program updates - Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions

MELBOURNE CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE
PROGRAM UPDATES
www.parliamentofreligions.org

Program Updates
On the Program Updates:
The following pages detail the program
schedule changes, additions,
updates and cancellations that have
occurred since the 2009 Parliament
of the World’s Religions Program
Book was sent to the printer in November.
While the Program Schedule
stayed as consistent as possible
to what is in the Program Book,
there have been a few necessary
updates.
The changes you see here are important
alterations -- please take
them into consideration while planning
which programs to attend. In
addition to this Program Update,
all evolving schedule changes and
updates will be posted daily on bulletin
boards located throughout the
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition
Centre.
All questions and concerns about
the program can be directed to the
Program Inquires Desk.
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program Updates
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Schedule Changes
2.00 – 4.00pm, Room 106
The Indigenous Reception
Formally scheduled for room 105
Related Programs
December 4, 11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 218
Indigenous Women: Protecting Culture,
Promoting Cultural Strengths
This Reception is a private event for
all international Indigenous speakers,
their spouses, Indigenous Peoples in the
community, local dignitaries, affiliated boards
and staff of the Parliament of the World’s
Religions. The International Indigenous Task
Force and the Indigenous Australian Planning
Committee of Melbourne are very pleased to
greet such a sizeable and excited
group at the Indigenous Reception.
December 6, 2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 208
Hear the Voices of the Indigenous Elders
December 8, 9.30 – 11.00am, Room 213
UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples
December 9, 8.00 – 9.00am, Room 217
Observance on Tlinglit (Indigenous
Alaskan Native) Spirituality
A Feature from
the Opening Plenary
Shinto Blessing at the Opening Plenary
Session of the Parliament of World’s
Religions in Melbourne, Australia
Blessing will include a recitation of Purification
Prayer (in Japanese with English translation)
by Rev. Setsuko Umeda, an ordained Shinto
priestess, on behalf of Dr. Haruhisa Handa.
Blessing will also include the purification rite of
the plenary site for all the participants and the
blessing by the sacred bell ringing of Mrs. Melanie
Shintaku as a shrine maiden.
Brief Introduction to International Shinto
Foundation: International Shinto Foundation
(ISF) was founded in 1994 under the leading
initiative of Dr. Haruhisa Handa (The Very
Reverend Toshu Fukami) in response to a
perception that Shinto is widely misunderstood
overseas as a loathsome ideology that drove
Japan to war in middle of the last century. ISF
is a Not-for-Profit Organization accredited by the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government in Japan and by
the State of New York in the United States. ISF
exists to promote the academic study and deeper
understanding of Shinto, which is very core of
the Japanese cultural values that could accept
and keep coexistence of diverse religious and
spiritual activities in Japan, such as Buddhism,
Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam and
so on in good order. Since its foundation ISF
has been organizing international symposia and
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workshops in London, New York, Tokyo, Moscow
and Hangzhou in connection with sustainable
development of human beings including
environmental issues. ISF has thus been
accredited as an NGO in a special consultative
status with the United Nations Economic and
Social Council since 2001. ISF has been funding
the establishment of chairs specializing in studies
of Shinto. So far there are ISF Professorship
of Shinto Studies at University of California at
Santa Barbara in the United States, Center for the
Study of Japanese Religions at SOAS, University
of London in the United Kingdom, Toshu Fukami
Professorship of Shinto Studies at Columbia
University in New York City, and currently
Haruhisa Handa Professorship of Studies of Shinto
at University of California at Los Angeles in the
Unites States. It is our hope that more and more
people will come to see value in the activities of
ISF that aims at possible contribution of world
culture of peace.
Related Programs
December 4, 8.00 – 9.00am, Room 105
Morning Observance
Prof. Yoshimi Umeda, ISF’s Director General
Rev. Setsuko Umeda, ISF’s Executive
Secretary
December 5, 8.00 - 9.00am, Room 108
Given Life by Heaven and Earth: A Shinto
Observance
Rt Rev Yoshinobu Miyake
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program Updates
Friday, December 4, 2009
A Featured Program
9.30 - 11.00am, Plenary Hall
Poverty Must No Longer Be With
Us
Jim Wallis, Katherine Marshall, Dr
A T Ariyaratne, Tim Costello, Sulak
Sivaraksa, Rabbi David Saperstein,
Sr Joan Chittister and Dr. Kim
Hourn Kao
You may also be interested in…
2.30 - 4.00pm, Plenary Hall
Human Face of Climate Change
2.30 - 4.00pm, Room 220
The Future of Religion in Australia
Melbourne’s Religious Leaders in Dialogue
with Young People (Seminar 1)
11.30am - 1.00pm, Room 110
The Crisis and the Opportunity: Wisdom
from faith traditions and communities
Schedule Changes
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 213
Sharing Scarce Resources in an
Increasingly Globalised World
Originally scheduled for 11.30 – 1.00pm in
Room 216
New Programs
2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 207
Spirituality and Social Justice: Insights
from the Jewish Mystical Tradition
Rabbi Or Rose
How might the teachings and practices of
Kabbalah and Hasidism help contemporary
seekers and activists--Jews and non-Jews--attend
to the great social and environmental issues of
our day This presentation will explore such
key concepts as ‘Tikkun Olam (Repair of the
World)’, ‘The 10 Sefirot (Divine Emanations)’, and
‘Devekut (Cleaving to God)’ and their relevance
for life in an age of religious and cultural diversity.
The Global Peace School Program was started
in the United Nations Office of the Special
Representative for Children and Armed Conflict in
1999. Children in South Australia is now leading
this effort, with the Program being taught in
schools in South Australia, NSW/Sydney and WA/
Perth. Young people are being connected around
the world in a network of brotherhood and peace.
The goal of the program is to touch the spirit and
empower the heart to change the world.
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions
4.30 – 6.30pm, Room 102
Daily Featured Authors of the 2009
Parliament Book Discussion Series
Anand Krishna was born in Solo, Central
Java, in 1956, Anand Krishna had his early
education in Lucknow, North India, where
he met his first spiritual mentor, Sheikh
Baba, a simple ice vendor and Sufi. Since
1990, Anand has spoken to millions through
television shows, radio talks, trainings,
books, interviews and articles, as well as
meetings and workshops in Indonesia, the
United States, Singapore, Brazil and India.
Yasus Afari represents the immortal
vision of the ancient future, stimulating
the revolutionary will to conquer poverty,
ignorance, and injustice, by releasing
positive vibrations in harmony, with words,
sounds and power. Yasus works tirelessly
to bring together people from many
diverse backgrounds. Yasus testifies to his
Rastafarian beliefs and his profound faith in
Jah as a dub poet, author, philosopher and
Reggae artist promoting Roots Reggae in line
with traditional Rastafarian values.
3

Program Updates
Friday, December 4, 2009
New Programs
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 109
The Religious Imperative for the Equality
of Women and Girls
President Jimmy Carter, USA
4.30 – 6.00pm, Room 207
Jubilee: Faith-based Debt Forgiveness
Adele Webb, Daren Erisman
Social Justice in our world requires not only the
provision of basic necessities of life to the poor
and needy, but also the protection of the weak
against economic exploitation by the strong. In
the Jubilee Year as quoted in Leviticus, those
enslaved because of debts are freed, lands lost
because of debt are returned, and community is
restored. Today, the debt that currently burdens
many poor countries has become a new form
of slavery. Much has arisen through loans given
irresponsibly by rich countries and frequently
misspent by corrupt and dictatorial regimes in
poor countries. It is unjust to force successor
governments to repay these debts today,
Program and
Speaker Updates
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 105
Morning Observance International
Shinto Foundation (ISF)
Prof. Yoshimi Umeda, ISF’s Director General
Rev. Setsuko Umeda, ISF’s Executive
Secretary
Program will begin with an opening message
from Dr. Haruhisa Handa, the President of ISF,
which will be read by a representative. There will
be a blessing ritual by Rev. Setsuko Umeda on
behalf of Dr. Handa. The Sacred Shinto Dance of
Urayasu-no-Mai will be performed by Ms. Melanie
Shintaku from Washington, DC, as a certified
shrine maiden dancer. There will be a presentation
of ISF as an NGO of the United Nations, including
the Role of Shinto in Japanese Culture (past,
present, and future) with power-point screening
by Prof. Yoshimi Umeda, ISF’s Director General,
on behalf of Dr. Handa. There will be a time of
questions and answers before a closing prayers
for the happiness of the human beings and world’s
everlasting peace.
9.30 11.00am, Plenary Hall
Poverty Must No Longer Be With Us
Program will include: Dr. Kao Kim Hourn is
the President of The University of Cambodia
and Executive Director of the Asian Faiths
Development Dialogue. He is currently Secretary
of State of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation. Dr. Kao holds BA, MA, MAIA, and
PhD Degrees from the U.S. He also holds other
key positions in the government. Dr. Kao has been
very active in regional affairs, such as ASEAN,
ASEAN Plus Three, the Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM), among others. He has been a strong
advocate for Cambodia’s integration into the
regional and global community and a proponent of
Cambodia’s higher education. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn
will serves on this panel in place Dr. Haruhisa
Handa.
11.30 – 1.00pm, Plenary Hall
Respecting and Defending Human Rights
and Humanitarian Principles: An Islamic
Global Perspective
Program will include: Rev Dr Setri Nyomi, the
General Secretary of the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches (WARC)
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 110
The Crisis and the Opportunity: Wisdom
from Faith Traditions and Communities
Program will include: Katherine Marshall,
Moderator, Jim Wallis, Timothy Andrew
Fischer, Elias Szczytnicki and Joan Chittister
2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 204
Reconciling Religious Values and
the Universal Entitlement to Human
Rights
Program will include: Peter Hollingworth AC ,
OBE is an Australian Anglican bishop, who has
contributed to Christian social ethics for decades,
especially through his work and published
writings on poverty in Australia. He served as
the Archbishop of Brisbane for 11 years before
becoming the 23rd Governor- General of Australia
from 2001 until 2003.
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PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program Updates
Saturday, December 5, 2009
A Featured Program
11.30am - 1.00pm, Plenary Hall
Halting the Spread of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria: Challenges for Faith
Gideon Byamugisha, Jean Duff, Cardinal Theodore
McCarrick, Thomas Bohnett, Katherine
Marshall and Murray Proctor
You may also be interested in…
9.30 - 11.00am, Room 105
The Divine Feminine
2.30 - 4.00pm, Room 105
Vegetarianism - Ethics, Environmental Concerns,
and Complex Realities
Schedule Changes
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 217
Devotional Singing and Meditation for
Inner Peace
Originally scheduled for December 8 at 9.30
– 11.00 am in Room 217
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 220
Sri Sri Yoga: A Celebration of the
Diversity in Yoga
Originally scheduled in Room 110
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 107
Preksha Meditation
Originally scheduled in room 102
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 207
Sikh Panel on Principles and Articles of
Faith
Originally scheduled on December 7 at 9:30-
11:00am in room 108
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 103
Religion, Spirituality and Life
Threatening Illness
Originally scheduled on December 7 at 9.30 –
11.00 in room 211
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 204
Engagement for Justice: Meeting the
Needs of Refugees
Originally scheduled for 11.30 – 1.00pm in
Room 104
4.30 – 6.00pm, Room 208
Cambodia in the Aftermath of Genocide:
Where Does Faith Come in
Originally scheduled for 11.30 – 1.00pm in
Room 208
New Programs
8.00 – 10.00am, Room 102
Shabbat Morning Service: Traditional
Egalitarian
A Jewish Shabbat Morning Service led
students and faculty of Hebrew College.
11.30 -1.00pm, Room 209
Multicultural Perspectives on Grief and
Loss
Teresa Snorton
Grief can be a personal experience, but it
may also be a shared experience by an entire
cultural or ethnic group. Indigenous peoples
are particularly susceptible to a communal/
corporate experience of grief as colonization and
mission work has typically ignored, suppressed
or demonized cultural practices and rituals
associated with grief. Further, current academic
grief literature and concepts rely heavily on
Western interpretations of the grief experience
and promote a worldview that is primarily
monocultural and monotheist. However, today’s
world is a multicultural one and spirituality
is expressed in a multitude of forms beyond
monotheism. This workshop will explore cultural
variations in the grief process, including differing
cultural ethos and beliefs about death and
dying, age, gender and religious variances and
other dynamics. Participants will be invited to
share their own cultural beliefs, traditions and
rituals associated with grief. Participants will be
introduced to a variety of ways in which their
praxis can reflect sensitivity to the cultural
differences among people dealing with grief, loss
and change.
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions
5

Program Updates
Saturday, December 5, 2009
New Programs
11.30 -1.00pm, Room 207
Interreligious Regional Concerns: Latin
America
Gerardo Gonzalez, Marta Benavides and Ruth
Broyde Sharone
This session is one of a set of sessions featuring
regional interfaith concerns. Here, speakers from
Latin America present perspectives grounded in
their countries of origin with global implications.
2.15-2.30pm, Foyer
Holy Tantra Drum Performance
Performed by the Hobart Chinese Han
Tantrayana Academy
4.30 – 6.00pm, Room 213
The C-1’s Annual Report on Dialogue and
Values 2009
Mr Roland Schatz, Canon Alistair Macdonald-
Radcliff, Cardinal McCarrick
Using the findings from the 2009 report this
session will explore the impact of data about
perceptions and attitudes along with the role
of the media for tracking the state of dialogue
and assessing progress. Mr Roland Schatz and
Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff will be joined by
others involved including His Eminence Theodore
Cardinal McCarrick to explore the findings and the
implications of this path breaking report.
4.30 – 6.30pm, Foyer of Room 201
Daily Featured Authors of the 2009 Parliament
Book Discussion Series:
Rev Dr Marcus Braybrooke, President of the World
Congress of Faiths and Patron of the international
Interfaith Centre, Oxford, is an Anglican priest who has
been active in interfaith work for over forty years. He is
author of many books, including ‘A Heart for the World’.
Program and
Speaker Updates
9.30 – 11.00, Room 216
Interfaith and Multinational Reflections
on Aging and the Human Spirit
Program will include Rev. Hsin Chien
9.30 – 11.00, Room 215
Mamaa: The Untouchable Ones
Speakers will include: Heather Winter, Chloe
Nulgit, Paddy Neowarra, Pansy Nulgit, Gordon
Smith
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 111
Multifaith Insights on Deep Ecology
Program will include Gulab Kothari
11.30 – 2:30pm, Room 110
Global Ethics and Religion Forum Panels:
Religions Perspectives on Justice, War
and Peace
2.30 - 4.00pm, Room 202
The Responsibility of the Mainstream for
Reconciliation (Part 1)
Program will be moderated by Peter Lewis
2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 213
The Street Theology of Anger and
Freedom in the Muslim World
Abdul Malik Mujahid, Dr Muhammad Shafiq
This panel will look into the discourse of anger in
the world. It will examine how traditional Islamic
concepts and terminology are being used in
new meanings to justify the fight against real or
perceived injustice, as well as the internal and
external enemies of Islam and Muslims. The panel
will also discuss Taliban and Islamic education
system.
Both Dr Marian de Souza and Dr James O’Higgins-
Norman, a professor at Dublin City University, will
discuss: ‘International Handbook on Education for
Spirituality, Care and Wellbeing’. Dr Marian de Souza
and is Senior Lecturer at Australian Catholic University,
Editor of the Journal of Religious Education and a cofounder
of the Spirituality and Wellbeing in Education
Research Group. Marian has published extensively
on the subject of spirituality as pertaining to the
relational dimension of the human person, and the role
of non-conscious learning in promoting or impeding
connectedness and integration.
6
Cancelled Programs
4.30 – 6.00pm, Room 216
Sri Chinmoy International Music Group
Open Space Concert
4.30 – 6.00pm, Room 215
Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional
Intelligence: Hand in Hand for Healing
the Earth
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program Updates
Sunday, December 6, 2009
A Featured Program
9.30 - 11.00am, Room 203
Who Do We Want To Be: Exploring
the Mission of the Jewish People in
the 21st Century
Rabbi David Rosen, Rachael Kohn, Rabbi
Jeremy Lawrence, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield
and Rabbi David Saperstein
You may also be interested in…
2.30 - 4.00pm, Room 212
Proselytization and Religious Freedom
9.30 - 11.00am, Room 110
Socially Engaged Buddhism: a Pathway
to Peace
Schedule Changes
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 104
Contemplative service
Rabbi Or Rose
Originally scheduled for December 9, for 8.00
– 9.00am in Room 216
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 107
Sikh Observance by Guru Nanak Nishkam
Sewak Jatha
Originally scheduled for December 9 at 8.00
– 9.00am in Room 109
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 105
Aboriginal Reconciliation in Melbourne:
Working for Land Justice and
Reconciliation
Originally scheduled at 11.30 – 1.00pm in
Room 207
PROGRAM DAY CHANGED TO: December 7,
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 213
Religious Dual Belonging: The Future of
the Dialogue of Experience
Originally scheduled for December 6, 11.30 –
1.00pm in Room 210
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 215
A Tale of Two Women: A Multifaith
Reading of the Sarah/Hagar Narrative
Originally scheduled for room 202
2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 212
Proselytisation and Religious Freedom
Originally scheduled on 8 December at 11:30
– 1.00pm in Room 106
4.30 – 6.00pm, Room 212
Role of Youth
Originally scheduled for room 216
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions
8.00 – 9.00am
Catholic Mass, Ukrainian Rite
Originally scheduled for Monday, December
7, 8.00 - 9.00am in Room 110
Mass will be celebrated offsite at St Augustine’s
Catholic Church, 631 Bourke Street, Melbourne
City, where the early migrants from Ukraine
gathered to worship before building their
Cathedral in North Melbourne.
New Programs
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 207
Portraits in Faith – A Global
Documentary In Progress
Daniel Epstein
Five years ago, Daniel Epstein, a Marketing
Director with a large multi-national corporation,
started on a journey that is still ongoing. Fueled
by an important shift in his own life and a desire
to connect with others around the world, Daniel
started interviewing people about the role of
faith changing their lives and then making a
black & white portrait of each person. To date,
316 people from 17 countries have participated,
counting among them at least 50 religious
denominations and spiritual paths. It is Daniel’s
deepest wish that those individuals who feel
that faith has changed the course of their lives
will come to see that there are people in other
faiths having profound experience of G-d, as
they understand G-d, thus opening the door
for a connection in faith to each other. In this
session, Daniel will share black and white portraits
from around the world and have the audience
engage in the questions that are posed to each
participant.
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 216
Vivekananda - Journey from Quest to
Truth
Swami Atmapriyananda
7

Program Updates
Sunday, December 6, 2009
New Programs
Vivekananda - Journey from Quest
to Truth: This 45-minute documentary
gives a glimpse of the personality that Swami
Vivekananda was. Beginning from his spiritual
quest as a young boy and later as a disciple at
the feet of his Master Sri Ramakrishna, the film
takes us through the Swami’s encounters with
various personalities - both and Eastern. The
Swami’s appearance at the Parliament of Religions
in Chicago in 1893 and the subsequent formation
of an organization based on the concept of the
harmony of religions and unity in existence
is brought about in this film. The film will be
followed by a talk by Swami Atmapriyananda from
Calcutta.
11.30 – 1.00pm, 102
The Environmental Challenge in Tibet
and Its Worldwide Ramifications
Sandra Ross, Gabriel Lafitte and Dr Simon
Bradshaw
This presentation will explore diverse reports
of the state of the Tibetan environment.
Drawing from the United Nations Conference on
Global Warming, Green Peace, various Chinese
scientists, The Environmental Desk of the Tibetan
Government in Exile, The Asia Society, the Third
Pole and many others, the presenters will attempt
to present a cohesive picture of the challenges
to the Tibetan ecological system with world wide
ramifications. Recommendations will be given for
the preservation of the Tibetan Plateau and for
the implementation of international commissions
to provide stewardship of the water on which
so many local and downstream countries are
dependent for survival. Several experts on the
Tibetan environment will be present to answer
written questions from the audience.
2.15-2.30pm, Foyer
Vajra Lion Dance Performance
Performed by the Hobart Chinese Han
Tantrayana Academy
2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 211
Religious and Spiritual Response to
Disasters
Laura Crochet, Amjad Mohamed-Saleem and
Swami Sadyojathah
Religious and spiritual communities were often the
first responders to human and ecological disasters
long before world class relief organization such
8
as the International Red Cross or the United
Nations Refugee Relief Agency. For centuries,
come drought, floods, hurricanes, fires, social
and political upheaval, or war, these communities
tirelessly rose to the occasion. Today, religious
and spiritual communities work side-by-side with
outstanding local, national and interreligious
relief organizations to provide humanitarian aid to
millions worldwide who are often in life or death
situations. In this session, panellists with first
hand experience of these collaborative efforts
will share their stunning experiences and best
practices. They will also provide practical insight
into how this vital work can be supported.
2.30-4.00 pm, Room 102
The Necessity of Nuclear Disarmament
and Steps toward its Achievement
Dr. Stephen Perkins, Judge C G Weeramantry,
Sue Wareham and Hirotsuga Terasaki
‘The nuclear bomb is the most anti-democratic,
anti-national, anti-human, outright evil thing that
man has ever made. If you are religious, then
remember that this bomb is Man’s challenge to
God. It’s worded quite simply: we have the power
to destroy everything that You have created.
If you’re not religious, then look at it this way.
This world of ours is four thousand, six hundred
million years old. It could end in an afternoon’.
(Arundhati Roy) Nuclear weapons represent
the antithesis of hearing and healing. Religious
people, in concert, must challenge their continued
existence in order to secure a peaceful world.
Nuclear disarmament is not a utopian goal, but
rather a realistic and achievable one. Diplomats
and disarmament experts have already mapped
out the steps to disarmament. Political will is the
only thing lacking, and religious communities
have a significant role to play in building this
will. The International Campaign to Abolish
Nuclear Weapons is a new campaign that seeks to
recapture community engagement on this issue,
and in doing so, compel political leaders to act.
This roundtable will discuss the steps required
and the work that is being undertaken to abolish
nuclear weapons.
2.30-4.00pm, Room 207
Women of the World at the Parliament of
Religions, Chicago 1893
Allison Stokes and Michelle Mueller
2.30-4.00pm, Room 103
A Heart Set on the Pilgrims’ Way: A
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program Updates
Sunday, December 6, 2009
New Programs
Spiritual Practice of World Religions
Susan Borwick, Carlos Parra and Dr Kurt Weis
Pilgrimages are essential and transformative
practices of several world religions. They consist
of a call or intent, a process whether in the
external world or within, and a destination. This
panel is an introduction to pilgrimages in several
religions of the world and will include first person
narratives of pilgrimage experiences.
Program and
Speaker Updates
Program will include Dr Muhammad Shafiq
who is the executive director of the Center for
Interfaith Studies and Dialogue (CISD), professor
of Islamic and religious studies at Nazareth
College and Imam of the Islamic Center of
Rochester.
9:30 - 11:00am Room 220
Charter of Compassion
Dr James Doty will chair the session.
4.30 – 6.00pm, Foyer of Room 201
Daily Featured Speakers of the 2009
Parliament Book Discussion Series:
Prabha Duneja is a writer, speaker and lecturer
on Hindu religion. She is a missionary of the
Geeta Society, Chairwoman of Women’s Interfaith
Circle of Service URI/CC, and an active leader of
the interfaith movement in the San Francisco Bay
Area. She has written numerous articles as well
as the books ‘Mantra and the Modern’, ‘The Legacy
of Yoga in Bhagawad Geeta’, ‘An Introduction to
Bhagawed Geeta’, and ‘The Gateway to Freedom:
Bhagawad Geeta.’
Children’s author Ron Madison began his writing
career fifteen years ago. Since then he has
written extraordinary and insightful children’s
books for such diverse groups as the American
Red Cross and the US Army. He was recently
asked by Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education to
write a book to introduce children to the world’s
religions.
4.30 – 6.00pm, Room 101
Confucian World of Great Unity
TONG Yun Kai, President of Confucian
Academy
The construction of Great Unity is Confucianism’s
highest ideal. Great Unity is a world of peace
and justice. According to Kong Zi’s ‘the world
belongs to all’ (the world is not anybody’s private
property; ‘righteousness’ will be the final arbiter
to tell what is right and what is wrong.
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 208
By the Fig and the Olive Tree: A Qur’anic
Perspective on Healing the Earth with
Care and Concern
Danielle Lauren, the Sydney representative for
the Charter of Compassion, will make a brief
announcement about the Australian 100,000
signatures campaign.
11.30 – 1.30pm, Room 217
The Impact of Women in Conflict
Resolution
Program will include Sakena Yacoobi
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 219
The Challenge of Islamophobia and
the Media: How Innovative Dialogue is
Changing the Landscape
Program w
ill include: Dr Nasya Bahfen, Chair, Canon
Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff, Ahmed Rehab,
Karen L Hernandez-Andrews, Mohammed Elleissy
and Roland Schatz
11.30 – 2:30pm, Room 110
Global Ethics and Religion Forum Panels:
Religion and the Future of Military
Humanitarian Intervention in a Just and
Sustainable World
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 211
Role of Religion and Spirituality in the
Public Discourse
Program will include Penny Mulvey
2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 215
Religious Identity Formation: The
Templer in Australia
Program will include: Drs Irene Bouzo and
Rolf Beilharz
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions
9

Program Updates
Monday, December 7, 2009
A Featured Program
11:30am - 1:00pm, Plenary Hall
ABC ‘Compass’ Live Recording
Michael Melchior, Dr Suhair Hassan Al-
Qurashi, Rev Tim Costello, Katherine
Marshall, Anthony Padovano and Melissa
Brickell
You may also be interested in…
8.00 - 9.00am, Room 212
Five Pillars of Spiritual Life
9.30 - 11.00am, Room 202
A New Ethical Manifesto for the Global
Economy
2.30 - 4.00pm, Room 109
Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding: The
Case of Thailand
Schedule Changes
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 218
The Torah through Paintings and Poetry
Originally scheduled for 8.00-9.00am in room
218
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 104
Interreligious Dialogue Making a World
of Difference to Establish Peace
Originally scheduled for December 9 at 9.30
– 11.30 in Room 110
PROGRAM DAY CHANGED TO: December 5,
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 207
Sikh Panel on Principles and Articles of
Faith
Originally scheduled on December 7 at 9:30-
11:00am in room 108
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 213
Religious Dual Belonging: The Future of
the Dialogue of Experience
Originally scheduled for December 6, 11.30 –
1.00pm in Room 210
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 220
Spiritual Practice, The Inner Search
Originally scheduled for 4.30 – 6.00pm in
Room 103
CHANGE OF DAY: December 5, 9.30 –
11.00am, Room 103
Religion, Spirituality and Life
Threatening Illness
Originally scheduled on December 7 at 9.30 –
11.00 in room 211
10
2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 203
Earth Charter as a Global Ethics for a
Sustainable Future
Mary Evelyn Tucker + many others
Originally schedule 11.30 – 1.00pm in Room
210
PROGRAM DAY CHANGED TO: Tuesday,
December 8, 9.00 – 10.30pm, Room 107
Burma VJ
Originally scheduled for Sunday, December 6,
9.00pm – 10.30pm, Room 107
New Programs
2.15-2.30pm, Foyer
Holy Tantra Drum Performance
Performed by the Hobart Chinese Han
Tantrayana Academy
2.30-4.00 pm, Room 204
Nuclear Non-Proliferation: Response and
Advocacy by Religious Communities
Sue Wareham, Ibrahim Abdil-Mu’id Ramey,
Kimiaki Kawai, Rev. Dr. Wesley Campbell and
Professor Paul Morris
Nuclear weapons are the most significant humanmade
destructive force on the planet. They pose a
spiritual as well as existential threat to humanity.
Why has humanity been so slow and ineffective
in meeting the challenge posed by nuclear arms
What can religious and spiritual communities do
to meet the challenge of abolishing these weapons
of mass annihilation This panel discussion will
explore the grassroots and advocacy efforts
(cont’d on next page)
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program Updates
Monday, December 7, 2009
New Programs
made by various religious communities around
the world to protect against nuclear proliferation
and mobilize public opinion. These include the
proposed Nuclear Weapons Convention, and
the development of educational tools such
as exhibitions, volumes of nuclear survivors’
testimonies, DVDs and publications showing
what individuals can do to address the situation.
SGI’s work on disarmament is characterized by
grassroots education. These activities, which have
been carried out on a global scale, include petition
drives, traveling public exhibitions, seminars and
publications.
Program and
Speaker Updates
9.30 – 11.00am, 202
A New Ethical Manifesto for the Global
Economy
Program will include Dipak Jain and Katherine
Marshall
11.30 – 1.00pm, Plenary Hall
ABC ‘Compass’ Live Recording
Featuring:
Michael Melchior, Chief Rabbi of Norway
and founder of the Citizen’s Accord Forum
between Jews and Arabs in Israel
Dr Suhair Hassan Al-Qurashi, Dean of Dar
Al-Hekma College for women in Jeddah
Rev Tim Costello, CEO World Vision
Australia
Katherine Marshall, Executive Director
World Faiths Development Dialogue and
Advisor to the World Bank
Anthony Padovano, Catholic Theologian
and Professor of Literature and Philosophy,
USA
Melissa Brickell, Australian Aboriginal
Partnerships, MacKillop Family Services
11:30 – 1pm, Room 107
Beyond Beliefs – Muslims and Non-
Muslims Living in Australia
Dr Pamela Ryan
Riots in Sydney in 2005 signalled a deepening
divide between Muslims and non-Muslims in
Australia. The film ‘Beyond Beliefs’ tells the story
of how, in March 2007, some 400 Australians
came together at Old Parliament House in
Canberra for three days to consider how to
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions
build understanding across the divide. This
film suggests how the principles of deliberative
democracy may be used to build reconciliation,
understanding and social cohesion. The film was
directed by Sophie Hyde and Bryan Mason.
11.30 – 2:30pm, Room 110
Global Ethics and Religion Forum Panels:
Post War Reconciliation, Treaties,
Constitutions and International Law
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 204
Faith-Consistent Investing
Program will include Tariq Cheema.
11.30am – 1.00pm, Room 105
Reflections on the Global Financial Crisis
Program will include Mr Simon McKeon
and Jonathan Wenig
4.30 – 6.00pm, Foyer of Room 201
2009 Parliament Book Discussion Series
Daily Featured Speakers:
Jessi Kaur, a frequent speaker at interfaith
conferences, has travelled extensively, sharing the
spiritual values taught by the Sikh Gurus. She
believes that harmony is possible in a diverse
world when barriers of ignorance are brought
down. She is co-founder of the International
Institute of Gurmat Studies and author of ‘Dear
Takuya’, a children’s book promoting acceptance
of diversity among young children. She is also
Fine Arts Commissioner for Cupertino, California.
She has written the book, ‘The Royal Falcon.’
Judge Christopher Gregory Weeramantry
has been a lawyer, legal educator, international
arbitrator and domestic and international judge.
He has been Chairman of the Nauru Commission
of Inquiry, Coordinator of the United Nations
University Project on Technology and Human
Rights, and President of the International
Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms. He
has written over twenty books and 200 articles on
religious, legal and political topics.
Cancelled Programs
2.30 – 4.00pm, 201
Joanne Shenandoah: Healing Through
Music
1.00 – 2:30pm in Room 215
Let’s Shake
2.30-4.00pm Room 202
Is Climate Change the New Slavery
11

Program Updates
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
A Featured Program
11.30am - 1.00pm, Plenary Hall
Islam and the West: Creating an
Accord of Civilisations
Dr Tariq Ramadan, Dr Chandra Muzaffar,
Dr Daniel C Peterson, Chair, Imam
Feisal Abdul Rauf and Canon Alistair
Macdonald-Radcliff
You may also be interested in…
8.00 - 9.00am, Room 202
Convocation of Hindu Spiritual Leaders:
Opening Ceremony
11.30am - 1.00pm, Room 216
The Doctrine of Discovery and Indigenous
Peoples
Schedule Changes
PROGRAM DAY CHANGED TO: Saturday,
December 5, 8.00 – 9.00am, Room 217
Devotional Singing and Meditation for
Inner Peace
Originally scheduled for December 8 at 9.30
– 11.00 am in Room 217
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 220
Development of Indigenous Foundations:
Helping Communities Develop
Foundations for Indigenous Peoples
Originally scheduled for 11.30 – 1.00pm in
Room 215
PROGRAM DAY CHANGED TO: Wednesday,
December 9, 11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 105
Towards a Shared Language of Religious
Training: Interfaith Education for
Religious Leaders
Originally scheduled for Tuesday, 8 December,
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 105
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 218
Taking the Initiative...the Role of Youth
in Global Interfaith Action
Originally scheduled for 4.30 – 6.00pm in
room 216
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 106
The Role of Religion in Mediating Conflict
Originally scheduled for 11.30 – 1.00pm in
Room 212
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 207
Women of Faith Network, Religions for
Peace, Australia and New Zealand
Originally scheduled for 11.30 – 1.00pm in
Room 212
12
PROGRAM DAY CHANGE TO: December 6,
2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 212
Proselytisation and Religious Freedom
Originally scheduled on 8 December at 11:30
– 1.00pm in Room 106
2.30 – 4.00pm, Room 211
Building Cities of Harmony
Originally scheduled for 2.30 – 4.00pm in
Room 215
4.30pm – 6.00pm, Room 105
The Burden and challenge for the next
generation
Originally scheduled for 2.30 - 4.30 in Room
105
4.30 – 6.00pm, Room 209
Cohesion and Unity in the Sikh
Community
Originally scheduled for 9.30 – 11.30 in Room
207
9.00 – 10.30 pm, Room 107
Burma VJ
Originally scheduled for Sunday,
December 6, 9.00pm – 10.30pm, Room
107
New Programs
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 201
Rhythmic Experience for Peace
Kummar Chatterjee
This musical concert is designed to create spiritual
atmosphere, thereby bringing calmness and peace
to the audience, and will include a performance by
a flute or handmade bamboo ‘Bansuri’, ‘Pakhwaj’
ancient Indian drums, keyboard and harmonium,
an ancient Eastern sliding scale keyboard, to
accompany a group of vocal artists. Though
this performance is based on the Eastern Indian
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program Updates
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tradition, it has a combination of Western and
Eastern instruments to keep with the times.
2.15-2.30pm, Foyer
Vajra Lion Dance Performance
Performed by the Hobart Chinese Han
Tantrayana Academy
4.30 – 6.00pm, 106
Message from Thich Nhan Hanh
4.30 – 6.00pm, Room 108
The United Religions Initiative: A Global
Network of Local Interfaith Efforts
Donald Frew, Yoland Trevino and Charles
Gibbs
The United Religions Initiative is the largest
interfaith organisation on Earth. The URI provides
a model for grassroots, self-organizing interfaith
work that has resulted in people in over 70
countries around the world coming together in
over 450 groups, called Cooperation Circles.
Each CC has its own focus and purpose, but
one that is in accord with the inclusive goal of
promoting enduring, daily interfaith cooperation,
ending religiously motivated violence, and
creating cultures of peace, justice, and healing
for the Earth and all living beings. So far, over
one million people have participated in URI
programs. The CC model has become the means
for motivated individuals to take the enthusiasm
generated by events such as the Parliament of
the World’s Religions and turn it into ongoing
interfaith work in their home countries.
Program and
Speaker Updates
4.30 – 6.00pm, Foyer of Room 201
Daily Featured Speaker of the 2009
Parliament Book Discussion Series:
Samir Selmanovic, PhD, is the author of
‘Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim
Atheist Jewish Christian’. He is the founder and
Christian co-leader of Faith House Manhattan,
an interfaith ‘community of communities’ that
brings together forward-looking Christians,
Muslims, Jews, atheists and others who seek to
thrive interdependently. Samir serves on the
Interfaith Relations commission of the US National
Council of Churches and speaks nationally and
internationally. He lives in New York City.
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 216
Securing Food and Water For All People:
The Compassion of a Qur’an Based
Approach
Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid is the founder of
Sound Vision Foundation and executive producer
of the daily Radio Islam show. He served two
terms as the Chairman of the Council of Islamic
Organizations of Greater Chicago and is currently
Vice Chair of the Council for a Parliament of World
Religions. As national coordinator of Bosnia
Task Force, USA, he successfully led efforts in
collaboration with the National Organization of
Women (NOW) to declare rape a war crime.
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 202
Convocation of Hindu Spiritual Leaders
Opening Ceremony
Program will include: Amma Sri Karunamayi,
Penusila Ashram
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 202
Convocation of Hindu Spiritual Leaders
(Part One) 9:30 - 1 pm
Program will include: H H Dadi Janki, Brahma
Kumaris World Spiritual University
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 213
UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples
Program will include: Tonya Gonnella Frichner
(USA: Onondaga)
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 105
Spirituality and the Western World
His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Ta’isi
Efi, Head of State of Independent State of
Samoa
This presentation will be followed by a
presentation on ‘Village Governance: The
Backbone for Economic Development in Samoa’
by Maulolo T Amosa, Assistant CEO, Internal
Division, Samoa.
2.30 - 4.00pm, Room 110
The Responsibility of the Mainstream for
Reconciliation (Part 2)
Program will be moderated by Peter Lewis
Cancelled Programs
8.00 – 9.00, Room 220
Sunrise Yoga
8.00 – 9.00pm, Room 107
Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action
13

Program Updates
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
A Featured Program
8.00 - 9.00am, Room 220
A Qur’anic Moral Imperative:
Building Peace in the Pursuit of
Justice
Dr Tariq Ramadan
You may also be interested in…
9.30 - 11.00am, Room 209
Interpreting the Text: Creationism, Intelligent
Design and Evolution
9.30 - 11.00am, Room 210
The Future of Religion in Australia Melbourne’s
Religious Leaders in Dialogue with
Young People (Seminar 2)
Schedule Changes
PROGRAM DAY CHANGED TO: December 6,
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 104
Contemplative service
Rabbi Or Rose
Originally scheduled for December 9, for 8.00
– 9.00am in Room 216
PROGRAM DAY CHANGED TO: December 6,
8.00 – 9.00am, Room 107
Sikh Observance by Guru Nanak Nishkam
Sewak Jatha
Originally scheduled for December 9 at 8.00
– 9.00am in Room 109
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 104
Courage to Care: Listening to the
Messages of the Holocaust Survivors
Originally scheduled for 9.30 – 11.00am in
room 216
PROGRAM DAY CHANGED TO: December 5,
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 204
Engagement for Justice: Meeting the
Needs of Refugees
Originally scheduled for December 9, 11.30 –
1.00pm in Room 104
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 218
Spiritual Experience for the Development
of Human Potential - A Presentation by
the World SUBUD Association (WSA)
Originally scheduled at 11.30 – 1.00pm in
Room 101
PROGRAM DAY CHANGED TO: December 9,
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 105
Towards a Shared Language of Religious
Training: Interfaith Education for
Religious Leaders
Originally scheduled for Tuesday, December
8, 11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 105
14
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 101
Health and Healing: Healing the Person,
Healing the Family
Originally scheduled for 11.30 – 1.00pm in
Room 111
New Programs
8.00-9.00am, Room 211
Yoga in Daily Life
Mahamandaleswhar Paramhans Swami
Maheshwarananda
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 108
The Crown Jewels of Consciousness:
Three Universal Spiritual Practices
Barbara Condron and other teachers from the
School of Metaphysics
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 201
Closeness to G-d
Miriam Iron, Tvor Ben Dor
Miriam Ahuvatel sings her melodies to King
David’s Psalms, as well as to verses of Rumi’s
mystic poetry. Tavor Ben Dor, musician and
peace activist, accompanies her with an Indian
Sitar. This event will include songs and prayers of
inspiring verses of wisdom, taken from the Jewish,
Christian and Muslim (Sufi) spiritual traditions,
emphasizing the common thread of them all.
Audience participation includes: singing, dancing,
connecting and sharing. This performance is an
opportunity to express faith and love to God and
connect the audience with our spiritual potential
as human beings. That is what is so inspiring
about these two poets, Kind David and Rumi.
They both brought this realization to its fullest
manifestation in their poetry. The music Miriam
shares in this evening crosses boundaries of
religion and faith, and has the potential to open
hearts, and bring people to inner peace and the
willingness to accept the other.
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions

Program Updates
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
New Programs
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 211
Interreligious Regional Concerns: North
America
James DeLange, Matt Weiner, Giana Swaran
Singh and Audrey Kitagawa
How does spirituality--and the interreligious
movement in particular--express itself through
the prism of geography In this series of regional
conversations, panellists hailing from varying
religious traditions but similar areas of the globe
engage and investigate. Explorations will include
the ways in which Islam is misunderstood in
Canada; a new spiritual program being developed
with the New York Police Department; the
struggles of religious communities to become
more socially conscious; the many uses of
religious storytelling; and how to grapple with
a religious tableau that--as moderator James
DeLange suggests--is, in North America, ‘all over
the map’.
Program and
Speaker Updates
9.30 – 11.00am, Room 201
The performance ‘Michael Leuning’ will
be replaced by ‘Speaking in tongues
smorgasbord: A Melbourne Infotainment
Experience’
Father Bob Maguire in conversation with John
Safran, Nazeem Hussein, Susan Carland and
guests, on race relations, the sacredness of the
secular and hot topics with moderator Ahmed
Imam.
9:30 – 11:00, Room 218
Analyse This!: Views of Young
Palestinian, Sudanese and American
Muslim Women on Their Faith and
Evolving Roles
Shaima’a Al-Hajj, Chair, Ndidi Amatullah
Okakpu, Norah Ziad Elmagraby, Maryam
Sharrieff
In this session, four young Muslim women from
very different parts of the world shatter the
stereotype that they are passive participants in
their faith and evolving roles in society. To the
contrary, they are actively engaged in their own
Muslim communities and in the greater world
community.
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 213
The Hazards of Writing About Religion
Program will include Gulab Kothari
11.30 AM – 1.00pm, Room 101
Health and Healing: Healing the Person,
Healing the Family
Program will include: Muriel Bamblett
11:30am - 1:00pm, Room 207
Peace-Building in Mindanao: A Strategy
to Promote Social Cohesion Among
Diverse Communities of Faith in a
Situation of Armed Conflict
Program will include: Margie Moran- Floirendo
11.30 – 1.00pm, Room 218
Spiritual Experience for the Development
of Human Potential - A Presentation by
the World SUBUD Association (WSA)
Osanna Vaughn, Sharif Istvan Horthy, Isni
Astuti Horthy, Simon Xavier Guerrand-
Hermes, Amalia Rasheed, Dr Garrett
Thomson, Dr Patrice Brodeur, Dr Scherto Gill,
Alexandra Asseily and Sharifin Gardiner
Subud encompasses different religions, beliefs,
nationalities and cultures, with a common, yet
individual, spiritual practice known as the latihan.
The name is derived from the words Susila,
Budhi and Dharma, symbolising surrender to
the experience of the divine force within each
person, which can effect inner transformation.
Each may discover their human potential, inner
nature, true talent and unique guidance according
to individual capacity, commitment and sincerity.
The WSA encourages expression of such talent
in daily life, through a variety of social, cultural,
entrepreneurial, and educational activities. For
example, many members consider spirituality in
education fundamental to the flowering and the
unfolding of children. Following inner guidance,
others are active in peace initiatives, community
health projects and development work, focusing
on facilitating and empowering people to develop
responsibility for their own lives. Through its
presentation, the WSA hopes to expand its scope
of cooperation and interaction with like-minded
associations, looking to bring an all-encompassing
spirituality into worldly initiatives and action, for
the benefit of the human community.
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions
15

A Special Thanks
The 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions would like to
thank the following groups for their support:
Benefactor
Ratna NDH Charitable Mumbai - Mr Mehta
Soka Gakkai International
(Nuclear Non-proliferation Symposium Sponsor)
Cultural Infusion
Partner
The Elijah Interfaith Institute
Donor
Australian Multicultural Foundation
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters
Marist Sisters of Australia
Friends
Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart
Catholic Education Office Archdiocese of Melbourne
Faithful Companies of Jesus
Immaculate Conception Parish, Hawthorn, Melbourne
Little Company of Mary
Parish of St John Vianney
Sisters of St Joseph NSW Province
The Passionists – Holy Spirit Province
Infant Jesus Parish, Morley, Perth
Peace Prayer Society
16
PWR – Parliament of the World’s Religions