The 1st International Congress of Funeral Directors organized by Funergal will be the only professional meeting point for the sector in 2020

 >> It is celebrated on September 24 and 25 and can be followed in person from Expourense or online from anywhere in the world

>> It will have the participation of 20 experts from Europe and America and will address the challenges of managing funeral services in times of pandemic

On September 24 and 25, Funergal organizes the 1st International Congress of Funeral Directors, a hybrid event that will serve as the only meeting point for the funeral sector in 2020, after the postponement of the celebration of the International Funeral Products and Services Fair. The current health situation caused by the outbreaks of COVID-19 in Spain led Fundación Expourense, the organizing entity of Funergal, to finally postpone the celebration of the exhibition event until May 2022 and to replace the fair with this Congress.

The 1st International Congress of Funeral Directors will have the participation of 20 speakers from 4 countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy and Mexico) and will analyze the challenges in the management of funeral services in times of pandemic. It can be followed in person from the Expourense facilities or virtually from anywhere in the world. To guarantee the correct monitoring of the online Congress, Expourense has a high-quality broadcast platform with a bilingual version (Spanish and English).

Congress program

How could it be otherwise, COVID-19 will be one of the main threads of this congress that will also address other issues such as new technologies or the efficient management of environmental resources. Related to the pandemic, a round table will be analyzed in which it will be analyzed how it has affected this essential sector for society and will involve representatives of the main associations of funeral professionals at the Galician level, the rest of Spain and Portugal. This panel will be complemented by the conference of the former president of the European Federation of Funeral Services (EFFS), the Italian Daniele Fogli, and with a presentation on how to exercise thanatopraxia in times of COVID-19. For its part, a representative of the Galician Government Department of Health will present prevention measures against the virus in the area of ​​mortuary health in Galicia.

This congress will address presentations in which technology and innovation in funeral communication or marketing or in sales will be the protagonists but there will also be a space to look back and talk about ancestral funeral rites or the enhancement of the heritage and historical cemeteries.

This event will have a space dedicated to the presentations of innovative products from companies such as CIDAF, which will address the new challenges in funeral home distribution; from Vivo Recuerdo that will propose “how to transform your funeral home technologically without dying in the attempt”; of INFUNER who will talk about innovations in the presentation of the deceased and will also present the website www.jamaste-lex.europa.eu

The closing conference of this congress will be given by the expert in executive communication. Enrique Sueiro, who will give professionals in the sector three keys to be a better manager based on “more compass and less chronometer.”

This Congress has the support of the Provincial Council of Ourense and Galicia Tourism, since complementary activities include visits to Ribadavia, the historic center of Ourense and the Ribeira Sacra. It also has the collaboration of important companies such as PARCESA, Vivo Recuerdo, IDETER or INFUNER and the main professional associations of the sector at the regional, state and peninsular level (PANASEF, AFCM, ALPAR, FEGASERFU, AGESEF, APEFO, APPSF and ANEL). Both the full program and the entries can be found at www.funergal.com.