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Twelve months after the staging of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, nearly 200 people came together at St Kilda Town Hall on Sunday afternoon November 14th to remember the Parliament, find out what has happened since, and make commitments for the future.

The Anniversary event, “A world of difference … just around the corner” was organised by the Faith Communities Council of Victoria, which is committed to maintaining and further developing the relationships and energy generated by the Parliament.  It brought together not only former Parliament Board members, staff, volunteers, presenters and participants, but also people who had been unable to attend the Parliament itself and wanted to take this final opportunity to be part of the experience.

In a moving opening ceremony, 16 people who had been involved with the Parliament each came forward to earnestly describe their strongest memories of the experience before lighting a candle representing hope for the future.  Many spoke of the atmosphere of warmth and acceptance that surrounded last year’s event, and of the relationships they had established with people from many parts of the world from different faith traditions. 

Several local interfaith initiatives which had emerged at least partly as a result of the Parliament were highlighted through presentations.  They included the Wyndham Interfaith Network, the Hindu Community Council of Victoria, the youth-run interfaith service group Interaction, the Cities of Harmony project and the Longest Letter of Good Wishes and Support to those affected by the floods in Pakistan.

A panel of three invited guest speakers revisited several of the major themes of the Parliament. They were Dr Melanie Landau from the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation (women as leaders and peace-building), Captain Jason Davies-Kildea from the Salvation Army (poverty) and Jeneefar Makbool from Mercy Mission (environment). 

As the anniversary event approached its finale, the focus turned towards the future.  After watching a short DVD about Karen Armstrong’s Charter for Compassion, Interaction Chair (and Buddhist monk) Freeman Trebilcock asked participants to reflect silently before making a personal commitment for future action. 

Performers included Baha’I dance group “Another Dance Workshop”, St Romanos the Melodist Antiochean Combined Orthodox Church Choir, flautist Max Ketels and singer Kavisha Mazella.

The Faith Communities Council of Victoria is analysing the feedback and evaluations from this important event, as well as the commitments made by participants, to assist it in planning future activities.