The Parliament is in full swing in Australia and our team is very busy. Keep an eye on the Tweets tat are posted as this is the main channel for news from Melbourne.

Meanwhile this notice was published in a Melbourne paper on the 2nd and give you some idea of the scope of events.

After years of preparation, the largest and most diverse multifaith gathering of religious and spiritual communities in the world begins today in Melbourne.

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre will host the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions, an event featuring more than 1300 world-class speakers and breathtaking performers from Australia and around the world.

Melbourne’s Parliament has drawn together more than 650 programs under the theme Make a World of Difference: Hearing each other, Healing the earth.

Each morning, we will send a daily media update (attached) with highlights for each of the six days. Today’s highlight is below:

Opening Plenary
7:30--9:00pm
Plenary Hall

The world’s diverse religious and spiritual traditions will be honoured in the performances, addresses and blessings. The huge array of performers and speakers will urge people and communities of faith, spirit and goodwill to “Make a World of Difference” in the midst of the pressing challenges facing the global community.

Nine blessings will signify the beginning of event-- Zoroastrian, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Bahai.

Performers and speakers include:

• Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra
• Melbourne University Choral Society and Melbourne Percussion Ensemble
• A range of Aboriginal performers including Western Creation
• Professor Joy Murphy Wandin, AO
• Dr. Sakena Yacoobi
• Dr Haruhisa Handa
• Rabbi David Saperstein
• His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar