Leaders from Melbourne's Hindu, Islamic, Roman Catholic and Buddhist communities recently joined GMCT for a panel discussion on how the cemetery sector can meet the needs of our increasingly diverse communities.
As part of GMCT’s annual meeting, each community leader gave a presentation on the end of life practices of their faith, followed by a question-and-answer session facilitated by former journalist Leigh Funston. Members of the 70-strong audience, which included industry stakeholders, trust members, community representatives and staff, also had the opportunity to pose questions of their own to our panellists.
Panellists pose with GMCT chair Geoff Mabbett (second from left), GMCT CEO Jacqui Weatherill (second from right) and facilitator Leigh Funston (far right)
The event was professionally filmed and will feature on the GMCT website and Facebook page early in 2017.
The conversation included an exploration of:
- The role of women in funeral practices
- The intersection of cultural traditions with sustainable end of life practices such as natural burials.
- How cultural traditions have been transformed in an Australian context.
Our speakers also shared some interesting insights about end of life practices in their communities:
Buddhism
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Venerable Phuoc Tan
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Islam
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Mohammed Mohideen
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Hinduism
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Makarand Bhagwat
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Roman Catholicism
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Father Vito Pergolo
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Visit GMCT's Facebook page for more photos from the event.
GMCT chair Geoff Mabbett
Panellists were greeted by members of the public and representatives of other cultural and religious groups in attendance
Mohammed Mohideen, Father Vito Pergolo and Venerable Phuoc Tan
GMCT CEO Jacqui Weatherill led the annual meeting and also participated in the panel discussion