Dying Matters Week 2024
New Zealand’s inaugural Dying Matters Week 2024 took place from Monday 5th to Sunday 11th August at local libraries & community spaces around New Zealand.
The programme included resources and information from local businesses,curated collections of books on grief and dying, and free workshops and presentations from experts in end-of-life and death-care.
The event brought together experts from across Aotearoa for presentations, workshops and talks to support people to start conversations about death and dying. There were over 40 in-person events and 4 online events across 7 regions; in Whangārei, Whangaparāoa, Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago.
Presentations
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 end-of-life planning.
Book Displays A curated collection of books for adults and children, about end-of-life, health journeys and grief.
Workshops Workshops on Advanced Care Planning, Go With Grace End-of-Life Planning, memory box making, shrouding and aromatherapy in palliative care.
Local Resources Death care resources from local businesses, community organisations, aged care organisations, wellness providers and palliative care providers.
Departure Lounge
A comfy space inside the library to connect with others, start conversations, talk to a grief counsellor or explore resources such as conversation cards and My Legacy story sheets.
Storytelling Experiences with death and dying expressed through poems and stories shared from the local community.
Death Cafe
Local Death Cafe groups met for cake, coffee and conversations about death.
Community
An invitation went out to the wider community to hold an open day, event or info evening of their own during Dying Matters Week.
2024 Event Photos
Click on the photos below to see a larger version of each image.
Supported by a Community of Experts
We were so fortunate in creating this first Dying Matters Week to have a community of experts across the country, passionate about promoting death literacy and supporting people to begin what, for many, can be very challenging conversations.
Huge thanks go to to the National Libraries Association for creating safe and supportive spaces for these crucial conversations and to End of Life Doula Alliance Aotearoa, Henderson Reeves Lawyers, Honohono Tātou Katoa and Hospices around New Zealand who helped to help bring this important new national event to life.
Attendee Feedback
“What an excellent week Dying Matters was. I so appreciated that we were in the library talking about death, dying, grief and loss. I love that all the library-goers who weren’t directly involved got to see the signs, and that ripples of conversation would have spread much further than those participating in the event. I really enjoyed the sessions I went to as a participant, and wish I could have gone to more. Thanks so much to the Go with Grace team for making it happen!” – Tanya Newman, North Haven Hospice
“So happy to know that my family and I can be among those not embalmed, but treasured at home until burial.”
“Brilliant, could have listened for a lot longer. Next year I’ll have to take days off as I would have loved to have been at all of the chats. THANK YOU FOR YOUR MAHI.”
“I feel reassured by hearing this information and more prepared to face my mothers and husbands approaching deaths”
“I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend this week. “Forewarned is forearmed”. Hopefully I won’t need help but at least I know”
“I feel comforted, knowing I can help my whanau and leave them in a better place than where I was when my parents died.”
2024 Events around the country
