National Walk for Values in Melbourne
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 Melbourne.
The 2008 National Walk for Values in Melbourne
In the crisp early morning air of Melbourne's Queen Victorial Memorial Gardens, over 400 people assembled at the Janet Lady Clarke Memorial to participate in the second National Walk for Values in the City of Melbourne. Meanwhile, preparations were taking place in the BMW Edge Hall at Federation Square to receive the Walk and provide a program.
Melbourne National Walk for Values - Launch
The Walk was launched by Elleni Bereded-Samuel of the Victorian Multicultural Commission. Elleni was one of the recipients of the Victoria University Vice-Chancellor's Citations and Award for Outstanding Engagement with CALD communities in Australia. She also received Victoria's Premier Awards for Excellence in Multicultural Affairs-Education and the Prime Minster's International Year of Volunteers Award. Elleni's name has been included on the Victorian Honour Roll of Women. Elleni is Chair of the SBS Community Advisory Committee.
In her address to the National Walk for Values, Ms Bereded-Samuel paid homage to the traditional custodians of the land, acknowledged that we are all immigrants, and made reference to the cultural and linguistic diversity of this land. Ms Bereded-Samuel also highlighted the service work in the community by the volunteers of the Sathya Sai Organisation and the social service works by undertaken by Sathya Sai Baba, overseas.
Read Elleni Bereded-Samuel's speech.After the completion of Ms Bereded-Samuel's talk, at 11.00AM sharp, the Guest of Honour cut the ribbon to launch the Melbourne National Walk for Values.
The Melbourne Walk, led by police troopers on fine steeds, proceeded along the beautiful tree-lined St Kilda Road, past the Arts Centre, where many of the Walk participants were handing out brochures and balloons to tourists at the Southbank and Arts Centre precinct. A float with the Five Human Values and values based songs brought up the rear of the Walk.
Behind the lead banners for the Walk, there was the song,
Love love love, Love on earth Love, love, love for all the universe
which was sung for the entire duration of the walk. This song attracted attention and had people turning heads, standing up, and coming forward to receive walk brochures and handouts.
Across Princes Bridge, past the grand facade of Flinders Street Station, the walk entered the City of Melbourne ahead of the trams and other vehicular traffic with colourful banners, signs, song, music all of which proclaimed the practice of human values. City strollers and visitors accepted brochures, and some crossed to road to join the walk and participate in the event.
The Walk reached its destination at Federation Square, MC Davendra Prasad welcomed all the participants and the singers and performers were waiting on stage to receive the walk and provide a cultural program. After a short refreshments break, the Walk Finale was taken up.
Suitably refreshed (fruit juice, etc) the participants entered the BMW Edge Hall (part of the Federation Square complex) for the Walk Finale.
The first event in the program was a musical presentation by noted Jazz singer Chris Fleming, who spoke about the recognition of the reality within one and all, which is the same in each and every one of us. His first song was introduced as the five steps from home, those steps being Truth, Right Conduct, Love, Peace and Non-violence. It is these steps which constitute the fulness of that one reality within all, Mr Fleming said.
Chris then sang the song, "Five Steps from Home", with the walk participants joining in the refrain, "You're only ever five steps from home".
Chris Fleming then introduced his second number, Learning to Live as One, which he said was the sixth step, the Oneness of all reality.
The Eastern region provided a morality play "Honesty is the Best Policy".
The first speaker for the program was Chris Parnell, former workplace counsellor and promoter of human values in the community at large.
Here is the video of Chris Parnell's talk, Human Values at Work.
This talk was followed by a musical presenation on Love, given by the musical troupe, Sanjeev and Rajiv
The next speaker to address the walk was Badri Srinivasan, who spoke on what human values mean in living life.
The talk concluded with the observation that No one teaches a flower to spread its fragrance; it is its own nature to spread that fragrance. Like so, human values are natural to human life and spread of their own nature when we practice them.
The National Walk Choir brought the presentation toward closure with a number of Values related songs. The Walk was then closed by the Walk Coordinator who thanked the Victoria Police for facilitating the walk and providing traffic manaagement, the volunteers, Guest Speakers, musicians and all the Walk Participants.
The Second National Walk for Values in Melbourne was a truly memorable day. You may view a web album with photographs from the occasion.
©National Walk for Values. This site last updated 8 April 2009
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