The 2009 Parliament’s program featured seven evening plenary sessions. Each plenary celebrated the key subthemes of the Parliament and included and International Plenary, Sacred Music Concert, Youth Plenary, Communities Night, Melbourne Plenary, and an Opening and Closing Plenary.

Intrareligious sessions were held during the Parliament to give religious and spiritual communities the opportunity to express their values, vibrancy and commitments, especially the teachings of each tradition about how to relate to people of other spiritual backgrounds. Many of the sessions included combined panels that gave voice to multiple perspectives within each religious tradition and from diverse geographic locations.

The Parliament’s engagement sessions featured a wide variety of programs focusing on:

• Building capacity for religious and spiritual people, communities and organizations to collaborate with guiding institutions in service to a peaceful, just and sustainable future;
• Successful programs and best practice that address critical issues around the world; and
• Creative approaches and tools for dialogue and collaboration.

Young people designed and hosted daily sessions, programming, workshops and diverse service projects, such as the highly successful “Coffee House,” an after-hours lounge and entertainment area, especially created to encourage strangers to become friends, informal chats with VIP guests, and more interfaith discussion.

Films provided a vivid medium through which stories were told and new perspectives and understanding were nurtured. Developed in collaboration with the Hartley Film Foundation and Auburn Media, the richly diverse presentation of films included the best of current documentaries on the world’s religious and spiritual traditions, such as Academy Award Nominee “Burma VJ,” which tells the story of a 27-year-old video journalist leading a group of reporters when Burmese monks lead a massive, peaceful uprising against the regime, as well as “The Dhamma Brothers,” a moving story of meditation and transformation in an overcrowded maximum-security prison.

Diverse performances intertwined with plenary sessions, discussions, conversations and forums. Participants experienced traditional Aboriginal and Indigenous dance and songs, the poetry of Rumi and other mystical poets, religious and spiritual comedy, African drumming, chanting from diverse traditions, fine art exhibitions, and major artistic performances. World-class musicians, vocalists and dancers performed in Melbourne, including the Agape International Choir, the Naqshbandi Sufi Order of Australia and the Gyuto Monks of Tibet.