News

Safety Without Barriers: A Bilingual Community Resource

19 February 2025

Video screenshot

What began as a vision from Christchurch Community Church has grown into an invaluable tool for making Christchurch safer and more inclusive.

A new bilingual safety video has been developed to empower Mandarin-speaking residents with essential knowledge of emergency procedures, crime prevention, and key New Zealand laws. Created in collaboration with Christchurch Community Church, Christchurch City Council, Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM), NZ Police, Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ), St John, and Joint Media, the video features subtitles in both English and Mandarin to ensure accessibility for a wider audience.

The video has been shared across multiple platforms, including WeChat, YouTube, Facebook groups for Chinese in Christchurch, electronic displays in local Chinese supermarkets, and community spaces such as churches and schools. The project partners have also distributed it to their regional and national teams. Supporting materials, including posters and bookmarks, are available for wider distribution.

Click here to watch the safety video.

Expanding the Initiative

Complementary safety videos have been developed with support from FENZ, St John, CDEM, NZ Police, Highway Patrol, and Welcoming Communities.

  • Fire and Emergency NZ Video
  • St John Video
  • Civil Defence Emergency Management Video
  • Road Safety Video
  • Additional videos coming soon!


    Community Impact & Feedback

    This initiative showcases the power of community collaboration in fostering safety and inclusivity. Special thanks to everyone who contributed funding and support to make this project possible.

    A comment shared on the Joint Media WeChat account:

    基督城是我的第二故乡了。谢谢你的团队给基督城的居民和来基督城旅游的朋友们带来那么高质量又非常具体的安全指导。屋心安处便是家❤️ ("Christchurch is my second hometown. Thank you to your team for providing such high-quality and specific safety guidance for the residents of Christchurch and visitors. Home is where we feel safe ❤️").

    Dean Harker, FENZ Community Risk Manager (Canterbury): "The feedback we have had so far is that this is a great resource that we can use when presenting to our Chinese communities across the country."

    Eliesha Tay, Christchurch Community Church: "This project has built trust and fostered inclusivity within our community, empowering Mandarin-speaking residents with the knowledge and confidence to thrive in Christchurch. Our full congregation of approximately 500-600 people watched the entire video, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Many attendees found it informative and shared that they learned new things."