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Covid-19

A key focus for New Zealand in 2022 is to refresh and strengthen our global trade relationships, and to not only reconnect our country to the world but also the world to Aotearoa. And it is here that our offshore and returning Kiwi community should play a vital role. 

One million Kiwi live offshore. This community offers New Zealand an incredible resource of skills, knowledge, connections and experience. Harnessing the power and inspiration of this community is key to ensuring a smooth and successful recovery and navigating the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as we work to re-energise our economy and show our trading partners we remain competitive on the world stage. 

Research shows 18% or almost a fifth of Kiwi live offshore, many of them in countries which are several months further down the track with their opening up strategies. These Kiwi have already navigated various reopening challenges and are keen to share this knowledge particularly with the business community. The recent discovery of the Covid Omicron strain is a timely reminder that the pandemic situation will continue to shift and evolve. This is yet another reminder of the huge potential to be gained from learning from the ongoing experiences of this community. 

Ganesh Nana, Chair of the New Zealand Productivity Commission – Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa, recently urged New Zealand to “be proactive in ensuring the distinctive skills, knowledge, experience, and connections of our offshore and returning Kiwi community are used to lift innovation, productivity, and the wellbeing of all in Aotearoa.”

Utilising the power of a country’s offshore community or diaspora, is not a new phenomenon. In fact many countries around the world are actively engaging in research on how best to leverage this growing opportunity.

The International Organisation for Migration predicts that over the next decade, governments, multilateral organizations and corporations will be drawn to the diaspora sector, with investment in it growing substantially. The sector will be seen as a “whole-of-government” issue that needs time, attention and resources. 

IOM spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific, Itayi Viriri, says diasporas have a huge potential for leading sustainable development in their countries of origin and this potential is often most evident in island nations with large diaspora communities such as New Zealand. 

“Members of a diaspora can help open doors for their country of origin politically, through public diplomacy and economically, through nostalgic trade and their own commercial activities. These opportunities would otherwise be difficult for the country to achieve due to limited visibility on the international stage, lack of connectivity due to geographic remoteness, and/or limited resources for formal diplomatic or trade promotion activities. This bridging role of diaspora communities is an invaluable resource for countries of origin, however it cannot be assumed as a given. Institutions in the country of origin must work to build and maintain the trust of their offshore community who may easily feel neglected or disconnected if there is a lack of proactive outreach.”

Across the world we can see inspiring examples of how connecting with a country’s offshore community has a positive impact on the growth and development of a nation. 

For example, the Institute for International Economics found that Koreans living in the United States have generated an increase of trade between the two countries by around 15-20%. 

The Korean Government considers offshore communities to be valuable sources of global talent and potential investment. By leveraging its overseas population with an eye towards enhancing national economic competitiveness, Korea trades more with countries where a larger number of ethnic Koreans reside. In 2017, more than 600 small and medium-sized companies in Korea signed deals with Korean entrepreneurs living overseas to further enhance Korea’s economic profile.

Further research this time into offshore Indian communities in the US further supports this economic advancement theory. Indians living and working in Silicon Valley in California, showed  27% regularly exchanged information on jobs or business opportunities and technology with people back in India. 46% had been a contact for domestic Indian business and 23% had invested their own money into Indian start-ups. 

There is no reason why New Zealand shouldn’t be able to harness similar benefits from our offshore community. Our Kea Future Aspirations Survey showed 25% of Kea’s offshore community are interested in being a brand ambassador for New Zealand, 18% are interested in New Zealand board and advisory positions and 17% are interested in giving time and mentorship to NZ businesses. The opportunities that this community presents are there for the taking. 

As we look ahead to 2022 and focus on reconnecting with the world we must make sure that we are not wasting an opportunity to harness the power of our offshore community. Next year will represent a key turning point in our battle against Covid and it is vital that we all work together to ensure the best outcomes for the productivity of all Aotearoa. 

Kāhore taku toa i te toa takitahi, he toa takitini – we cannot succeed without the support of those around us.

If you’d like to enlist the ideas, experience and networks of our offshore Kiwi to support your business, get in touch with Kea and let’s engage more of our global explorers for a more productive New Zealand. 

CONTRIBUTOR

Toni Truslove

Kea Global CEO

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

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New Zealand needs to ‘work smarter, not harder’ is the implication – and an injection of smart, skilled, internationally experienced Kiwi and their capital could certainly help New Zealand improve this statistic.

But that opportunity currently hangs in the balance as thousands of talented offshore Kiwi reassess their place in the world, and if there is a better life for them ‘back home’.

The Kea Future Aspirations Survey of offshore Kiwi and those recently returned, suggests a large group of these global citizens still plan to return, but the landscape is rapidly changing.

Takutai Atrium

Sir Peter Gluckman recently said, “The window of opportunity for New Zealand to attract talent is evaporating as the developed world becomes vaccinated. Other countries, like Singapore, have moved swiftly, turning Covid-19 into opportunities to their advantage. 

“Start-up and scale-up are very different, and scale-up requires globally orientated expertise we are short in – we need to work with these returning Kiwis or risk being left behind,” he said.

A key issue for returning Kiwi is satisfactory employment.  While local businesses talk about skill shortages and a desperate need to attract international talent, our Kiwi explorers are expressing a growing disillusionment about the return home, with an issue of feeling valued front and foremost.

In fact, there is a significant mismatch between what Kiwi employers say they are offering and the experience of returnees. 

On the positive side, the report shows that 64% of Kiwi businesses are proactively seeking internationally experienced Kiwi to fill positions.

Yet, while 46% of businesses indicate international experience is highly desired and a plus, only 38% of returnees expect local businesses to fully understand and value their overseas experience.

And while local employers suggest that returnee wage expectations are too high, returnees say they’ve already discounted themselves to meet the market.

In fact, 52% of returnees indicate that they expect to earn less, or significantly less, in New Zealand – a financial set-back, coming on top of the many issues of getting through MIQ, finding somewhere to live, getting visas for partners, school for kids and more.

The ongoing call for the careful opening of borders to allow more skilled migrants essential to business and exporters, is getting louder by the day.  NZTech CEO Graeme Muller said recently there could be as many as 10,000 open tech roles in the market this month alone. Are we missing the opportunity to engage Kiwi who have, or are about to return home?

It seems that New Zealand employers are underestimating the total package that internationally trained and skilled expats present. 

Ganesh Nana, Chair of the New Zealand Productivity Commission Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa recently commented that: “Internationally experienced Kiwi contribute to Aotearoa through distinctive skills, knowledge, and connections that can help lift innovation and the governance of our businesses and industries. 

“We should look to capitalise on the strengths of returning and offshore Kiwis to deliver productivity lift and improvements to the wellbeing of all New Zealanders,” Nana said.

However, returnees are only half the story. The offshore Kiwi community is telling us they want to proactively contribute to New Zealand’s post-Covid recovery and ongoing success – if we give them the opportunity. The Kea report shows that of the 59% of Kiwi choosing to remain offshore, half of these are wanting to contribute to New Zealand in some meaningful way – with 18% of these interested in board and advisory positions. Their understanding of international business, the latest in technology, business processes and importantly their networks all serve to give our businesses a distinct advantage – if utilised!

The race is now on – with other nations starting to emerge from lockdown, vaccinating their populations and opening borders, the post-Covid talent grab has begun. 

With New Zealand having one of the highest offshore populations in the OECD, the time is now if we are to take the opportunity to leverage their skills, knowledge and networks.

So, more needs to be done – urgently – to engage with our most talented Kiwi explorers whether they are remaining offshore or coming home, to help them with the hurdles they face and to properly value their skills and experience for the benefit of all. 

This means as a nation we must recognise the value of our offshore population and better factor their potential into our planning and policy decisions.

It should also include: 

  • Closing the gap between returning kiwi and employers – encouraging employers to see the longer term, bigger picture implications of employing, valuing and retaining internationally experienced and skilled talent.
  • Looking further afield for board appointments, advisory positions, hard to fill roles or investment with our offshore Kiwi a great place start. A gift from the COVID-era is a new appreciation for distance working, let’s set this in motion.
  • Recognising that while the world’s borders remain closed now, the Post-Covid era will come, and with it, new opportunities and a need for fresh ideas and capital. Let’s foster our relationships with offshore Kiwi now and plan to be part of that future.

At Kea, we engage with our offshore and returning Kiwi every day. We field constant emails offering support and connection, we match offshore Kiwi with those on the ground who need them and we celebrate every successful integration we participate in.  

If you’d like to enlist the ideas, experience and networks of our offshore Kiwi to support your business, get in touch with Kea and let’s engage more of our global explorers for a more productive New Zealand. 

Click here to access the full #KeaFutureAspirations report

CONTRIBUTOR

Toni Truslove

CEO

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

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PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Borders May Close – Minds Need Not

As a Kiwi who lived offshore for almost eight years, I relished the opportunity to build on my New Zealand based skills and perspectives. 
Operating a digital business in a highly competitive market sharpened my ability to understand audience behaviour. It taught me how to use data to drive strategy, ways to develop alternate revenue streams and importantly, how to lead teams through change.
I was beyond excited at the prospect of bringing these, often hard-learned skills home to Aotearoa to see how I might be able to help grow a company on the soil where I grew up.  

Rude awakening

Arriving home four years ago, however, proved to be a rude awakening.
I was told by more than one recruiter that my skills were irrelevant in NZ, that I should be ready to halve my salary and hope to work my way back into a leadership position over the coming years. 

This is my story, but it is also the story of so many Kiwi returning home.  
We are a passionate nation, proud of what we achieve collectively. 
We love to see companies like Xero and RocketLab on the world stage. 
Yet we are also more than a little unwelcoming of tall poppies, particularly if they come in the form of Kiwi returning home. 
For some reason we feel a sense of abandonment that they left us, and more than a dash of incredulity that in a reality-shifting moment like a global pandemic, they would want to be home amongst family, familiar faces and places. 
As a small island nation on the edge of the globe we have learnt to be self-reliant and to build things our way.
Our response to the covid-19 pandemic was also purpose-built to make the most of our natural maritime border.  

Risk of closed minds

But I sense that in the current moment we are at risk of closing our minds, as well as our borders. 
As a country we need more high value innovative companies like Soul Machines and Seequent, we need to increase our frontier firms and our productivity. 
Part of this could be achieved through driving diversity of thought and including not only cultural differences from amongst our resident population, but also the different perspectives gleaned from our whānau offshore and recently returned.
In my work with Kea, I have seen the breadth and depth of passionate thought leadership and experience within our offshore network. 
These unique global Kiwi deliver innovation in a wide range of industries, for other nations. What might it take for NZ to open our mind to what they have to offer us?  
With the country riding high in global brand perception, we have more global Kiwi than ever wanting to support the country they are so proud of – through the talent or investment of those who choose to return, or the ideas and perspectives of those who remain offshore.

Carpe Kiwi

It is up to us as a community to navigate the solution, grabbing on to the amazing opportunity that exists.
On my return to Aotearoa, I had some soul searching to do. 
I needed to rethink my skill set and find the right terms of reference to appeal to a New Zealand-based company. 
Importantly, I had to find the right way to integrate myself into its team and culture. 
Returning Kiwi would do well to do the same.
But an enormous opportunity also exists for NZ to be open to new ideas and to find ways to amplify returning Kiwi skills that might not sit in a job description. 
We need to lose the fear of being told there’s another way of doing things and be ready to embrace healthy challenges to the status quo – the impact could be far-reaching.

Open minds

While it may take a few years to improve cost of living, housing and traffic issues, the one thing every one of us can do right now, is to open our minds.
We are the employers, the policy makers, the community and the whānau who can welcome these valuable Kiwi back home.
 And for a group who largely made the call to give up their lives to return to the familiar, this emotional support could go an awfully long way to securing their ongoing loyalty and value.

CONTRIBUTOR

Toni Truslove

CEO

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

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Sea freight continues to be a challenge for both exports and imports, exacerbated by the hold up of an estimated USD9.6B goods per day during the stranding of the Ever Given mega-container ship in the Suez Canal and the critical shortage of refrigerated containers affecting food exporters. Earlier this year import delays at Ports of Auckland and the Chinese New Year holiday period further impacted retailers and manufacturers alike. 

To safeguard New Zealand’s international connectivity Transport Minister Michael Wood announced last month the extension of support for the aviation sector to the end of October 2021, with the possibility to extend further to March 2022.

“Airfreight capacity is at 90 per cent of pre-COVID levels thanks to the International Airfreight Capacity (IAFC) scheme, which has meant our exporters have been able to get their products to market and time-critical goods like medicine have been able to come into New Zealand.

“The scheme has also maintained a critical lifeline for our Pacific partners – there would have been no flights to Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and Niue without it.”

The original IAFC was allocated $372M of the $600M aviation relief package to support airfreight continuity. The extension of the scheme to October 2021 is estimated to be worth an additional $170M.  

From April 2021 IAFC has a name change to Maintaining International Air Connectivity (MAIC), to more clearly reflect the focus on recovery and its broadened objectives.

  • retain air connectivity with New Zealand’s principal trading partners,
  • enable continued essential passenger movements,
  • retain important air connections to the Pacific,
  • retain air connections to key routes and hubs important for tourism recovery,
  • maintain core capability, capacity and competitiveness within the New Zealand aviation sector to provide a platform for an efficient and competitive market when international air travel recovers.

Since May 2020 the IAFC scheme has:

  • Enabled over 6000 flights
  • carried over 120,000 tonnes of air freight
  • worth $8 billion and
  • returned over 60,000 people to New Zealand
  • who made up around 60% of all MIQ stays. 

NZTE Focus customers may be eligible for a Supply Chain Review advisory service. Talk to your NZTE Customer Manager for more information.

For more information read Beehive release, Ministry of Transport announcement and MFAT’s report, The Importance of the Suez Canal to Global Trade.

CONTRIBUTOR

Saya Wahrlich

Global Director Government & Industry

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

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Tell us a bit about your background. How did you end up in London?

I have spent a great deal of my working life in food and hospitality. Cooking and baking have always been part of my life and from a very young age I was in the kitchen getting involved. As with many people who work in the hospitality business I am passionate about feeding people great food and creating experiences and memories through food and drink. I owned my first food business in Wellington when I was 21 years old which was a delicatessen and catering company. We made everything in the store from pate to bread. I decided to sell that business to come over to the UK and arrived here in 1997. With a couple of friends from NZ  and chef Peter Gordon we created Gourmet Burger Kitchen which went pretty well and grew in to a large chain of restaurants. Later on I opened Kopapa in London with Peter & Michael McGrath. 

What is the story behind Crosstown Doughnuts?

Like most Kiwis I am big fan of a great quality coffee. I had wanted to do something with coffee when I was approached by a young Australian guy called JP Then. He was looking to do something different in the coffee space in London. I didn’t want our food to be the same as what everyone else was doing and so we settled on the idea we would do artisan doughnuts with our coffee. We now have 12 shops and sell them in Harrods, Whole Foods and deliver them fresh all over the UK everyday.  JP and I are huge fans of online ordering and we have created a software company called Slerp which is the platform base for our online business at Crosstown. 

Covid-19 saw many businesses, especially in hospitality, have to pivot their offerings. Can you talk a bit to what you and the team at Crosstown have done?

Crosstown has been extremely lucky that we have managed keep our business intact during the pandemic. London has been extremely badly hit. As the first lockdown approached we could see panic buying starting at supermarkets. Other people in the hospitality trade were also seeing their businesses disappear in front of their face. So I contacted the guy who supplied all our milk and a friend of mine who had a large bakery and created the Crosstown Collective. The demand  just exploded and for the next 3 months we delivered fruit & veg, milk bread and doughnuts. Our customers were incredible and our staff were even more amazing. We had the technology, the space and the logistics to serve hundreds of people across London on a daily basis. 

What were your motivations behind starting ‘Operation Doughnation’?

A couple of years ago I floated the idea to JP about this program to support emergency services. It came to mind after a terrorist event here in London. When the pandemic started the whole country could see the pressure that the NHS and emergency services were under. We could see from the way that our customers were buying that our doughnuts were giving them a break from this really bad situation our country was in. So as is so often the case, JP and our team was able to pull the technology together and get the logistics organised to get food parcels and doughnuts to these people in need. The UK are such a generous nation and we were able to create a channel to enable them to give these amazing NHS staff a moment away from the madness. 

On a personal level, as someone who is staying in the UK, what are you most hopeful for in 2021?

On a personal level I want to see my children get back to school! Home schooling is one of the hardest things we have ever done. Children have zero understanding of production efficiency. The main thing for us to do is to navigate the next 12 months and ensure that having got this far we don’t fall on the home straight. I have been very proud to keep our teams at Crosstown and Slerp all working and even growing which is testament to the great people we have working at both companies. As I look around the hospitality trade in London it has just been destroyed and so many people have lost great businesses through absolutely no fault of their own. We are some of the lucky ones. 

How has running a business changed for you over the past 12 months?

Crosstown is now a better business than it was. A crisis forces you to focus like never before. 50% of our business is now online. We have added two new lines in cookies and ice cream at Crosstown. Both are going great. We also now offer National Delivery 5 days a week and that has opened up huge opportunities to us.  At Slerp we completed a funding round and have now laid the ground for that business to keep growing in to 2021 and beyond. 

What’s next for Crosstown?

Crosstown will continue to innovate with new products which is really exciting. We have partnered with a couple of large corporations that approached us to develop new lines with them which is exciting. And it is highly likely that Crosstown will open its first overseas territory in late 2021 or early 2022. So some exciting things happening. 

CONTRIBUTOR

Adam Wills

Co-founder

Crosstown Doughnuts

World Class New Zealander

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Hannah Churchill, founder, hcreates

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your business? 

I grew up in Dunedin and moved to Wellington to complete a degree in Architecture at Victoria University. After graduating and working for a few years in Wellington, I had the opportunity to move to Shanghai. While there I helped a group of friends design their first bar which led to some more restaurants and hcreates was born.  It’s been a busy ten years or so designing and completing over a 100 restaurants and bars, workspaces, gyms and retail spaces. I have been fortunate to be included in the Architectural Digest top 100 Designers in China since 2017.

What was 2020 like for H Creates? I imagine a design studio would have been affected in different ways than other companies. 

The weeks in February after Chinese New Year are our most active time of the year, as clients begin new projects they hope to open by summer. The situation evolved rapidly at our most important time of the year. Almost every project in our pipeline vanished, all new projects went on hold, and leases were extended as people just tried keep their doors open let alone consider new ones.  

Given the challenge what did you did you do?

We realised there was no easy way out, and there were a mountain of factors completely out of our control. We made a conscious decision to just focus on what we could do. Initially, we got to spend a lot of time on internal tidy-up and planning. By May, Shanghai started to feel slightly more familiar again. So, we just got out there and had coffees with anyone and everyone to chat about our business. It was an anxious 4-5 months as we kept paying bills and worked towards rebuilding our pipeline.  

Tell us about your most memorable experience in 2020? Any particular keywords or phrases that come to mind?

Whilst we were back in NZ over CNY (pre-lockdown), we caught up with an artist friend Anna Leyland whom we had collaborated on a Shanghai project before. When she was telling us all the plans she had over the next few months, she paused and said, “you know, you just got to keep hustling”. When we got back to China and things were looking pretty grim, we remembered that conversation and “keep hustling” kind of developed into a mindset for us that we were going to need to do be prepared to think and do things differently to make it through the year. 

Finally, in the last quarter of the year, a coffee catch-up turned into an opportunity to work with an international entertainment company that is launching their brand in China. We are looking forward to seeing this project open its doors in 2021.

Do you see any new opportunities or positives for the interior design industry in 2021?

China is still a place of rapid change so generally there is a lot going on. We are already seeing a promising pattern in 2021. This is due to three main things, the delayed projects restarting, travel restrictions leading to increased domestic spending in hospitality and retail. Slower recovery in other global markets encouraging brands to speed up their China projects.

Andy Huang, owner, BLEND

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your business?

My name is Andy, I was born and raised in Shenzhen and went to New Zealand for my undergraduate studies in 2000. After I graduated, I started working for ASB bank and ended up spending ten amazing years in Auckland before I made a move to London, where I stayed until 2015. I decided to move back to Shenzhen to be closer to my parents, and I started my coffee business with my two business partners in 2016.

My business is an independent cafe brand named BLEND. Currently, BLEND has three branches in Shenzhen, and we were one of the very first cafes in Shenzhen to serve specialty coffees and provide all-day brunch daily.

What was 2020 like for Cafe Blend? I heard that you even opened up a new store during the lockdown period – which would seem like a bold move to the rest of us.

It was definitely a difficult start of the year for 2020. We were basically shut for the month of February, and then allowed to open only for takeaway and delivery at the beginning of March. It was only towards the end of March when we could finally operate with full service. Luckily, we saw business pick up fairly quickly. By May, we were pretty much back to our normal level of sales, something which we know was quite unusual in the food and beverage industry at that time.
Opening a third cafe in 2020 had always been in our plans, but we didn’t dream to be able to continue do it when the pandemic broke out. We watched our business and the market very closely. In May, when we saw that sales numbers were getting back to normal and, more importantly, the pandemic seemed to be getting under control in China, we made the decision to carry on with our plans and start looking for the right location for the third cafe. We acted fast — there were quite a few businesses closing down around that time, so we thought it might be in our favour to negotiate a rental deal. We managed to seal the deal for a site in Nanshan we really liked in June, and from there we were able to open our cafe in August!

Can you share with us some of the key strategies you used to increase customer orders and expand your business at a time like last year?

Firstly, I think we have always known what we want to achieve for the business and we stick to our plans all the way. BLEND was created to show people in Shenzhen what a cafe is like in New Zealand. We want to provide not only good coffee but also amazing all-day brunch dishes. Since we started the business in 2016, we made all of our business decisions with this goal in our minds. 

Secondly, we worked very hard to really understand our business, inside-out and outside- in. In the past few years we have improved so much in every aspect of our business, including products, customer service, the management system, training, etc. We understand what our customers like about BLEND and we never stop enhancing that experience, and more importantly, we built a very strong customer relationship with our clients. And we believe that’s how we were able to recover so quickly from the initial couple of months of the pandemic.

Thirdly, we have never stopped building a better team and a stronger brand. The competition in China is intense and things can happen at a much faster pace than elsewhere. That’s means if we stop thinking about what we can do next or planning ahead, we could soon fall behind and lose our place in the market. So it is important to build a company culture in which everyone has a drive for continuous improvement, and in which everyone see such changes and improvements in a very positive way.

Tell us about your most memorable experience in 2020? Any particular keywords or phrases that come to mind?

It was definitely when we were first allowed to reopen during the early stages of the pandemic. Customers even from far parts of the city ordered their food online and came to the cafe to collect it and support us. Some regulars visited, but because we had to maintain social distancing, we could only just wave our hands to say “hi”, or show a hug or kiss though the air, or sometimes we just stood there and smiled at each other. In those moments, we realised how much we miss the personal contact and interactions we have in normal times. Keywords and phrases like, “stay healthy” and “don’t take everything for granted”.

Do you see any new opportunities or positives for the specialty coffee industry in 2021?

I do think the specialty coffee industry will continue to grow not only in China but also around the world. The coffee drinking population is growing dramatically in China and that offers great opportunities. While coffee has an established place in people’s day-to- day life in the West, customers here in China have their own understanding about coffee with further potential to develop. And the varied understanding and knowledge about coffee means there are a lot of hidden opportunities to find and explore.

Augusta Xu-Holland, Actress

Tell us a little bit about your background and your experiences in China?

I was born in Auckland but my father is originally from Beijing so I had a bicultural upbringing. I went to Otumoetai College in Tauranga and then went on to complete a BSc in Biology and BA in Asian studies at Vic Uni in Wellington. After finishing university, OE was the next step, naturally and I made what was in retrospect the life-changing decision to travel a bit around China and see what was happening in this big country of my father’s ancestors. It turns out a lot was happening in China.

I immediately started working in public relations and also in bioenergy, and then was given a chance to move into acting. There was strong growth in the China film industry around that time in 2015 and, for some reason, I fitted right in, scoring my first role (romantic) as a nurse in a Hollywood China co-production. Since that first opening, I have played a wide range of novel characters including a teenage gang leader on the border between Russia and China, a sci-fi werewolf, a Michelin Star restaurant owner and a Malaysian Paris Hilton…

What was 2020 like for you? Did the pandemic cause any significant changes to your personal and professional life?

Needless to say it’s been hard to be away from friends and family, knowing that its not easy to get home. I came back to China right before borders were closed to foreigners and there was a time of uncertainty; everything was on hold while everyone tried to work out what was going to happen. The entertainment industry has somewhat rebounded and I was lucky to get

some good film work in a tv series towards the end of the year. It almost felt like normal conditions, just some nucleic acid tests and the crew were wearing masks.

Can you share with us one of your most memorable moments or achievements from 2020?

It would have to be the relief of the The Eight Hundred coming out, and my being in Beijing to be part of the excitement. Fortunately COVID was under control in China, so people could enjoy it on the cinema big screen. The movie raked in about 360 million USD in box office revenue so, interestingly, it was actually the top grossing film in the world for 2020, -which may be a little like  ‘low hanging fruit’,  I know, but we have to celebrate what we can! It was especially nice to have friends and family watch it back home in New Zealand cinemas too.

Any plans or aspirations for 2021?

I’ve been fortunate already to spend all of January working in Sanya, Hainan, shooting a TV series, with scene locations across various luxury resorts, by and even on the ocean as well as  in very iconic Hainan coconut groves, so I have had my luck for the year already in a way. But, of course, like others, I really hope that the worldwide pandemic is able to be finally got under control, so China’s and the world’s film industry can flourish, and the great directing, acting and technical talent that I have appreciated working with in China so much, get to continue to use their wonderful skills. And hopefully we will also see some more filmmaking ventures between China and New Zealand.

In the meantime, with this change of pace,  I have got to know other cities and regions of  China better.  For example, I’ve started a business with a friend which is based between Jinan in Shandong and Melbourne and I have also become more familiar with the Hainan provincial  government business policies, and can see opportunities there for the future.

Gary Bradshaw, the Head of School for 3e International School (Beijing)

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND YOUR EXPERIENCES IN CHINA?

I came to China back in January 2007 for a classroom teaching role at a small international school in Wuxi, Jiangsu. I am now in my 15th year in China and can say I have lived here much longer than I have lived anywhere else in my life. My childhood was spent as an ‘expat’, living in Zambia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, with periods of time in the UK, Australia and also in New Zealand. 

Though born just outside Liverpool in the UK, our family moved to Zambia when I was 2 years old. My father worked as a mechanic in the copper belt mining area and wanted to provide opportunities for the family. From Zambia we moved to Indonesia, then to Australia and then to the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea as a teenager. My senior schooling at this time was by correspondence as there were no international schools. 

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I finished my schooling at a boarding school in Nelson and remained there for a few years and became a New Zealand citizen. Over the years my career has taken a couple of turns as I moved from nursing to teaching and then to school leadership. It took me to the UK, Australia, back to New Zealand,  Singapore, South Korea and finally here to China. Teaching and leadership roles in Wuxi, Chengdu and Beijing have left me feeling very comfortable and contented here in China, but I also know that at some stage I will return home to live in Wellington. 

WHAT WAS 2020 LIKE FOR YOU? DID THE PANDEMIC CAUSE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO YOUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE?

2020 was without a doubt one of my most challenging years professionally. At the time of the outbreak, my wife and I were enjoying Chinese New Year in Wellington. As news started to come in, with the very real prospect of school closure beyond the spring festival holiday, I had little choice but to come back. While other colleagues and friends in Beijing and China were doing all they could to get out of the country, I was desperate to get back in. I knew China was most probably the safest place to be and the school, families and teachers needed me back in Beijing. 

It was a challenging year. Exacerbated by a series of unknowns and a school community demanding answers to questions we simply didn’t have answers to. This was compounded by governmental demands of data, information and time. For weeks on end I was unable to sleep, but little by little things became clearer, some questions answered and the reality of what was happening kicked in. A family health scare over in Australia in May had me worried that if something went wrong I would be unable to travel and be available if needed. I think it is the helplessness that is the most challenging. Not having the ability or the power to do or manage what you need to in a time of crisis can be debilitating. 

We are not out of the woods yet in terms of this pandemic, but I am certainly better equipped now to deal with what comes my way.

CAN YOU SHARE WITH US ONE OF YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS OR ACHIEVEMENTS FROM 2020?

Without a doubt getting our school back up and running and having children fill corridors and classrooms once again is one of the most memorable things from 2020. It was such a big break for children and families and so hard on them as they attempted to home school their children while juggling work and family commitments. We had amazing support from the best of our families. 

There was so much appreciation and understanding about what were we’re trying to do, both with our home learning and with reopening. The teachers worked very hard throughout school closure and as a school we did all we could to support and nurture them. We knew we would be unable to please everyone along the way and we did lose some families. 

All schools struggled, particularly private ones and some are still struggling. Our enrollment took a bit of a dive when the new year started. Uncertainty, pandemic restrictions and processes, along with continued fear kept some families away, but we are so happy we remain open and continue to be a viable learning option for families. 

ANY PLANS OR ASPIRATIONS FOR 2021?

2021 is a new year and I am so excited to be able to welcome my first child, born just before Chinese New Year. There is little doubt my 2021 will be dedicated to ensuring that he is cared for,  nurtured and gets all the love he deserves. On the professional front, I am looking forward to getting the school operating normally again. Many things have fallen by the wayside and opportunities for our school and professional communities to connect together in meaningful ways once again will be very welcome. 

HAS YOUR COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER DURING THE PANDEMIC? WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THIS?

Given the physical distance between myself and my wider family, technology has always played a part in how we have keep in touch. Never more so than during the pandemic. WeChat calling and messaging has been our go-to method for a couple of years and has helped us to be available for each other regardless of the time differences. 

Reading and writing poetry has always been a big part of my life and being so far away has meant I had lost touch with what’s been going on. Many NZ poetry groups moved to online meetings and readings during the lockdown, so this enabled me to join and reconnect with the poetry world. I am now also a committee member and secretary for the New Zealand Poetry Society (NZPS), which allows me to keep up to date on poetry, writing and the arts scene back home. 

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE HAPPENING IN CHINA’S KIWI COMMUNITY IN 2021?

There are loads of Kiwis all over China. Finding ways to connect them together and to connect them with home is so valuable. In reality many, like myself, will return to NZ at some stage and I know that fitting back in and building community will not be easy. 

Expatriate life here in China is a cushy one. Returning home will be a challenge for us all and finding ways to reconnect through art, stories, literature, poetry, culture and sport while we are here would be so beneficial. 

Some things I would love to see here include: 

  • The All Blacks in China
  • a New Zealand book or literature festival
  • Arts or Cultural festivals
  • visiting artists in collaboration with Chinese artists
  • more educational connections and opportunities that reflect both Chinese and New Zealand similarities & perspectives

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