Funeral practices are becoming more diverse and evolving; they now follow eco-friendly trends, favouring simplicity and a certain ideal of ‘returning to nature’. With this in mind, cemeteries and other funeral venues are adapting and even innovating to meet these expectations or stay ahead of them.

This round-table discussion examines these changes through the lens of initiatives developed in Switzerland and France, and in connection with interdisciplinary research funded by the national research programme ‘Culture du bâti’.

Speakers:

• Amanda Clot, Head of the Funeral Services Department for the City of Niort (France)
• Natacha Guillaumont, Lecturer, Terre-Nature-Paysage Institute, Geneva University of Applied Sciences (HEPIA | HES-SO)
• Anne Humbert-Droz, Head of Department, Funeral Services, Cemeteries and Crematorium Department, Department of Social Cohesion and Solidarity, Geneva
• Vincent Varlet, Professor, Head of the Swiss Human Institute of Forensic Taphonomy (SHIFT), University Centre for Forensic Medicine, University of Lausanne

Moderator:
Marc-Antoine Berthod, Professor, Lausanne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HETSL | HES-SO).