughout the year including the Bankstown Arts Centre, The Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre and Council s Customer Service Area to present a year-long message for the anniversary celebrations. Social media was also instrumental in the success of the brand awareness. Through multiple postings on Facebook and Twitter, followers were kept informed on upcoming events and how they could participate. The master classes at Bankstown Bites provided a new element to an already successful formula, and enabled Council to promote the Silver Sister City Anniversary in a widely attended event. As a result of this success, Council will now continue including a cultural experience/demonstration at all future events. The My Place Photography Competition provided a creative activity for both Bankstown and Suita residents to show of their photography skills and share their favourite food images. Over 100 images were collected showcasing a unique food culture and this success has generated plans for a similar competition with our Sister City in Korea. The top ten images from both Bankstown and Suita have now formed a permanent collection on display at our library and knowledge centres and Bankstown Council s Customer Service area. Council s support of the SES exchange has seen the hosting of a reciprocal visit and planning is in hand for a regional study tour. The success of the Japan program has led to it serving as a blueprint for similar programs to highlight our other Sister City relationships.
Conclusion The Silver Anniversary Sister City Celebrations were successful in raising community-wide awareness of our Sister City relationship with Suita, Japan; increasing knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture; showcasing Bankstown City s diversity to Suita residents and Western Sydney; attracted new visitors to our city and added value to existing Council events, initiatives and programs. A large number of entries were receive for the World on a Plate Competition, new visitors were attracted to the city through new festival events and new key stakeholders were engaged through the special blogger food styling workshop to launch World on a Plate. Over 250 children participated in Experience Japan at Padstow and Panania Library and around 15,000 people attended the Bankstown Bites Food Festival with the opportunity to see Raita Noda on main stage and visit the World on a Plate Exhibition at the Bankstown Arts Centre. The Silver Anniversary was a truly outcome driven event and Bankstown City Council is proud to apply for the Community Involvement and Award.