National Walk for Values in Brisbane
On Saturday, 12 April 2008, National Walks for Values were conducted in Capital Cities right across the Nation. Walkers carried banners, placards, balloons, brochures and handouts in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Here is the pictorial narrative National Walk for Values in Brisbane.
The 2008 National Walk for Values in Brisbane
It was a glorious morning in Brisbane as we assembled at the QUT end of the Goodwill Bridge for this National event second year running. The atmosphere was well charged for the event as people gathered to prepare displaying the colorful banners and balloons with the human values, which were very distinctive and visual.
Since the starting point was located at the busy intersection, the displays caught the eyes of many morning walkers and joggers who were also inquisitive to read the signs and grab balloons which displayed the Five Human Values and the Logo for the Walk.
It was 930AM when the proceedings got under way as the participants were divided in five groups each representing the five human values: Truth, Right Conduct, Love, Peace and Non-Violence. The introduction by the MC, Bronwyn Gowing, Principal of Sathya Sai School was very fitting as she touched on the great significance of the Human Values in our society and how she has personally seen this influence others in the society.
The pre-walk program commenced with the welcome speech by Uncle Albert representing the traditional landowners. He was very happy to be part of the walk and emphasized the human values and its importance to the Australian culture. He felt it was a privilege to be associated with a Walk in which so many people are reminded of the Values that are a key to bring about a change. This was followed by the Australian National Anthem sung by Yani.
The next speaker was Shirmie Tan, who has received the Order of Australia for her involvement in Charity work whilst she was studying and also fighting her personal battle against cancer. Shirmie shared her personal experience and how her family values have really helped her progress in life. She spoke about the importance of values as was taught by her late mother:
"As she has taught me the basic values in life, I am sure some of my message here was from her teachings throughout her time for being a wife, a mother, a lady, a daughter, a sister and a friend. Although I may be younger than most of you here, and may not be as wise as you are, but I do believe that my life experiences have presented me the opportunity to share what I have learnt about values in life with you. In addition to the values we walk for, I would further suggest we start by “Giving, Forgiving, Forgetting” and they have been my values in life. What I mean is that when we are kind to each other, we are giving loving-kindness, gentleness, comfort, peace, and happiness. So when we are living in a community, we should cultivate care and concern for each other, reaching out to help whenever we can."
The Song on Human Values set the mood right and we were on our way to Walk the Values and spread this to the wider community. The walk commenced with the spectrum of colors from the balloons and the banners. There were approximately 150 participants in total including about 30 from the Gold Coast and the Sathya Sai Primary School, Murwillumbah.
The Walk continued over the Goodwill Bridge towards South Bank along side the Brisbane River. The path of the walk did provide a great deal of exposure and attracted a lot of attention from the people on the path. Brochures, Stickers and balloons were handed out by the mascots which were very well received. Mascots entertained and each of the five groups sang the values as they walked.
The Rainforest Green at South Bank was the half-way stop where we displayed the values and had a drinks break.
The Brisbane National Walk for Values continued over the Victoria Bridge escorted by the Police at the Victoria end of the Bridge. The walk over the bridge was great as it helped display the values to the passing motorists and pedestrians alike. The walk then continued into the city where we briefly assembled next to the City Foyer which gave us a great opportunity to effectively display our banners with songs sung by the participants. It generated a great deal of attention with people keen to read the banners and gracefully accepted the handouts.
After the 2.5km walk for the duration of 1.5 hours, the walk was concluded at Queens Park which is located at the major intersection to the entrance of the city. The distance and the hot sun were of no concern as the young and old were all filled with the spirit of joy and happiness.
The Principal of Durack State School, Jill Hole was the final guest speaker. She was extremely proud to be associated with the Walk for Values. Durak State School is one of those School's which has adopted the Human Values in its School's curriculum. She has found this extremely beneficial to its educations system and for the development of the children. She did speak about the introduction of the values from the Sathya Sai Organisation which according to her has brought in a profound change to the School.
The Walk for Values concluded fittingly with a few value song numbers by Jay who composed and performed these.
View the Photo Album of the Brisbane National Walk for Values
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©National Walk for Values. This site last updated 8 April 2009
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