From 20 to 23 September 2022, the international PHPCI conference will be held in the new Bruges Meeting & Convention Centre. For 4 days, this conference will focus on the dialogue between the scientific world and the general public about the democratization of palliative care and end of life care.
The conference trys to find solutions to the problem of death, suffering and loss being taboos in today’s society: how can compassionate communities, like Compassionate Bruges, help to break this taboo and put severe illnesses, voluntary healthcare, death and loss high on the agenda of policymakers? The BMCC will be the venue for the conference while at the same time, the historical city centre of Bruges will be the setting for several activities around these themes.
“The challenges brought by severe illness, voluntary healthcare, death and loss cannot all be solved in a professional healthcare environment”, says Alderman for Welfare Pieter Marechal. “That is why the Compassionate City network – a network of committed civilians set up in 2020 in collaboration with the end of life care research group ‘Zorg rond het Levenseinde’ from the VUB/UGent – has been working on these themes”.
Professor Luc Deliens of the research group Zorg rond het Levenseinde says: “Compassionate Communities that democratize caring, dying and grieving offer a solution to the pressing need of civilians, companies, associations, communities and their social environment to become more involved again in the process of loss, mourning and caregiving. We are very proud and happy to bring the seventh international PHPCI conference to Bruges. This conference will allow Compassionate Bruges and other Compassionate communities to enter into a dialogue with this international movement.”
The new Bruges Meeting and Convention Centre (BMCC) is located within walking distance from ‘t Zand square, ten minutes from the Bruges railway station, which is an 80-minute train ride from Brussels Airport. Special events, concerts and trade fairs can be organized on the 4,500 m² ground floor, while the upper floors are suited for the organization of meetings and conferences of 10 to 514 participants.
