Lighting the way to awareness

Hundreds of people are expected to join a lantern parade lighting the way to safety awareness at The University of Queensland St Lucia campus next month.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Joanne Wright said the inaugural UQ Lantern Parade was part of a campaign to celebrate and reinforce UQ’s commitment to safety on campus.

The 5 March parade will encourage new and existing students and the broader community to familiarise and surprise themselves with the St Lucia campus in a visual, bright and novel way.

“The University community has worked diligently to ensure its campuses are safe and inclusive,” Professor Wright said.

“Our safety program has been developed and strengthened to improve safety for all who come here.

“We want our students to be able to focus on their studies and enjoy everything UQ campuses have to offer.”

“This lantern walk will be a great way for everyone to familiarise themselves with the campus and become cognisant of the many safety features we provide to our wider community.

“It’ll be a beautiful sight to behold and a great way to meet new friends and catch up with existing ones.”

Professor Wright said UQ had several initiatives to help keep safe on campus, including the UQSafeZone app, safety escorts, emergency call points and CCTV cameras.

The event is open to the whole community and follows the tradition of Light the Night, Take Back the Night, and other candlelight walks around the world.

Food trucks, music and entertainment will begin at 4pm in Campbell Place.

Creative lantern-building workshops will be held in Welcome Week (details are here).

The all-abilities walk kicks off at 7.15 and should take around 45 minutes. Register here.

Hot and iced chocolate will be on offer at the end of the walk.

Media: Sybilla Wilson, s.wilson6@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3365 3484, 0449 166 220.