Titans Take Big Step in MR Walk

 

The Jetstar Gold Coast Titans officially launched a new community initiative, “MR (mister) Walk”.

 

The launch heralds the start of a campaign to help raise the profile of the importance of the transition of Boys to Men and the current social perception of men in the community. The campaign will feature an event taking the form of a short 2.2 km walk to be held on the Gold Coast on Sunday February 5 as part of the All Stars calendar of events.

 

The MR Walk (MR stands for 'Men Respect') is about promoting a positive image of men in society and is about giving profile to the fact that:

 

-       Men do make a very positive contribution to society in so many ways but the perception can be in some instances quite the opposite.

-       Men do have a deep respect for women and children.

-       Men should respect themselves as men and the many positive things that they can contribute to society as good citizens, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, husbands, boyfriends and good role models for our boys and our young men.

-       Males need to be nurtured from infant through boyhood and managed into manhood with strong male role models.

 

The MR Walk is a concept initiated by Councillor Bob La Castra, following a question asked of him and three other men, who were randomly selected from the audience of a seminar titled ‘From Boys to Men’.

 

The question asked by the moderator was – ‘can you tell me one thing that’s good about being a man’?

 

“Not one of us could think of an answer. We all stood there with blank looks on our faces. It’s one of the few times I’ve been lost for words but I was told that this is a normal response,” says Cr La Castra. The same presenter also revealed that he had conducted surveys of primary school-aged girls n their perceptions of men. The responses included such statements as ‘men hurt people’; ‘men are dangerous’; ’men kill people’; ’men rob banks’; ‘men try to steal little children’.”

 

“The children’s responses were disturbing to say the least. When you factor in the everyday image portrayal of men, via the movie industry and the media, it shows that men have a serious, social image problem,” says Cr La Castra.

 

As a result, Cr La Castra felt he had to contribute to change the perception and attract a positive focus to men’s role in society and the perception of it. So he decided to organise an event – MR Walk – and approached Jetstar Gold Coast Titans Managing Director, Michael Searle, who took the concept to the NRL and organised for his events team to manage the walk.

 

“The MR Walk is a great concept and we’re proud to have the Titans supporting it. The NRL has also seen merit in it and have sanctioned the event on the official NRL All Stars program,’’ said Mr Searle. “It is a perfect fit for us and our club in that we are a male dominated sport with a great profile that can help leverage the awareness of this initiative. Our players already are role models for so many young boys in the community through their achievements on and off the field and it just makes sense that we have an active role in this concept”, said Searle.

 

Simon Santosha who is the Senior Practitioner for the Men & Family Relationships Program at Centacare in Gold Coast believes that children’s, particularly boys’ perception of men is too negative and needs to change. “The images they get are mostly from video games, TV or the news – much of which are negative - so they don’t learn what it’s like to be a man in the real world.  These negative stories of men have a strong influence on our community attitudes and values and more importantly shaping the views of our boys and young men,” said Santosha.

 

Studies show boys who lack positive male mentors in their life are more prone to depression, have behavioural problems and experience poor relationships with their peers.

 

Santosha said, “Boys naturally look towards men to challenge, guide and help them become good men. Often boys learn just by looking, seeing how we walk, watching our body language, how we approach problems. The transition from boy to manhood can be a very difficult stage – young men are dealing with physical and emotional changes, difficult life decisions, relationship problems etc.  If positive male role models are absent during this developmental stage, by and large young men will find their own, who may be less than ideal. This can lead to poor life choices.” 

 

Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Wilson who was among other high ranking emergency services officials from Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and Queensland Ambulance said, “all too often we (emergency services) see the result of what happens when boys don’t make the successful transition to manhood and I believe now more than ever men need to take an active and positive lead in helping shape boys into men. The community can never have enough positive male role models. The promotion of how important positive men are to the development of youth can never be underestimated. If there are more men taking time and care to create a positive influence on the transition of boys through to men then it can only help bring positive results and better social outcomes,” said Wilson.

 

“Mr Walk potentially could become an umbrella for, and provide a link and support to a myriad of organisations, which provide services to men and boys. We have a strong nucleus of people now who have a passionate interest in playing a role to help bring about positive change in the public perception of the social image of men. This groundswell of support has only really been generated in the past week so with time on our side we can achieve allot in this space,” said La Castra.

 

The 2.2km MR Walk will start and finish on Stadium Drive, outside of Skilled Park at Robina. The walk will start at 8:30am on Sunday February 5^th 2012. Registration is free and can be lodged at www.titans.com.au