Life Café
A space to uncover and share what is meaningful in life and in care.
“This is exactly where we learn, from each other, so for me, this is the ideal thing for carers”
“This has made an incredible difference to me today to share these things and listen to you all”
“It’s been wonderful to communicate with people on this level, and think about the moments that are not very far for some of us... what would we like when we’re in that position”
About
In the Life Café Kit you will find resources and activities that promote and support conversations about what people find meaningful in life and in care.
The Life Café was developed by Claire Craig, Helen Fisher and Paul Chamberlain at Sheffield Hallam University’s Lab4Living as part of a larger research project funded by the Marie Curie ‘Design to Care Programme’.
In 2017, Marie Curie commissioned an ambitious programme of research to inform the development of new models of palliative and end of life care. Lab4Living focused on understanding the experiences of community living individuals. A key finding of the research was that people generally did not have the opportunity to talk about what was important to them and how they gave and received care. What also became apparent was that the conversations about end of life were really more about living: about values, meanings, motivations and elements that the individuals saw as a priority.
Hundreds of people have participated in Life Café’s to date, using this resource to engage in interesting and significant conversations. All of the resources you find within the Life Café Kit have been created in partnership with individuals living in the community and each element is underpinned by a clear rationale. The Life Café forms a stand-alone activity, but it can be used in many different environments (such as hospitals, care homes, hospices, schools and community groups) and link to other national initiatives (such as Compassionate Communities). Our hope is that in sharing the Life Café that others will have the opportunity to engage in similar life-transforming conversations.
Special thanks to Marie Curie, Sheffcare, Design Futures Packaging and all of our Life Café facilitators and participants that have enabled this resource to be what it is today.
