About Dying Matters Awareness Week
Dying Matters Awareness Week running from 10 – 16 May 2021, is a chance for charities, organisations and individuals to come together and open up the conversation around death, dying and bereavement.
Right or Wrong place to die
More and more people have been dying at home in recent years. COVID-19 has seen this number surge upwards even further, with more than 1,000 extra people dying at home each week. We know very little about these people’s experiences at the end of their lives, nor for those close to them. There is no right or wrong place to die; it will be different for everyone. But the pandemic has proven that it is more important than ever for families to think about it, talk about it and to plan for it
Events we are participating in
The Digital Legacy Association will be participating in a number of events and happenings over the course of the week. We have also updated out awareness leaflet ahead of this year’s awareness week. All of our material is free to download, print and use.
Events and happenings featuring the Digital Legacy Association
- Monday 9am: A tutorial helping people plan for death in today’s digital world will be published on Michael Sobell Hospice & Harlington Hospice’s websites.
- Wednesday 11am – 1pm: We will be training health and social care professionals for Newham Council
- Wednesday 3:30pm-4pm : We will be providing insights as part of the ‘What Matters To YOU At The End?’ conference (day 1) organised by Cornwall Hospice Care (free tickets)
- Wednesday 6pm – 7pm: We help will teach Newham residents about the importance of making plans for our online lives
- Friday 9am : A video titled ‘Making plans for your digital life’ with Stephanie Owens (Dying Matters & Hospice UK), James Norris (Digital Legacy Association & MyWishes) and Gary Rycroft (Law Society) will be released by Dying Matters
- Friday 12:30pm-3:30pm: We will run a workshop helping professionals provide support to patients and families with their digital assets and digital legacy – Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust.
Resources
Dying Matters have released a range of resources for organisations and individuals wanting to mark the annual awareness week. To view and download Dying Matters Resource pack click here
Planning for death digitally
On Friday the theme of the day will be ‘Planning for death digitally’. Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of our digital lives. It has also sped up the normalisation of digital legacy safeguarding. Other areas such as virtual funerals, saying goodbye to loved ones online and virtual memorials have all become extremely important for the dying and the bereaved.
Planning for death digitally – guides and support
Below are a number of resources that can be downloaded and used by hospitals, hospices, care homes, charities and those working within the private sector.
All of the resources shown above and detailed below can be downloaded, printed and used for free. Our mission is to educate, empower and inform both professionals and the general public. You do not need to inform us if you use the resources however photos and feedback is always welcomed.
Awareness Leaflets
- Digital Legacy Association – Sorting Out Your Digital Assets and Digital Legacy Leaflet (Dying Matters Awareness Week 2021 version)
- Sorting Out Your Digital Assets and Digital Legacy Leaflet
- (normal version for hospices & hospitals)
- Digital Legacy Association – Sorting Out Your Digital Assets and Digital Legacy (GIANT FONT)
- Sorting Out Your Digital Assets and Digital Legacy (FRENCH)
Awareness Posters
- Digital Legacy Association Poster – Dying Matters Awareness Week version
- Digital Legacy Association Poster (normal version)
- Digital Legacy Association Poster – (Byw Nawr / Dying Matters in Wales) version
Dying Matters Resources
- Dying Matters – Digital Legacy Factsheet
- Dying Matters & The National Association of Funeral Directors – My Funeral Wishes
Other Digital Legacy Association Resources
- Digital End of life planning tutorials (for the general public and professionals)
- Social Media Will (Excel template for the general public to download and use)
- The Digital Assets and Digital Legacy Framework for healthcare and social care professionals
- The Digital Legacy Conference 2021 will stream live from Michael Sobell Hospice as part of EAPC 2021. To learn more visit: www.DigitalLegacyConference.com
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