EU Ambassador Highlights IURC Partnerships on Christchurch Visit

During his recent visit to Christchurch City, the European Union Ambassador to New Zealand, H E Lawrence Meredith, met with Mayor of Christchurch Phil Mauger to discuss the city’s growing cooperation with the European Union and its active participation in the EU-funded IURC Asia and Australasia programme.

Ambassador Meredith’s visit forms part of a broader engagement with New Zealand stakeholders cooperating with the EU through the IURC AA programme, which facilitates city-to-city and region-to-region partnerships between the European Union and cities and regions across Asia and Australasia. Christchurch City is one of three New Zealand participants in the programme, alongside the Taranaki and Manawatū regions. The Ambassador had also recently visited Taranaki, while a colleague from the EU Delegation had visited Manawatū.

Christchurch is participating in nine Communities of Practice (CoPs) under the IURC AA programme, including as an active partner in three CoPs. In the International Human Smart Living Lab Network (CoP C11), Christchurch partners with Coimbra (Portugal) and Cork (Ireland) to develop shared solutions for smart living labs, community participation, and sustainable urban innovation — and will host a study visit of the full CoP later this year.

In the Urban Climate Data, AI and Citizen Engagement for Resilience CoP (CoP C14), Christchurch works alongside Valencia (Spain), Bologna (Italy) and Hamburg (Germany) to advance data-driven climate adaptation, AI-based early warning systems, and heat and flood resilience. The city also participates as a confirmed partner in the Hydrogen Market and Industry CoP (CoP R3), alongside Taranaki, connecting with European regions including Île-de-France and Catalonia on clean energy transition.

Prior to meeting the Mayor, Ambassador Meredith met with Dr Dalziel to discuss the IURC AA programme, the experience of New Zealand’s three participating cities and regions, and the programme’s achievements ahead of its next global event — the World Cities Summit 2026, hosted by Singapore in June.

Ambassador Meredith welcomed the progress achieved across the IURC AA programme and the momentum building in New Zealand’s participating cities and regions: “IURC is driving new partnerships between European Union and New Zealand cities and regions. This is injecting new momentum into our efforts to address key issues such as changes to climate, digital transformations and world-class urban and regional planning. It is exciting to see how the partnerships are rapidly evolving in the IURC programme.”

Dr Paul Dalziel, IURC Country Coordinator for New Zealand, reflected on the significance of the EU’s leadership in facilitating these partnerships: “The European Union’s support for cities and regions working on these key global challenges is inspiring. The New Zealand participants in IURC are contributing their own local knowledge and expertise, while also learning from the best practices developed across the European Union.”Following his meetings at the city, Ambassador Meredith delivered an invited presentation at the National Centre for Research on Europe, hosted by its Director Professor Martin Holland at the University of Canterbury. Dr Dalziel attended the presentation, noting that it served as a timely reminder of the long-standing liberal values shared by the European Union and New Zealand — values that also underpin the spirit of IURC.