Dying to Know Day in 2024 called on Australians to engage with community support when planning for end of life. The Palin Communications team worked with Proveda, Northern Sydney’s largest community care provider and the organisation behind Dying to Know Day, to bring this campaign to life. We built on our work from previous years to continue the national conversation around death, dying, and end of life planning via earned media outreach and strategic social content.
Part of the campaign this year included highlighting a brand-new internship initiative from Proveda. Four Sydney based university students embarked on a journey that aimed to help young Australians improve their death literacy by planning and hosting a ‘Death Cafe’ in Sydney.
A ‘Death Cafe’ is a group conversation that fosters an open, respectful and confidential space where young adults can express their thoughts around life and death. Through researching attitudes held by young people in relation to death and end-of-life planning, the students were also able to effectively develop communications tools to expand death literacy in young adults.
“While most Australians recognise the importance of planning for end-of-life, many individuals and communities still face barriers when it comes to understanding what this means, taking action or starting a conversation around death and dying,” says Jessie Williams, Community Programs Manager at Proveda.
“Building communities that can foster these types of conversation is a critical step in ensuring all Australians have access to the tools and environment they need to plan for end of life. This will help individuals feel supported in talking about their personal wishes for their own final arrangements, and can help break down the misconception that end of life planning is something to be done alone,” added Williams
The campaign generated 127 media stories (over 9.6 million opportunities to see key messages) in broadcast, radio, online and print publications across Australia.
Visit www.dyingtoknowday.com to learn more.