The Maharlika 8th Sunrise Festival was held in November, 2011,in Iloilo City. The Governor formally opened the festival and Dada Sumitananda from Ananda Marga emphasised the role of the artists in society by quoting PR Sarkar when he said "art is for service and blessedness."
Throughout the three-day festival there were interactive workshops on film-making, psychology, poetry, art and literature. On the final day, artists and spiritualists welcomed the sunrise with the chanting of Baba Nam Kevalam, followed by collective meditation.
Proutist Universal representative from Copenhagen, Trond Overland, held a series of workshops with the samaj leaders (Proutists in Action) of Maharlika on the applied side of Prout (Progressive Utilization Theory) which was propounded by PR Sarkar in 1959.
At the opening of the visual exhibit, conducted in the municipal auditorium of Laoag, hundreds of artists, art enthusiasts and cultural workers were entertained by the Kawangis ng Tribo from Palawan, sharing their ethnic music accompanied by a performance by the Pangalay Dance Circle. City officials, Dada Sumitananda and Shermon Cruz (Shiva) spoke on art and culture.
On this occasion we got an opportunity to speak with Governor Aimee Marcos and told her that Maharlika ("small but great") is the ancient name of the Philippines and that one of the aims of MAWF is to change the name of the country back to Maharlika through a public awareness campaign of education, art and music. The governor then gave a speech to those assembled on Maharlika as the future name of the country.
