Grief Literacy Symposium

Grief Literacy Symposium and Yazidi Photovoice Exhibit

The at King's University College is inviting you to join us for a day filled with insightful discussions and powerful visual storytelling about grief, loss, and resiliency.

This day-long public symposium will bring together a keynote speaker, Dr. Lauren Breen, who helped develop the concept of grief literacy, and 15 presenters who will share current research, lived experience, and best practices on the themes of grief, loss, and resiliency. The Symposium will be organized as a series of moderated roundtables that promote the active exchange of knowledge among an interdisciplinary group of scholars, practitioners, students, and community members. Participants will engage in a public dialogue about youth-led grief activism, grief and loss among emerging adults, and loss, grief, and resiliency on our campus and in the community. Through these discussions, we will collectively explore ways to build more compassionate communities (Breen et al., 2022) that are responsive to grief in its many forms.

The one-day Symposium will be concluded with a public Photovoice Exhibit and the sharing of findings of a participatory arts-based research project conducted with Yazidi women in London, Ontario. The Photovoice Exhibit will highlight many of the core themes discussed throughout the day’s activities and will enrich the public’s understanding of the unique forms of loss experienced by refugees and displaced persons as well as the strength and resiliency Yazidis draw upon as they re-make their lives in Canada.

The event will be hosted in the Darryl J. King Student Life Centre, King's University College.

• 8:45 AM - 4 PM: The Grief Literacy Symposium
  Joanne and Peter Kenny Theatre, the Student Life Centre (SLC), King's University College
  
• 4 PM - 6 PM: Yazidi Photovoice Exhibit
  Spriet Learning Common in the SLC, King's University College
  

Please check the section below to find more information about the event agenda!

This event is supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, King's University College, the Thanatology Department at King's, and the South London Neighbourhood Resource Centre.

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The Loss Lab is a scholarly interdisciplinary research hub dedicated to critical analyses of the myriad effects of loss throughout the life span. The fundamental goal of the Loss Lab is the pursuit of greater death literacy and grief literacy. As Thanatology is a recent field of study within academia, there is a highly relevant need for well-grounded research as well as integration of theory and praxis for those working in such professions as nursing, palliative care, first responders, policing, education, health and wellness professionals, and funeral care providers.

Please visit for more information.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Kenny Theatre, 266 Epworth Avenue, London, Canada