Welcome to Dying Matters Week Aotearoa.
This national event supports people in New Zealand to start conversations, learn from experts, and feel empowered to get their affairs in order to create peace of mind for themselves and their loved ones.
Dying Matters Week 2024 took place from Monday 5th to Sunday 11th August at local libraries around New Zealand. The programme included resources and information from local businesses, curated collections of books on grief and dying, Death Cafes and panel discussions, free workshops and presentations from experts in end-of-life and death-care.
This new event would not be possible without sponsorship and the hard work and dedication of end-of-life-doulas, Death Cafe facilitators, Hospice staff, Honohono Tātou Katoa and others around Aotearoa.
Meet our Dying Matters Week champions | Sponsorship Opportunities
Join us for Dying Matters Week 2025
Hands-on Workshops
Take part in practical workshops on Advanced Care Planning, Go With Grace End-of-Life Planning, memory box making, coffin-making, navigating grief, art therapy and more.
Art & Theatre
Attend shows, exhibitions, comedy and films exploring end-of-life, death and grief.
Local Resources
Discover death care resources from local businesses and organisations, for example, community organisations, aged care organisations, wellness providers and palliative care providers.
Poetry & Storytelling
Read about others’ experiences with death and dying through poems and stories shared from the local community. Take part in shared reading events and story writing workshops.
Educational Talks & Presentations
Attend free talks from experts on topics including: natural death care, what happens to the body near end-of-life, caring for carers, grief in the workplace, volunteering at Hospice, wills and getting your affairs in order.
Conversation Spaces
Connect with others and start important conversations in your library’s ‘Departure Lounge’, at your local Death Cafe or at a ‘death over dinner’ event.
Online Events
Join from anywhere in New Zealand for new perspectives on grief, death in different cultures, the end-of-life journey and more.
Book Displays
Browse books for adults and children, about end-of-life, health journeys and grief in local libraries and bookstores.
In the Media
For a first time event, we had some incredible online engagement with over 12,000 new visitors to the Go With Grace website and 100,000 views on our Facebook page where events were hosted. National organisations such as The Grief Centre, Honohono Tātou Katoa, Grownups Lifestyle Website and Hospice NZ actively shared events on their online channels supporting us to reach more people.
Get involved in 2025!
If you are able to support, organise or promote Dying Matters Week in your region, if you’re keen to present an in-person or online event or to keep up to date about Dying Matters Week events in your area, please register your interest online.
I felt reassured by hearing this information and more prepared to face my mothers and husbands approaching deaths.
Thank you so much for all of the workshops and making space for people to learn. I wish I could have attended all of them. Love the mahi you are doing.
Poetry & Storytelling
We were truly moved by the beautiful poems we received as part of Dying Matters Week 2024. A heartful thank you to everyone who contributed your words. It has been an honour to read your stories, and we’re excited to share them now through our resources section.
Recordings & Presentations
View copies of visual presentations and video recordings made at events and workshops during Dying Matters Week or visit the Go With Grace YouTube channel…
