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From March to November 2021, DeathTech hosted a seminar series called Death Futures for the Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT). All five seminars are now available to watch on the GMCT website. The seminars covered topics including sustainable alternatives to burial and cremation, the role of cemeteries as recreational public spaces, the use of digital technology in the cemetery sector, and high-tech …

Dr Fraser Allison spoke to ABC Radio National's Life Matters program about the proliferation of digital technology at cemeteries. The episode covered augmented reality tours, in-coffin audio systems and digitally enhanced gravestones. Listen to the segment on the Radio National website or on the Life Matters podcast for 14 December 2022).

In this webinar hosted by the International Collaborative for Best Care for the Dying Person, Dr Bjorn Nansen and Amara Nwosu discussed the practicalities of death and dying in an increasingly digital world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96uMDdLphQU

DeathTech's Dr Fraser Allison joined filmmaker/artist Daz Chandler and design researcher Dr Niels Wouters at ACMI X to talk about voice technology. The wide-ranging conversation included a discussion of the long history of attempts to use new technologies to listen and speak to the dead. Watch a recording of this conversation. Event description: What happens when your voice is uploaded to the internet? …

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 …