EVENTS ADVISERS AT WORK

Private enterprise has now joined Christchurch City Council to plan festivals and events in the city in more co-ordinated way.

Four business people involved in the entertainment industry have joined four Councillors on the Interim Events Advisory Board. The board comprises Crs. Paddy Austin (chairwoman), Graham Condon, Erin Baker, Ingrid Stonhill, and Felicity Price, managing director of Price Rennie PR Ltd, Anne Hindson, programme leader Event Management CPIT, Scott Wallace, divisional director Copthorne Hotel, and Nigel Mayson, Mayson and Associates Ltd. The board has held its first meeting and will now meet monthly. The City Council has adopted an events strategy that is aimed at adopting a more strategic approach to funding and support of festivals and events. A big part of the strategy is the establishment of the festival and events board. Cr. Austin says the establishment of the board recognises there is considerable expertise in Christchurch that could be used in identifying opportunities, developing strategies and assisting with decisions about festivals and events. She says the board will adopt an overview of the festivals and events taking place in Christchurch. This will be a basis for its recommendations about how to achieve maximum effectiveness from the Council's investment and to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the entertainment sector. The board will be a sub-committee of the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Further information: Cr. Paddy Austin: 025 228 3993.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

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