If you have a design solution that can reconnect and rebuild resilient communities in Christchurch, we want to hear from you.

British Council New Zealand, in partnership with Massey University, is offering two British Council Christchurch Scholarships worth $6000 to emerging leaders from the fields of architecture, engineering, industrial design, landscape architecture, planning, spatial design, transport design or urban design. Each scholarship will include return airfares to Britain, ten days accommodation, and meetings with leading British universities or design firms to share design knowledge.

This opportunity is open to recent graduates or undergraduate students of design, engineering, planning, landscape or architectural design at a New Zealand university.

First stage submissions close on 6 July, 2012. The two recipients will be announced on 22 August, 2012.

We are looking forward to working with you to help design a vibrant and resilient new Christchurch.

The Social Entrepreneurs School (SES) in Auckland is a unique learning programme for entrepreneurial individuals who have an idea / project or enterprise that has a social or environmental benefit. Founded by the New Zealand Centre for Social Innovation, the school aims to bring fresh and provocative thinking to bear on some of New Zealand’s most significant social needs and opportunities.

Apply now for the 2012 programme starting March. Applications close Feb 1st.

SES programmes are non-academic and based on a learning-by-doing approach to gain practical business and life skills over the ten months. The programme includes group study sessions, individual coaching, project visits and facilitated action-learning sets. The British Council NZ was a founding partner in setting up the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. The Centre remains a key partner and we are excited that high quality British-based learning about social entreprise is being introduced in to NZ through the Centre's new course.

Splore 2012 will see renowned UK curator Emma Underhill, UP Projects, collaborate with New Zealand’s own Cut Collective on the design and construction of a Pavilion for this year's festival. The Portavilion Splore 2012 project will create a significant opportunity for Cut Collective to extend their arts practice into new directions working alongside an internationally acclaimed curator who specialises in public art and audience engagement.

Supported by British Council and Creative NZ, Underhill will bring a tremendous amount of international experience creating participatory public art projects to Splore 2012.

“Underhill has done several brilliant public art projects in London parks and public spaces as well as the legendary Glastonbury festival and to have her collaborating with Cut Collective and architect Jasper Middleton on this project at Splore this summer brings the next level of  innovation to the festival,” says festival director Amanda Wright.

Being known as significant, is in itself significant. Greg Wilson is respected as an influence in the music industry for pioneering work over the last few decades. Beginning as the first regular DJ in Manchester's famous Hacienda club, he went on to a career of tastemaking, mixing, remixing & writing (it was he who dubbed the impossibly great term 'Electro-Funk') & was the first UK DJ to mix live on TV.

Greg was instrumental in breaking the new electronic, post-Disco records that defined the whole New York era. He lit up the wonderful nights of pure importance at Wigan Pier as a Jazz Funk specialist and at Manchester's super-influential Legend, and he also taught aspiring Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim) to scratch. He was very much a part of an era called Madchester. He was a power component of it. He still is.

Come and see Greg Wilson perform in Auckland, and thanks to BCNZ, come to Conch cafe on Feb 28th at 6pm, to hear the man speak about the DJ universe, and show a demonstration of reel-to-reel DJ mixing.

British fashion made headlines in NZ for all the right reasons, when upcoming Welsh designer Elliott Frieze stole the show at the Style Pasifika awards  -- a major event during the Rugby World Cup celebrations in Auckland.
Frieze, who is Shanghai-based, went on to wow top and emerging NZ fashion designers at an industry workshop, when he filled in for celebrity designer Elizabeth Emanuel who had to cancel. He has been described by NZ media as "the next Stella McCartney" because of the hip and edgy aesthetic he brings to fashion.
In an on-stage Q & A hosted by British Councli NZ director Ingrid Leary, Frieze told the 100-strong industry how to harness Chinese production opportunities while maintaining the cultural integrity of a collection, and the story behind it.
His visit to Auckland not only inspired the emerging designers who attended the event -- he walked away with a contract to stock Elliott J Frieze collections in Auckland, and has been invited to participate in NZ Fashion Week 2013. He also accepted an invitation from Pacific Islands Aids Foundation founder Maire Bopp to become an official ambassador for the charity in Asia, where he will promote the organisation's anti-stigmatisation work and seek philanthropic support.

The British Council global arts team works with the best of British creative talent to develop innovative, high-quality events and collaborations that link thousands of artists and cultural institutions around the world, drawing them into a closer relationship with the UK.  To read more about our Arts team please visit here, or visit the Back of the Envelope site, the British Council Architecture, Design & Fashion team’s blog, or please see a list of other online Arts resources listed here. Enjoy, and long live the creative sector!