Program At A Glance

The 2009 Parliament will offer more than 500 programs including dialogues, workshops, symposia, performances and exhibits, featuring programs on religion and the environment, and Aboriginal and Indigenous leaders from around the world, as well as religious leaders from all the world's religions. Below is just a sample of what the programming will include.


Daily Schedule Sample Programs Sample Presenters/Speakers
08.00 – 09.00 ObservancesClick Here for the Full List of Major Speakers
Offerings from diverse religious and spiritual traditions Buddhist meditation and chanting · Christian meditation · Simran (Sikh contemplative meditation) · Sufi whirling dervishes · Hindu observances · Yoruba spiritual practices · Sunrise ceremony · Labyrinth · Sacred art · Qur'anic recitation · Aboriginal healing · Yoga · Sacred dance · Scriptural readings · Jewish Morning Service · many more...
•Buddhist Monastic Leaders Melbourne Buddhist Community, Australia
•Fr. Laurence Freeman World Community for Christian Meditation, UK
•Bhai Kultar Singh Sikh musicians, India
•Uncle Reg Blow CEO of Maya Living Free Healing Association, Australia
•Prof. Wande Abimbola World Spokesperson for Ifá and Yoruba Religion, Nigeria
  And many more
09.30 – 11.00 Intrareligious Programs
Speakers from a single religious tradition express their identities, discuss their challenges and showcase their messages Hearing each other: Australian Aboriginal spirituality · New religious movements - Perspectives on spiritual presence · Christian churches of Australia · Orthodoxy in Australia · Multiple voices of Islam · Hinduism and political leadership · Confucian humanism, Indigenous traditions and sacred sites · Christianity and ecology · Asian religions and ecology on the ground · Confronting religious extremism · Pilgrimages and religious tourism · many more...
•Ms. Dalia Mogahed Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, member of the Advisory Council for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships
•Prof. Joy Murphy Wandin Senior Aboriginal Woman of the Wurundjeri People Australia
•Dr. Karan Singh Indian politician, author, diplomat, India
•Dr. Akbar Ahmed Anthropologist, filmmaker, diplomat, USA
•Rabbi Dr. David Rosen KCSG International Director of Interreligious Affairs, American Jewish Committee
•Cardinal George Pell Archbishop of Sydney
•Aunty Doreen Garvey Wandin Wurundjeri-Wandoon Elder, Melbourne
•Dr. Homi B. Dhalla World Zarthushti Cultural Foundation, India
•Mrs. Lally Lucretia M. Warren National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'i's in Botswana
•Dr. Tu Weiming Harvard Yenching Institute, USA and Peking University, China
  And many more
11.30 – 13.00 Interreligious Programs
Speakers from two or more religious traditions engage with each other seeking greater understanding Australian interfaith initiatives · Role of minority religions · Social cohesion in Australia · Divine feminine · Interfaith dialogue and peacemaking · Jewish interreligious work · Gender and peacebuilding · Religious women and development · Healing the earth · Science and religion · Access to food and water · Religious ethics and 'Corporate Social Responsibility' · Interfaith peacebuilding · Right relationships · Perspectives on the family · Cultivating insight · Sustainable living · Interfaith marriages · End of life concerns · many more...
•Sister Joan Chittister OSB Benedictine nun and international lecturer, USA
•Chief Oren Lyons Native American Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation USA
•Jewish-Christian-Muslim Association speakers JMCA enables people of faith to deepen their understanding by meeting. Victoria, Australia
•Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker Co-Director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology, Yale University, USA
•Dean Dipak C. Jain Dean, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA
•Ven. Dharma Master Hsin Tao Museum of World Religions, Taiwan
•Ms. Margot Adler National Public Radio reporter and writer on Paganism, USA
•Hugh Evans Director and Founder of the Global Poverty Project, Australia
•Dr. William F. Vendley Secretary General of Religions for Peace, USA
•Rev. Dr. Shanta D. Premawardhana World Council of Churches, Switzerland
 And many more
14.30 – 16.00 Engagement
Speakers from diverse religious traditions consider the challenges of our many crucial topics and the resources to meet them Faith and development work · Disaster relief · Caring practices for the earth · Inter-faith education · Conflict resolution · Inter-Faith action for peace in Africa · Perspectives on economic justice · Global sustainability · Millennium Development Goals · Human rights · Earth Charter as a global ethics · Religion and sport · Religion in cyberspace · Religion, HIV/AIDS and healthcare · Food and water - justice for all · many more...
•His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tibetan Buddhist Leader, India
•His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Spiritual and humanitarian leader, founder of Art of Living Foundation
•Rev. Tim Costello CEO World Vision Australia
•Nazeem Hussain Comedian and Cast Member of Salam Cafe (Australian comedy talk show)
•Dr. Chandra Muzzafar The International Movement for a Just World, Malaysia
•Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation and Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa
•Dr. Azza Karam UN Global Interfaith Network on Population and Development, USA
•Ms. Tanya Oziel Executive Director,The Peres Center for Peace – Australian Chapter
•Mr. Steve Killelea Global Peace Index, Australia
•Ms. Vicki Clarke Mutti Mutti woman and co-ordinator of Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Melbourne, Australia
•Uncle Bob Randall An Indigenous elder, member of the Yankunytjatjara people and one of the listed traditional owners of Uluru, Australia
 And many more
16.30 – 18.00 Open Space
Rooms open for informal discussions Regional gatherings · Receptions for international groups · Networking sessions · Student groups · Special interest meetings · many more... Interfaith groups such as:
•Religions for Peace
•United Religions Initiative
•World Congress of Faiths
 And many more
19.30 – 21.00 Evening Plenaries Click Here for the Full List of Major Speakers
Thursday
December 3		 Friday
December 4		 Saturday
December 5 		Sunday
December 6 		Monday
December 7 		Tuesday
December 8 		Wednesday
December 9
Opening
Plenary 		Communities Night International Plenary Sacred Music Concert Youth
Plenary		 Melbourne
Plenary		 Closing
Plenary
Official 'Welcome to Country' from the Aboriginal community and key government and international speakers with special artistic performances. Melbourne's diverse religious and spiritual communities will host interstate and international visitors in local churches, temples, synagogues, mosques etc. Presents the international interreligious movement and the UN Decade for Interreligious Dialogue by international speakers, international artists and performers. Performances of the world's sacred music and movement by world-class musicians from diverse religious and spiritual traditions. It will include Muslim singer-songwriter Zain Bhikha; Indian flautist Natesan Ramani & singer Manjiri Kelkar; Jewish vocalists and ensemble of Dr Kim Cunio and Heather Lee. Will showcase the work being done by young people around the world in tackling global issues and using creative mediums to effect change. Presentations and performances celebrating Melbourne's religious and spiritual diversity and its vision for interfaith dialogue and cooperation. Official closing plenary with highlights from participants' commitments, presentation of awards for contribution to the International Interreligious Movement, major speakers and artistic performances.