The creators of Tanatopèdia explain the keys to the first 'wiki' on funeral topics

Valencia, June 10, 2011.

The Funermostra, the International Fair of Funeral Products and Services in Valencia, hosted today the conference “Tanatopedia,” focusing on the first collaborative online encyclopedia dedicated to the funeral world and grief support, launched on November 1st. This pioneering project, driven by Serveis Funeraris Integrals (SFI), aims to share aspects related to funeral processes and services with all users. The conference, led by Fidel Martínez, SFI's family advisor, and Joan Ventura, Director of Cemeteries at SFI, discussed the features and evolution of this new portal in its early months of operation.

Tanatopedia, available at www.tanatopedia.net, functions as a wiki-style encyclopedia with a simple and agile structure. It is open to the entire community and serves as a useful, comprehensive, and reliable tool for all types of users. “Just like other businesses, funeral services also need to adapt to the 2.0 environment. Therefore, we found it essential to support the creation of this funeral Wikipedia. With Tanatopedia, we can transmit and share the knowledge and funeral culture we witness,” comments Joan Ventura, Director of Cemeteries at SFI.

Since its launch, Tanatopedia has made progress on all levels. It currently has over 200 entries, approximately 1,300 unique users, and more than 1,600 monthly visits. Users who wish to contribute can create articles on the site after registering.

The idea for Tanatopedia originated from SFI’s annual new ideas contest for its employees. The project was a finalist in the 2009 edition, which allowed its creator, Fidel Martínez – who works as a family services advisor at SFI – to see his idea come to fruition a year later. "Tanatopedia aims to break taboos about death, as it is open to everyone and anyone can participate and contribute to funeral culture. A virtual space was needed to encompass and share information related to this world in a neutral and respectful manner, which did not exist until now," says Martínez.

On www.tanatopedia.net, users can find concepts and terminology related to death – such as thanatopraxis, burial, or interment – as well as obituaries, curiosities, psychological aspects or support during bereavement – stages of grief and how to overcome it – and funeral rituals from Spain and other cultures.

The tool also enables all professionals in the sector to share useful data with users, such as a directory of funeral facilities by region and necessary services and procedures after a death. Using standard Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia) software, it is easy to edit, and registration with a valid email address is required to participate.