What??
Haha.. I know right. That's what I thought. So I had to go and see for myself. Omg, so pretty!
The Buddy Bears stand together, symbolising the future vision of a peaceful world. Promoting "The Art Of Tolerance", with a motto of "We Must Get To Know Each Other", Buddy Bears travel to different countries around the world every year. In 2008, the exhibition was even held in PyongYang, North Korea. On top of representing different countries, there are four bears who stand on the fringe of the circle:
The “Golden Rule” is basically "Try to treat everyone the way you would want to be treated". These words are distributed on two bears holding hands like the other bears in the circle, symbolising that nobody can live on his or her own, that other people belong to our lives and that our behaviour towards other people has consequences. There are also 80 translations of these words distributed on the bears, and are arranged in a wild muddle: They intersect but don’t interfere – each translation is readable! That is also part of the “Golden Rule” – not to be afraid of contact but at the same time leave the other person enough room for self-fulfilment and not to be in his or her way.
On the Global Ethic Bear, there are quotes from seven of the world's main religions, saying the exact same thing, just worded differently: Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you. This bear understands that the peaceful co-existance of people often breaks down due to conflicts of different religions, and this shouldnt be so, as the good similarities of different religions are many, and should be emphasized more.
This bear is meant to remind us that respect is not limited to respect towards mankind alone. We must upkeep our moral responsibility, and respect all life. Cruelty towards animals cannot be tolerated, short-sighted selfishness towards nature and our Earth must be stopped.
Cool right? The best part is, United Buddy Bears also helps promote charities and raise funds for various children's charities.. =)
I couldnt take photos of all the bears (there were so many!), and even if I did, I wouldnt be able to post them all on this blog. Instead, I asked a few friends on facebook to pick their favourite countries. These are the ones I will feature, along with some that are dear to me, so I hope you enjoy! Here we go!
I was born in England!

I moved to Malaysia when I was 7 years old!
My grandparents were from China!
I've visited Singapore about 8 times in the past 2 years for work.
I went to Manila, Philipines for an event in 2010
On a holiday to Phuket, Thailand
A unique trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
And another work trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, all in 2011.
When asked for their favourite countries, my facebook friends (thank you!) were diverse in their choices:
Meitzu, a travel blogger from Kota Kinabalu said her country of choice would be Italy.
Wingz, who has his own green concepts store chose Bolivia.
Jia Wei, an event planner in KL said he'd go to Australia.
Oliver wants to go to England and America. Maybe he could go with Amal, who wants to go to Alaska, because, and I quote, "I have never been to a land which is covered in snow all year long and has so little sunshine.. Just can't believe that people live in such conditions and want to know how they do it. Human nature is awesome.. And to see if I can meet some polar bears??? Am I in the wrong country????"
Ken Yap, a student and intern at a production company wants to live and work in the USA and would love to visit Croatia, as he's been told it's the most beautiful country in Europe and he also has a Croatian friend there! Makes it easier then! ;p
Ijal Amg thinks that Japan has lots of new products, while Azeera's dream destination is Okinawa because of the culture, sakura blooming, and unique shopping experience, like harajuku and shibuya!
Christ, who also blogs, said he cant make up his mind! Haha.. Paris, France was one of the top choices though. ;p
Zheng Hao from Singapore would love to go to Prague, Czech Republic.
The Prague Castle is way more than intriguing.. ;p
The United Bears exhibition is in front of Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia until the 15th of February 2012. =)
Note: The 3 handsome guys pictured with some of the bears are Oliver, Adrian, and Dennis. No modelling fees were paid for this shoot. ;p
Lovely Bears ;-) Nice exhibition ;-)
ReplyDeleteI was born in England as well and we migrated to Australia when I was 9, as we came out in November we traded an English winter for an Australian summer, I didn't have to go to school until February which was a good deal as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Bears are a really clever idea, they had previously escaped my attention as the English might say. I was unaware of the bears.
Their ideas are something to "Bear in mind" I am now bear aware. A.B.
A very nice and informative, yet SWEET post about your experience represented by the united buddy bears.
ReplyDeleteHmm... Would you love to be featured in my blog? With this bear post? I'm not able to visit it during this coming May, so... Y don't I feature this post that I like about UB. :)
mt
http://www.meitzeu.com
Haha.. That was great for you then.. When I got here I had to go straight into a Chinese school, which had started a month or so ago, without knowing the language! ;p
ReplyDeleteN yes, the bears are a good way to catch peoples' attention, right? =) I didnt know about them til they were on display here either.. =)
MT, I'd be honoured to be featured on your blog.. Do send me a link of what you do k? =)
xxx
I WANNA GO AND SEE THEM!!!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like one of those Candid Camera shows where they play pranks on people. Let's take Calista out of a school where she seems settled and put her in another school in a different country where she knows no one and can't speak the language.
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take to adjust, weeks, months years?
A.B.
LWM, you have a week to get there! ;p
ReplyDeleteA.B., yea, it was FUN.. NOT.. Lol.. Adjust, cant really remember.. It took me about 2 years to be able to fluently speak the languages tho..
Done! http://www.meitzeu.com/2012/02/hello-and-bye-to-united-buddy-bears-in.html :)
ReplyDeleteHaha.. Checking it now! ;p
ReplyDeleteThe United Buddy Bears Exhibition will say farewell to Malaysia on 15 February...so go see them before they leave...
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