Cork City .ie - High visibility version
In this Section
Services
Cork Shanghai Sister-City Relationship
Cork - Shanghai Sister City Agreement Sister Schools Project
Following the very successful visit in 2007 of Cork schools to their counterparts in the Shanghai districts of Changning, Lu Wan and Zhabei, a return visit was held in the period 30th September to 7th October, 2008. The visit coincided with the National Day holiday for the People's Republic of China.
The Shanghai schools' delegation visited their partner schools in Cork and university College Cork in order to make arrangements for future co-operation projects and to gain a better understanding of the functioning of the Irish Education system. The Irish Institute of Chinese Studies and the Confucius Institute in University College Cork both support the Sister Schools Project.
A formal ceremony was held in City Hall, hosted by the Lord Mayor, Cllr. Brian Bermingham, on Friday October 3rd where Memoranda of Understanding were signed between the 9 Cork and 9 Shanghai schools. This ceremony was addressed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Micheál Martin TD. There were short performances by each of the Cork schools, featuring traditional Irish music, dance, singing and other performances.
The ceremony was attended by c. 600 local school children. It is hoped that this level of activity will help promote the active citizen to citizen relationships that have emerged from the Sister City relationship between Shanghai and Cork.
The Shanghai teachers also met the Minister for Education and Science, Mr. Batt O'Keeffe TD on a visit to the Blackrock Castle Observatory.
A short eclip of the visit can be viewed at http://www.adeclips.com/pr_sc.html
| Shanghai Schools | Cork Schools |
|---|---|
| Luwan District | |
| Bile High School | Presentation College |
| Zhonghua Vocational School | St John's Central College |
| Seven Colour Flower Primary School | Christ the King Girls Secondary School |
| Changning District | |
| Shanghai Jianqing Experiment School | Scoil Mhuire |
| Shanghai Kaiyuan School | Ursuline Convent, Blackrock |
| Shanghai Xijiao School | Presentation Secondary School, Ballyphehane |
| Zhabei District | |
| Shanghai Shibei Junior Middle School | Scoil Mhuire Fatima |
| Shanghai Hengfeng Middle School | Mayfield Community School |
| Shanghai Lingnan Middle School | Ashton School |
Further Information:
Mr. Pat Ledwidge, Director of Services - Docklands, Cork City Council.
Tel (021) 4924034. E-mail: pat_ledwidge@corkcity.ie
End
Cork Shanghai Sister-City Relationship
Cork City Council and the Shanghai People’s Municipal Government signed a formal Sister-City Agreement between the two cities on May 19th 2005 in the Millennium Hall, Cork. Over 100 people travelled from Shanghai. H.E. Ambassador Sha Hailin of the P.R. China to the Republic of Ireland was also be present at the ceremony. This was the culmination of two years preparation by the two city authorities from the initial invitation by Shanghai, supported by diplomatic services of the respective countries. Shanghai provided two events in the Cork2005 Programme and a number of delegations from Shanghai have visited Cork in the past year.
Cllr. Sean Martin, Lord Mayor of Cork, and Mr. Gong Xue Ping, representative of the city of Shanghai, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, signed the Sister-City Agreement.
The Sister-City Agreement is set in the context of the developing relationship between Ireland and China. There is an Irish Consul-General based in Shanghai. Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland both have offices there as well. The Sister-City relationship provides a framework to promote co-operation between the two cities. This will build on the links already established between the two cities, which in turn were pioneered by University College Cork and the following universities in Shanghai – Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and East China Normal University. There is already a large number of students in University College Cork from Shanghai.
The relationship between the cities will be based initially on business, culture, tourism and education. During the course of the visit to Ireland the programme covered these themes.
Thursday May 19th 2005
- Visit to University College Cork where a magnolia tree was dedicated for the occasion
- Business Forum organised by Cork Chamber of Commerce, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce
- Sister-City Agreement Ceremony in Millennium Hall,City Hall.
- Cultural Performance and Fashion Show in the Concert Hall, City Hall
Friday May 20th 2005
- Library Exhibition at Cork City Central Library
- Archival Photographic Exhibition at the Millennium Hall
- Tourism Forum organised by Cork Kerry Tourism and the Shanghai
- Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission
Cork Shanghai Twinning Ceremony on 19th May 2005. Cllr. Sean Martin, Lord Mayor of Cork and Mr Gong at the signing of the agreement
