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Dr Bjørn Nansen appeared on ABC Radio National's Life Matters program on 24th May to discuss the online services that aim to support people in dealing with death. It may sound very biblical, but in the midst of life, we are in death. Still, death can be a difficult topic to broach. Today though, online spaces are providing more comfortable places …

DeathTech member, Dr Hannah Gould, spoke with the Radio National Life Matters team about the changing nature of funerals in Australia, and what happens when conflicts emerge between the wishes of the deceased and the bereaved. The program features a number of wonderful stories from members of the public calling in, who describe how they are "doing death differently" …

Join DeathTech's Sam Holleran and representatives from the deathcare industry for an online discussion of the ways in which sustainability can be embedded in cemeteries of the future. Date: Monday 28 Feb Time: 6.00pm AEDT Where: Zoom (link on registration) Registration: Free Presenters: James Reid – Greater Metropolitan Cemetery Trust (panel facilitator)Samuel Holleran – Researcher, University of Melbourne DeathTechAlli Coster – Design Lead, Future Built Environment, …

Catherine Bell spoke with Sarah Hall of the Faculty of Arts about her work for the Art, Death & Disposal exhibition (curated by DeathTech), her visions for the future of death and body disposal, and the role that art can play in imagining that future. "I see death as a social process - one that is materialised through the act of …

Death is a phenomenon like no other. It touches all dimensions of human experience, as a biological process and as an event of profound cultural, spiritual, economic, legal, and social significance. Despite this, we lack a comprehensive system for dealing with death that respects people’s wishes and dignity, that is sustainable from both environmental and financial perspectives, and that responds to …

How might disposal of the deceased be designed in the 21st century? Imagining beyond burial and cremation – in a world of rapid social, technological and environmental change – seven artists respond to this question, presenting moving and provocative new work. Catherine Bell https://suttongallery.com.au/artists/catherine-bell/Chantelle Mitchell and Jaxon Waterhouse https://ecologicalgyretheory.com/Eric Jong https://www.ericjong.com.au/Farnaz Dadfar https://farnazdadfar.com/Georgia Banks https://www.georgiabanks.info/Laura Woodward https://www.laurawoodward.com.au/ In collaboration with DeathTech Research Team, …

The DeathTech Research Team is pleased to present the results of the Future Cemetery Survey 2021. Based on a nationally representative sample taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, this research provides a snapshot of Australians’ experiences with and attitudes towards funerals, cemeteries and technologies for the treatment and commemoration of the dead. Findings Cremation is by far the most popular choice for what …

Professor Michael Arnold spoke to Tamsin Rose of Triple J's Hack to discuss what's changing in the way we treat human remains: If you take the view that every step that can be taken should be taken, then one might say we should be looking for methods of disposition which are much more environmentally friendly. The full story is available on the …

Questions of what or who is critical to managing the COVID-19 pandemic have been at the heart of media discussion, public recognition and government policy on a global scale. Such concerns – of what constitutes critical workers, material resources, public services and community responses – are being addressed and prioritised at local and national levels in different ways, even as …

The report, "An Essential Service" examines on the experiences of Australian deathcare workers during COVID-19.

In this public seminar for the University of Melbourne School of Computing & Information Systems, Dr Fraser Allison presented several studies from The Future Cemetery project. He introduced the major challenges that cemeteries face in the 21st century, described notable examples and a typology of digital cemetery technologies from around the world, and summarised what we have found about public attitudes …

DeathTech team member Samuel Holleran spoke to Maeve McGregor about how a new cemetery at Harkness, Melbourne's largest new cemetery development in a century, could double as a recreational site: There’s a growing recognition that what cemeteries can deliver best are things that planners are often looking for elsewhere: walk-ability and urban green space. Read the full story here.

DeathTech Team member Dr Hannah Gould recently talked to ABC News Sunday Extra about the problem of capacity facing Australia's cemeteries today and in to the future, and how we might solve it by adopting the international practice of reusing graves. Read the full story here.

Samuel Holleran spoke to Conor Burke about how images of mass burial and cremation around the world became symbolic of the losses suffered during Covid-19: loss of life, loss of individuality and loss of ritual normally associated with a 'good death'. Broadcast on Sydney's Eastside Radio 89.7 FM on Sunday 30th May. Listen here.