Unity the focus of Baha’i Children’s Festival

A LOCAL Baha`i Children`s Festival took place last Sunday at the West Maddingley Early Years and Community Hub.

Hosted by the Bahá’i Community of Moorabool, the afternoon was themed around unity and was open to children aged five to 11 years old, and their families.

Main facilitator Shiva said the event included interactive music, art, and storytelling activities.

“For instance, children are told a story and they see that the body of mankind is represented by a child dressed with all the flags of the world. The colouring exercise reinforces that lesson,” Shiva said.

“It is also important to grow the confidence that [parents] are not alone in their parenting journey and that they can take back with them hopefully the seeds of some new ideas.

“We also elaborate on the idea that children are the most precious treasure a community can possess and that the role of education is to extract the precious gems that are found in them.”

Baha`i community member Dr Miguel Gil said it was the first Children’s Festival they’ve held, and it was a success, sharing the goals of the Baha`i faith.

 

“Unity, peace and justice are the main goals that Bahá’ís all over the world strive for,” he said.

“These three words encapsulate many behaviours such as respect, harmony and creativity that need to be fostered from a very early age.”

Baha`i community member Elham Gil said unity, peace, justice, respect, harmony and creativity are reflected in healthy and vibrant communities.

“Baha’is are not alone in these efforts, for sure, and we try to be consistent by providing a way of community-shaping events and activities that reflect the spirit of an open community,” Elham said.

Lights of Wisdom is hosted by the Bahá’i Community of Moorabool each month, with pieces and readings from faiths from across the world.

“Its purpose is to inspire us to transform our lives, our neighbourhoods and communities, with actions that promote the unity and betterment of society,” Dr Gil said.

The next Bahá’i children´s program will be held on Sunday 28 September at the same venue.