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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-09-19 Daily Xml
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Peace Run

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:39): It is a great honour for me to rise and speak about the Peace Run in parliament today. The Peace Run is also known as the World Harmony Run. Each year, the Peace Run involves millions of people and children in over 140 nations in a global torch relay. Honourable members may be interested to know that participants and patrons of the Peace Run have included Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, President Nelson Mandela, President Mikhail Gorbachev, sports legends like Carl Lewis and Muhammad Ali, and a host of international leaders and luminaries from around the world.

The Peace Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987 as a way to bring people together in a global yet grassroots event. Sri Chinmoy was an athlete, author, poet and spiritual leader who taught meditation in the west after moving to New York City in 1964. He devoted his life to the pursuit of harmony and oneness between people and between different cultures. Sri Chinmoy saw sport as a powerful vehicle to promote global harmony. The first Peace Torch was lit on 27 April 1987 in New York City for the Peace Run Opening Ceremony. By 1989, for the first time, the Peace Run took place in all seven continents, including Antarctica.

Historic relays have included linking Egypt with Israel and Syria, crossing from Russia to China, running across all 50 states of the United States of America, connecting all European countries in one continuous route, and a continuous run from Japan to Europe. The Peace Run is an expression of Sri Chinmoy's enduring message: that we are all torchbearers for a better world.

2018 marks the 31st anniversary of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run in Australia. The torch travelled from Wentworth, at the junction of Australia's two longest rivers (the Murray and the Darling), ran along the River Murray, through the Barossa Valley and finished in Adelaide. It is truly wonderful to see that the running team visited 10 schools in the Riverland and the Barossa, sharing the peace message with children, teachers, principals and local mayors, providing the opportunity for so many to hold the Peace Torch and make a wish for peace.

On behalf of the government of South Australia, the Premier Hon. Steven Marshall and the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing (the Hon. Corey Wingard), I had the great honour to hold the Peace Torch and welcome the Australian running team on the steps of Parliament House on a cold, windy day on Saturday 15 September 2018. Despite the freezing cold weather that day, the peace runners arrived on time and in great spirits, with big smiles as I greeted them.

I would like to place my special thanks to the South Australian Coordinator, Mr Ivan Marek, and the following peace runners: Abhinandan John Willis from Melbourne; Alexandr Sascha Nikiforov from Russia; Rathin Boulton from Canberra; Prabuddha Nicol from Perth; Grahak Cunningham from Perth; Ivan Padmanandana Marek from Adelaide; Helen Padmalaya Marek from Adelaide; Januja Reynolds from Adelaide; and Chris Reynolds from Adelaide.

I especially mention Grahak Cunningham, who is the Australian champion in the world's longest foot race and participated in the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race, which was described by The New York Times as the 'Mount Everest of ultramarathons'. Congratulations to Mr Cunningham for making Australia proud.

I was incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to hold the Peace Torch and join thousands of participants from over 140 countries to promote harmony and a better future for humanity. I would like to pay tribute to the legacy of Sri Chinmoy and the organisers of the Peace Run here in South Australia and around the world for providing this platform for people from all walks of life to have the opportunity to hold the symbolic torch, to give people the opportunity to reflect on what is happening around us and to wish for a better, brighter future.

Passing the Peace Torch from one person to the next, from one nation to another nation, helps to foster reconciliation that unites people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The motto of the Peace Run is, 'Peace begins with me,' stressing the importance of how each individual can make a positive contribution to creating a better world.

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