New Zealanders in Global Headlines June 30

New Zealanders featuring in this week's survey of global media including the New York Times, LA Times, BBC, The Scotsman, The Guardian, Planet Rugby, ITV, Seed, Dwell and New York magazines, include:

• Anna Pacquin leads, exec produces, in films, telemovies, series (px)
• Nick Craven a premiere animator on Shrek, Over the Hedge, Ice Age
• Architect David Howell designs Grammery Park loft for NY Times
• Mark Wigley's architectual classic with Philip Johnson reprised
• Steve Edwards headlines BBC Radio 2 with "One By One" album
• Stand-up Ben Hurley secures seven-part sitcom on BBC Radio 4
• New Zealanders head 23-nationalities in star Amsterdam agency 180
• Graphic designer Jeff Docherty with cutting-edge science mag Seed
• NZ-founded restaurant chain GBK booms in UK "posh burger"market
• London-based osteopath pioneer Garry Trainer releases "Back Chat"
• Auckland's Vista becomes world-leading cinema software ticketeer
• Chch rapper Maitreya has int'l breakthrough via sellaband.com
• Waiheke Island's Stonyridge "cult winery with global reputation"
• NZ dairy scientists identify cows that produce skim milk naturally
• J Lomu, G Mourie and TP McLean inducted to Rugby Hall of Fame
• Polynesian explorers reached S.America before Europeans: AK Uni
• Highest Red Cross honor for Marianne Whittington: 11 int'l missions
• Iconic 128m chalk kiwi in Wiltshire receives a local makeover

See full stories at www.nzedge.com/media

Google News has about 700 links to current America's Cup action.

New Zealand Unleashed

My daily foray into Unity Books at 57 Willis Street has just yielded the sort of book about New Zealand that curls your toes up with anticipation. “New Zealand Unleashed: the country, its future and the people who will get it there” by Steven Carden (with Campbell Murray) is a geo-bio-histo-psycho thriller about the emergence of New Zealand in a pan-global sweep through nature and technology. Rooted in the biological science of complex adaptive systems, “Unleashed” is sectioned into “The end of certainty,” ”How to build a successful society,” “New Zealand’s DNA” and “Ideas for a more adaptable New Zealand.” A sped-up world and how we need to face change are key subtexts.

There are several elements to return to in “Unleashed” including the chapter “Maori 1 – a crash course in survival” about the extraordinary adaption of Maori society. “…after landing in New Zealand, Maori sat apart from the rest of humanity for perhaps another six hundred years. No one came to visit. No sailing vessels appeared over the horizon. No mail or telegrams arrived with news of the outside world. No one had sailed over the horizon in either direction for a long, long time. As far as Maori were concerned, New Zealand was the world.” (p 164)

Most resonant for me is the Steven Carden’s placement of New Zealand at “the edge of chaos”: “Innovations rarely emerge from systems with high degrees of order and stability. Systems in equilibrium lose diversity and give rise to the sorts of problems one encounters in homogenous communities and centrally planned economies. On the other hand, completely chaotic systems – riots, stock market crashes, revolutions – are not that great either.

“The key is to find that spot where disequilibrium breeds vitality and creativity, but doesn’t do so at the expense of all order and structure. The spot is the ‘edge of chaos’, a term coined by the physicist Norman Packard. He uses it to describe a state of untidy creativity, between rigidity and chaos. In this zone, the system is best able to function, adjusting constantly to a turbulent world, but without traumatic upheaval.

“Systems operating at the edge of chaos are excellent information processors and are highly creative. They are sensitive to slight changes in external conditions and internal events, generating innovative responses to these which adapt or evolve to suit the current environment. ‘The ghost in nature’s machine,’ he writes, ‘almost seems to be purposefully piloting the system to the edge of chaos.’…

…[The edge of chaos is] where productive agitation runs high, innovation thrives and breakthroughs occur. It’s the place this book argues New Zealand should be. A dynamic, innovative, creative society that is comfortable changing.” (pp 112-113)

Globalization is an exciting concept for New Zealand when viewed through a biological lens. We have a unique and powerful location in the world that is significantly underappreciated by a mass of people stuck in the rut of “small, remote, isolated.” “New Zealand Unleashed” puts some much-needed intellectual and metaphoric moxie into our perspectives about who we are, and what we are capable of achieving. “Unleashed” introduces new thinking and language that picks us up and points us to a better place that has us fully engaged with global change.

Steven Carden is an Engagement Manager for management consulting firm McKinsey and Co., and returned to NZ in 2006 from a posting at McKinsey’s New York office. He has arts and law degrees from Auckland University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. In 2005 Steven was one of five New Zealanders awarded an inaugural Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leaders Award. Campbell Murray is director of the Novartis BioVenture Fund in Boston. He trained as a doctor and also has an MBA from Harvard.

“New Zealand Unleashed,” by Steven Carden with Campbell Murray, Random House, Auckland

nzedge Hero: Sydney Smith - Forensic Pioneer

The latest addition to our nzedge.com "Heroes" series about New Zealanders who have influenced recent world developments in one way or other is Sydney Smith.

Roxburgh-born forensic science pioneer Sydney Alfred Smith (1883-1969) achieved world renown through the application of science to justice. From the edge of an Otago goldfield to the telling edge of a murder weapon, Smith learnt to read the stories of dead men - and in doing so changed the way crime was investigated and solved.

Trained at the University of New Zealand, Victoria University and Edinburgh University (long an important centre for the study of forensics), Sydney Smith found himself in Egypt in 1918 during a period of intense revolutionary activity, hired as a medical-legal expert by the Egyptian Government. Smith quickly established a proper laboratory for the section, and within a few years Cairo had one of the best medico-legal installations in the world.

In 1927 Smith returned to Edinburgh as Chair of Forensic Medicine. He was elected dean of the medical faculty, a position he held for twenty-five years. There he gave evidence in famous legal cases. In 1934 he helped to set up a medico-legal laboratory for the Metropolitan Police, Scotland Yard. In retirement he advised the newly formed World Health Organization, helped establish a medico-legal system in Ceylon, and was elected Rector of Edinburgh University.

Sydney Smith’s evidence had provided the turning point in many cases that made headlines throughout the world. From the assassination of the Sirdar in Egypt, to the famous 'Sydney Shark Case' (the basis of a 2003 episode of “CSI: Miami”), he solved riddles through the close and impartial study of corpses, bones, fingerprints and firearms. As Smith said, "A cartridge case at the scene of an offence could prove as incriminating as if the murderer had left his visiting card."

Acknowledged internationally as a groundbreaking authority, he wrote a textbook, “Forensic Medicine: A Guide for Students and Practitioners” (1925), which is still widely quoted today (for example, in analysis of the Kennedy assassination). His autobiography, “Mostly Murder”, was acclaimed for the vivid, vital language he used to describe his work, and went into numerous editions. Smith was knighted in 1949 and received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Edinburgh and Louvain.

He is fittingly described in an account of the history of Scotland Yard as a "characterful pioneer of forensic medicine" - precisely the explorer he had always meant to be.

3,200 words. Story by Ingrid Horrocks.

Sunday Picture #6: Horizon, Raumati South

See more pictures of New Zealand
at http://www.nzedge.com/gallery/.
Rugby edge good in South Africa.
Yachting in Valencia wait-and-see.
cheers.

Photo by Brian Sweeney

America's Cup - do we have the Edge?

A principal interpretation of the edge metaphor is that of seeking competitive advantage - in business, in technology, in creativity, in sport. How to win, how to sustain winning. Here's a sprinkling of edge metaphors in media commentaries on the America's Cup, the finals of which commence Sunday morning NZ time in Valencia, Spain, between the holders, Alinghi of Switzerland, and Emirates Team New Zealand. Godspeed boys from the edge.

"The America’s Cup represents the leading edge of yachting design.”

“It is the nature of the beast that once that edge is gained - there is no second.”

“These boats and crews have been honed to a razor edge in these trials.”

“What gives a syndicate an edge is how they apply the technology.”

“The America’s Cup Finals - who has the edge?”

"If one team has a slight speed edge it is likely to be game over."

“Both teams tacked to a port course looking for an edge as the wind shifted.”

“We expect the changes will help us gain a competitive edge.”

“Throughout the race, it was clear the black boat had a speed edge.”

“In front during the first leg and made the turn with a 32-second edge.”

“They had an edge on speed and had a perfect week where everything went their way.”

“New Zealand grab America's Cup edge.”

“Cutting edge Kiwi products and technologies have a strong presence in Valencia.”

“Team NZ hold an edge in head-to-head clashes in buildup regattas.”

“The feeling is that if Alinghi believe they have a speed edge, Baird will steer.”

“In America's Cup sailing as well as in financial services, to be on the cutting edge it takes the right combination of strategy and teamwork.”

Photo by Carlo Borlenghi ACM, Sail Magazine.

New Zealanders in Global Headlines June 21

New Zealanders featuring in this week's survey of global media including National Public Radio, The Times, Yahoo Money, Reuters, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Hollywood Reporter, Bangkok Post and Decanter include:

• Victoria, Massey U form Magritek to develop, globally market magnetic resonance technology from Antarctic experience of assessing material properties (pic of red pepper)
• Rachel Weisz signs for Peter Jackson's new film "The Lovely Bones"
• NZ writer/"pub weirdo" Paul Ewan releases "London Pub Reviews"
• Major sauvignon blanc research project to dial up new flavors
• Largest collection of NZ native plants opens at Savill Gardens, Surrey
• Wellington and Nelson "luxury budget" tourism on $50 a day
• Emirates Team New Zealand to challenge for the America's Cup
• Cameraman Gary Cunningham of "Balibo Five" in Sydney inquest
• Hot singer and Killer Queen Annie Crummer in Queen remake
• NZ's first Hollywood star (1928) Witarina Harris dies aged 101
• All Blacks cited as "greatest team in the history of any team"
• NZ second in Economist's Global Peace Index (Norway 1, USA 93)
• Samantha Warriner wins Triathalon World Cup in Vancouver
• Xero accounting software wins International Technuim Challenge
• Dave Jenkins' SurfAid improves health of Mentawai Islands
• Kiwi egg parallels Darwin's gestation of natural selection theory
• Janet Frame, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams bade for sexual freedom - Sydney Writers' Week

See full stories at www.nzedge.com/media

Sunday Picture #5: Long White Cloud

Long White Cloud, Main Beach, Mt Maunganui, Aotearoa

Keith Park and Harold Gillies

June 15 and 17 mark the birthdays of two New Zealanders whose international achievements influenced the course of history. Both New Zealanders feature in the nzedge.com Heroes section.

Born in Thames 115 years ago on June 15, and educated at Otago Boys High School, Keith Park was Commander of the Royal Air Force during the Allied evacuation from Dunkirk, and led the defense of London and southern England from German bombing raids during the Battle of Britain. When the Luftwaffe attacked in 1940 (flying nearly 1500 flights over England), Park controlled the urgent defense hour by hour, organizing and managing his squadrons and men brilliantly. Using an innovative radar defense system at Fighter Command, Park tracked German aircraft and advised British fighters, enabling them to intercept the raiders. When the early raids proved indecisive the Luftwaffe switched the assault to London. Their efforts intensified, but so did their losses and, on 17 September Hitler postponed Operation Sealion indefinitely.

It was at the conclusion of this victory over the German attack that Sir Winston Churchill was to memorably proclaim, "Never in the history of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few". Said Lord Tedder, Chief of the RAF, of Keith Park: "If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it is realized how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgment and his skill, did to save, not only this country, but the world." Park's repelling of the German air attack was attributed to his leadership, judgment and exemplary co-ordination skills. Elevated in stature as well as esteem (he was 6ft 5, deserving credit for merely fitting in an aircraft cockpit) his astute decision making was often based on a willingness to gain crucial information first hand, making frequent reconnaissance missions within range of German guns and fighters. His service was recognized with the Order of Commander of the Bath, two knighthoods, and honorary degrees and doctorates from Oxford University.

Post-war Sir Keith Park took a prominent part in the Auckland City Council. He died in 1975, aged 82. His contribution continues to be recognized. This week Flt Lt Phil Giles of the RAF in Fordingbridge, Hampshire wrote to nzedge informing of the naming of a new IT/Computer Flight Suite in Sir Keith's honour which will serve up to 20 Air Cadets aged 13-20 as they learn about aviation from computer simulation.

Harold Gillies was born 125 years ago in Dunedin on June 17; was a student at Wanganui Collegiate, and studied medicine at Cambridge University. Gillies was 32 when World War 1 broke out. The War was a challenge to most surgeons. The introduction of more destuctive weapons resulted in devastating injuries. In addition, in trench warfare the head was more exposed than the rest of the body, and soldiers' faces were often shattered or burnt beyond recognition. Despite the best efforts of surgeons, many soldiers were left hideously disfigured. A new type of surgery was needed. Realising this need a young surgeon operating out of Aldershot hospital, England, began performing operations which involved rebuilding the face by taking tissue from other parts of the body. This surgeon was Harold Gillies; by the end of the war some 11,000 patients had passed through his hands.

In 1920, his text book "Plastic Surgery of the Face" was published, setting down the principles of modern plastic surgery; principles which were adopted by surgeons from every part of the world. The British Medical Journal described it as "one of the most notable contributions made to surgical literature in our day". While his physical dexterity made him a master surgeon, Gillies’ artistic ability underpinned much of the work that he did in reshaping people's badly disfigured faces. For Gillies, plastic surgery not only involved restoring function but also making the person look normal and sometimes more beautiful than before. He was driven by the idea that the surgeon should be creative, imaginative - in fact an artist.

Gillies was an innovator: the 'epithelial outlay technique' and 'pedicle tube', and the 'intranasal skin graft' to correct nose defects caused by leprosy. He pioneered a new method for re-attaching severed limbs. Gillies was ahead of his time in carrying out sex change operations. Perhaps his greatest innovation was the pioneering of cosmetic surgery. During the 1930s, society women, film stars, and stage folk of both sexes came to Gillies. Following a lecture tour in the USA Gillies noted the "springing up of a large group of USA plastic surgeons". His popularity was so great that in 1941 when he was guest of honour at the American Congress of Ear, Nose and Throat (Chicago), more than 2000 came to hear him speak. In addition to Americans, Gillies had trained hundreds of surgeons from the 'dominions'.

Harold Gillies died in 1960 in New Zealand. Homesick after nearly 51 years absence, he flew in with his wife in the late autumn of 1955. Prior to leaving England, he told a close friend that "I want to smell the New Zealand bush on a wet day, I want to hear the tui, catch a brown trout, do a little painting, and perhaps play three or four holes of golf. And I want to see the pohutukawas in full bloom".

We can repel the rugby raiders

Kevin Roberts' June column in NZ Rugby Monthly
The pillage of our rugby players by the northern hemisphere is the single biggest threat we have faced since the game went professional.Twelve years ago when rugby went pro, we had a decision to make. What was the critical competitive factor? The competitions? The brand? The stadia?

We took the view that it all started with talent and that the players were the only thing that would keep New Zealand prosperous in rugby. We would never have economic or commercial clout to compete with the likes of England but we would have superior results, performance and value through players.

The NZRU’s challenge now is to adjust to this new reality of French/English clubs throwing money and lifestyle promises at our players and to do this we'll need a combination of new revenue, new strategy, new ideas, and new initiatives. Here's my eight-point plan:

1. Build annual revenue. As Jerry Maguire said, "You've got to follow the money". The money is in the US. The NZRU need to develop a complete marketing plan for the US. The good news for them is that all of us at USA Rugby are of the same mind and are interested in co-ordinating a joint plan with [NZRU]. We'll be meeting in early June.

...For the remaining seven points (relating to new sponsors, new revenue models, new marketing and merchandising, new competitions, skills and expertise, squad development, and out-competing England and France), see KR Rugby Postcard on nzedge.com.

Country road, take me home…

New research to help "repatriates" face "transitional distress"
When nzedge speculated in 1998 that there were a million New Zealanders living internationally we wanted to shift the focus from banging on about "brain drain" to something more positive. We wanted to break the three-part guilt trip put on "expatriates" – "whyda leave", "whenya coming back" and "watcha doing back?", and build some connective tissue that enabled a more intelligent and dynamic conversation about New Zealand’s relationship with its international population. We posited "the NEONZ" – the "network of overseas New Zealanders" as a way of building new forms of value; a "brain exchange".

This dialog tapped a stream of stories from global New Zealanders – what they missed about nz, what they didn’t, what they loved about overseas and what they didn’t – and significantly, stories from OE returnees that were not altogether rosy about the experience of coming home. "'Re-entry' is an nzedge online story-telling initiative. Return to Aotearoa-New Zealand invokes all kinds of emotions - some expected, some not - some short-term some lasting. Hope, excitement, anticipation, frustration, exaltation, isolation, anxiety - a new kind of culture shock."

The issue was highlighted in 1999 when Richard Poole initiated the "Generation Lost" debate by placing a full page ad in the NZ Herald which stimulated responses from over 900 young New Zealanders, over half of them overseas and almost all of them tertiary graduates or students in their twenties and thirties. The immediate benefits of this effort got lost in some political furore at the time, but the University of Auckland Business School published a comprehensive research paper The Concerns and Issues of the "Generation Lost": Beyond the Brain looking at concerns about departing New Zealanders, why they go, what issues are being overlooked, what single change in government policy the respondents advocated, and without change, what long term future did the respondents see for New Zealand?

The emergence of the business sector-initiated Kea from the Knowledge Wave conference is the most significant effort since 2001 to create value and connections with overseas New Zealanders. Given the multi-billion dollar value of this population to domestic New Zealand, it is incredulous that there is no focused or integrated Government policy of encouraging greater connectivity between diaspora and home-base. The Department of Labour's New Zealand Now website is a good effort, but overall the funding that is voted to diaspora-formation is the equivalent of lifting a little finger off the table.

The process of going and coming from New Zealand is, therefore, a very individual one, absent of much nation-building context. The process can often be fraught, as new research by Naomi Walter of Waikato University reveals. Her paper An investigation into travellers repatriating to New Zealand, having completed their OE, was presented at the Tourism & Hospitality Research Conference, University of Otago, in December 2006.

The purpose of the research was to "investigate the in-depth personal experiences of returned OE travellers in terms of their transition to home; explore possible explanations for the varying levels of distress among repatriates; and consider how the transition from overseas to home can perhaps be made smoother for future generations of returning OE travellers."

Selected excerpts from the report: "Repatriation, return migration, or re-entry is the transition from a foreign country back to one's own after living abroad for a significant period. Repatriation is not an isolated event, but part of a continuous phase of transition, and previous empirical research consistently reports high levels of repatriate distress upon returning home."

…"Reverse culture shock is "the psychological, physical and emotional symptoms of feeling like a foreigner in [one's] own country" (Hurn, 1999, p.227), and is generally unanticipated by the returnee and those at home. Building on this concept, the transitional theories propose various phases of repatriation. One such theory, which provides repatriates with "conceptual handles… to anticipate the re-entry 'dip' and develop a plan that will reduce its depth" (Freedman, 1986, p.25) is the W-curve theory, first hypothesised by Gullahorn & Gullahorn (1963). This theory describes fluid phases of shock, recoil, adjustment, adaptation, and synthesis or integration with the home culture (see Figure 1)."

…"With comparisons between home and overseas, returnees experienced a period of questioning their decision to return, questioning the value of the OE, and ultimately having to decide "What to do next?" The OE had been a part of respondents' lives for so long, from saving for the OE to planning their trip and eventually leaving, that when they got home, many felt they had nothing to look forward to or plan for. Indeed, many respondents had not decided what to do when they got home or even which city to live in, and now that they were home they had to start thinking about the next phase of their life.

"This was the most challenging phase for most respondents, and some felt lonely and isolated due to the lack of support and understanding from friends and family. Additionally, the expectations of those at home put pressure on the respondents who were not used to people expecting them to "sort their life out", as these comments demonstrate: Moving on with the next phase of your life can be pretty hard to deal with, especially if people around you have expectations on what you should be doing… All of a sudden you have to cope with people's expectations on where you should be with your life, and you're not there yet."

And…"Understanding repatriation, the effect travel has on the return home, and the phases of repatriation transition is important for not only policy makers, but also those at home, and returnees themselves if repatriation is to be eased for future generations of returning OE travellers."

Getting good research data is vital for policy-makers and entrepreneurs wanting to build the "greater New Zealand" aka population five million. Massey University is a new online study underway to explore the variables that influence "self-initiated mobility and the motivations of New Zealanders to work offshore." The research aims to inform policies and management practices that will in a more desirable environment to which people wish to return. The research aims to inform policies and management practices that might result in a more desirable environment to which people wish to return.

Massey U Management and International Business department lecturer Kaye Thorn said that up to 24 per cent of New Zealand-born people lived in another Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country. The online survey takes no more than 20 minutes, and is seeking at least 1000 participants. Respondees so far have included New Zealanders living in Bermuda, Indonesia and Kenya.

Kaye Thorn says "Most research focuses on just one key reason for mobility - economic motives. This is a simplistic view. The reality is that factors influencing a decision to live and work in another place are multi-faceted and complex. The factors involved are career, economics, cultural and travel opportunities, the political environment, quality of life and relationships.”

Nzedge.com has several resources related to New Zealanders living overseas, including a list of 800+ locations, a thousand or so comments about the experiences and feelings coming/going/ staying/leaving/commuting etc, news about the achievements of contemporary New Zealanders internationally, and speeches about ideas for building a globalized New Zealand.

I have long proposed that full-on engagement with the world will put New Zealand into a better place economically and emotionally. This is happening in a multitude of individual ways, but in no way yet has this yet been elevated to a national political priority.

Osmosis and natural flow might yet carry the day, if Saturday in Wellington was anything to go by. After three weeks in the USA, a bustling, balmy southern capital city in pre-All Blacks test mode was a fine welcome. Cuba Street was its grungy best and the arrival of Hamish McKay’s new gallery in Ghuznee Street and the new Ernesto’s tops an edgy cake in this quarter. The creative energy of Wellington was apparent in conversations with people about international film, literature, food and software projects. The 61-10 win at the Wellington Stadium was a tasty show. Everything felt pretty fine indeed.

Education Edge

Received mail this week asking "Is the Heroes series of articles available as a book? I want to use the articles to inspire my boys. Boys educator/speaker Joseph Driessen suggested that parents provide their boys with heroes and I could not find a book about heroes in the bookshop today!!"

Publishing books is for another year. In the meantime we enjoy the company of parents, teachers and students on the nzedge Heroes page. We love helping with homework: "I am 12 years old and I am doing a study on Jean Batten and I would just like to say that I think you have put together a great web site" (Palmerston North); "I've found this page very useful for a year 9 social studies unit that I teach on famous New Zealanders. I reckon it's a great site and the kids will be using it in term four for research on famous New Zealanders" (Teacher, Leeston); and "Thank you for all the information, I needed this for my assignment due in next week and I’ve found all my questions reading this, so thanks heaps to those who got together this information" (Auckland).

We started to drill deeper into some of our "legends" from an educational point of view, and developed school kits based on the NZ curriculum for Kate Sheppard and Alexander Aitken, plus some homework on Katherine Mansfield prepared by Damien Wilkins. The Aitken story has been especially helpful to mathematics teachers for personalizing a difficult subject for many students (try teaching math to 5th form boys!). "What a fabulous site! It was neat to read more about Alexander Aitken. I find it incredible that no-one else seems to know about such an amazing New Zealander!" (Teacher, Porirua).

Role modelling and "virtual mentoring" is an important aspect to nzedge. A mother from Keyborough, Victoria wrote us: "As a mother of three children with a Kiwi mother and an Aussie father, I feel they need to know how special it is to be half Kiwi. Being raised in Melbourne, they do not get to see the diversity and uniqueness of New Zealand and New Zealanders. My 12-year-old son is now in High School and uses Kiwi examples in his projects, including Lord Rutherford of Nelson for a science project on The Greatest Scientists. This is a wonderful site showing a small part of who and what is great about being a New Zealander. Thanking you."

And this is sweet: "Hi, I am a 10 year old girl and I have found this site really good for class assignments and for learning about the people who have helped make this country respected around the world. Well done in doing this, you are keeping the dream alive" (Christchurch).

And: "Leading the world from the edge by being fast and a generator of ideas is the encouragement students like myself need" (Student, Auckland).

And: "Reading the literature on this site one thing kept occurring to me: "These are my sentiments exactly". New Zealand is a special place without a doubt and New Zealanders are special people. I moved to Australia 7 years ago, and I still think about New Zealand on a daily basis" (Student, Melbourne).

Finally: "What a great web-site. My daughter (aged 7) is to write an assignment on a famous New Zealander - she had initially chosen the old favourite, Edmund Hillary and then moved on to Kate Sheppard, both great choices but on reading through your web page she has decided to do William Atack ! I am of course delighted that she is thinking outside the square and that you have provided an interesting website to accommodate this. We have marked you in our favourites as I am sure we will revisit your site for projects in the future."

Posted from LAX.

New Zealanders in Global Headlines June 5

New Zealanders featuring in this week's survey of global media including LA Times, Forbes, AdAge, New York magazine, Campaign Brief, USA Today, Reuters and The Guardian include:

• Lloyd Jones win Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Mr Pip
• Jane Campion honored at Cannes, outspoken on women
• Flight of the Conchords series premieres on US HBO
• US auto leader Wade Thompson HonD from Victoria U
• Nude ad for Irish skincare Elave shot in NZ, in nude
• Brand expert lauds NZ film for positive global perceptions
• Antipodes water - world's best sparkling - in LA Times (px)
• Pavlova - "edible symbol, balletic art" - LA Times
• Nelson's Ngati Koata adds airline to growing businesses
• NZ dialects increasing, accent broadening - AUT study
• Tourism NZ has world first with Google Earth navigator
• Fletcher Building adds iconic Formica to global scale

See full stories at www.nzedge.com/media

New Zealand Visibility in the USA

One of the reasons Scandinavian countries have been much more successful economically than New Zealand is their creation of great global brands. Nokia. Volvo. Ikea. Absolut. Saab. Ericsson. Abba. Lego. Bang & Olufsen. These countries have many parallels to New Zealand in terms of population size and distance to market, yet they could be described as idea-driven countries. New Zealand has shown many ways in which it can be world-changing, but this seems an individualistic occurrence rather than a result of any national determination or encouragement. "Winning the World from the Edge" is not yet tattooed on our foreheads.

Domestically, we are principally lifestyle-seekers, content rather than competitive (except for sport, where we are glorious.) With inspirational leadership by individuals and institutions, we can break out of this mental rut. Many are doing it; many more are needed. I was driving through New Jersey on US Memorial Day a week ago and spotted this Fisher & Paykel distribution center. “Yoh,” I thought, “more of this please!” New Zealand touchpoints are steadily emergent in the USA. At a birthday party tonight at the Russian Tea Room on 57th St the sommelier had an intimate knowledge of New Zealand wine, and his dream vacation is mapped around the vineyards of Central Otago and Malborough. My local liquor store, Kesslers on 28 St, has a very well presented Whitehaven Pinot Noir. All the wine stores in Manhattan have good to excellent nz wine (though not yet the signage, we're usually slotted unmarked somewhere between Chile, South Africa and Australia).

Food & Beverage is a big way to go. Two weeks ago 42 Below won the top print award at the US Clios for a Saatchi & Saatchi New York-created campaign (NYNZ at work again). Public, the Gordon/Hansen/ Farmerie creation on Grand St is the best public face for New Zealand food and wine you could hope for. Nelson Blue is a gastro-pub just opened in lower Manhattan at the Seaport. Down Under Bakery Pies, Brooklyn, is what it says. Josh Emmett is the Chef de Cuisine at Gordon Ramsay's London on 54th St. On the West Coast, at Costa Mesa, Noel Turner welcomes Californians to his acclaimed Turner New Zealand restaurant. A decade ago in San Francisco I invited a team of journalists who had been covering the State of the World Forum to The Moa Room, a beautiful restaurant run by a chef from Gisborne Jan Gardner.

Design-led companies (as per the Scandinavian way) have strong opportunities in the USA, as Bendon, Icebreaker, Karen Walker, Trelise Cooper and many are showing in Fashion & Apparel. Rebecca Taylor, Wellington/NY fashion designer-come international star, has her store in Mott St in lower Manhattan's Nolita. Phil&Ted's sports buggies and baby transporters are about the city. Architect and long–time NYNZer David Howell featured on the front page of Sunday's New York Times' avidly-read real estate section. Smart digital/web/search/mobile companies like Hyperfactory (with six international locations) and FirstLightERA have operations in New York. Film is an obvious but that's another discussion.

Export is the only economic imperative we have. New Zealand companies of every shape and size need to ask the question: "how can I fill the world?" As both a push and a pull strategy, New Zealand desperately needs street presence in global markets; touchpoints; first moments of truth; pop-up stores; retail stores; cafes and restaurants; exhibitions and trade shows; "out of home" advertising; a stream of it. Even a billboard at LAX would be a start. I started my career in 1980 as a showbusiness entrepreneur - seven years of producing, selling and popularizing NZ, Australian and international artists who mostly no-one had previously experienced or heard of. Street visibility was everything - and in America, the only nation of scale that is culturally simpatico in many ways with New Zealand - we have a cloak of invisibility. Profile that we have is serendipitous, random, sporadic and/or accidental.

Basically put, there is no above-the-line marketing of New Zealand in America at all. Some 100%Pure activity, but like a dress on a rack, just one of a gazillion ads. We need much more volume. The billboards at LAX (and SF and JFK) are no joking matter, if only as a two-thumbs-up to nz exporters heading into vastness of America to sell. Most people travelling through airports are influencers in some way or other. Market visibility starts at airports, and it's a case of fanning out from there.

If the Minister of Finance is concerned about the inflationary pressures of spending too much of the Government surplus domestically, then there is no better place to spend it than overseas. This is Export Year/Decade, and in-market, on-the-street visibility is essential for building the vibe/ perception/ preference/ attractors for New Zealand in meta, macro and micro ways. It's basic business technique to promote, and New Zealand is incredibly underpromoted in a rational, methodical brand marketing way. It's more than a question of funding, it's one of basic economic development.

The Labour Government did absolutely the right thing when it first came into office by raising arts funding, which had been perennially starved at less than $10 mil a year, to about $70 mil, and we are a more creative country for this. The same magic wand needs to apply to our export marketing effort. Trade & Enterprise's Better By Design program is an excellent example of the programs that exist; I'm talking about the programs that don't yet exist. An integrated and backed-up US$50 mil spent advertising New Zealand in the world's business and consumer media would deliver a billion dollar return. 4 points to finish:

1. I heard an idea in May to do a reality-TV program on export, which I said was terrific and should be made. Call it "Extreme Export." Close-up on the language, adventure and cursing that occurs when negotiating international situations. Education is a critical factor in building an export culture, and seeing how it's done in-yer-face is essential for getting follow-on.

2. There needs to be a meeting about NZ international brand marketing, or a bunch of video stories from exporters who are cutting/working/linking their NZ/world relationships. Knowing the language, seeing the tactics, the interrogation of the detail, the micro-management of these situations, could direct a generation whose only fix on export is leaving the country. The TED/7X7 format would be ideal, Ben Kepes from Waipara wrote me about invoking these formats in order to get stories/actions flowing. I didn't know what to answer him at the time, but I do now: the theme is "Extreme Export" - stories about achievements/ideas about selling nz-created stuff globally. You could mix the wisdom of some of the former DairyBoard's legendary traders with the chutzpah of BroTown's Elizabeth Mitchell. And so on. Call the meet/series Swarm.

3. NZ's greatest export is its people, and our relationship with our overseas multitude is at best embryonic. Victoria University did a great thing last week or so, and awarded an Honorary Doctorate to Wade Thompson, founder of Thor Industries, a VUW graduate who created the world's largest recreation vehicle and the largest manufacturer of mid-sized buses in the US (85 models). The Jackson Ohio company has 9,000 employees in 29 plants in North America and sales of US$3 billion+. Thor grew principally through acquisition, including the iconic Airstream which is now in the Museum of Modern Art's design section. There is a great story/myth heard 14th hand about a breakthrough Airstream achieved; during a delayed launch of a critical NASA space flight from Cape Canaveral the camera and commentators needed something to talk about, and their attention wandered to a beautiful caravan in the edge of the picture, and they waxed about its shape and classic lines and utility...and thus America experienced a new idea. Sometimes luck is on your side. Cheers Wade Thompson.

4. New Zealand Export can mean many things today, and we should explore and celebrate every one of them. In toto, to me it means connectedness and international value-creation wherever New Zealanders are, home and away. In indigenous nz showbiz in the 1980s the phrase "internationally-acclaimed" was a sure-fire winner, and in 2007 we should be acclaiming our international salespeople and dealmakers. Banish murder, drunkenness and other lousy behaviors from our front pages (start a "Page 13" for all the nasty stuff) and tag-along with the extreme exporters for inspirational stories. Purpose follows passion.

All from one drive-by photo. Thanks Fisher & Paykel. I have several of your appliances, the short-cycle dishwasher at Raumati being the best.

68 degrees in NYC and a 40% chance of rain tomorrow.

Sunday Picture #4: Recent Travels

From the top, State Capital of New York in Albany; Hudson River upstate; Roxy Paine's sculpture in Madison Square Park, Manhattan; backpackers at Wanaka.