"Hospiss LV aims to create a meaningful, practical and human conversation about how fear affects decisions, communication and quality of care, and what we can do to prevent it from becoming a barrier to dignified care and self-determination. Because the reality is that fear is still present in everyone facing serious illness and the inevitable end of life. Patient, relative, doctor - everyone is affected by fear, but everyone experiences this emotion differently. What is the patient most afraid of? What scares the relatives who care for the dying the most? And what about the medical profession - do doctors and carers also tend to be afraid when faced with death every day?
"This year's forum will look fear in the eye, seek answers to these questions and talk about how fear affects hospice care and people's actions, how to live with it and overcome it - or what happens if we give in to fear. The aim is to find ways to reduce the barriers caused by fear so that everyone affected by a terminal illness can get the support they need and leave life with dignity," explains Ilze Zosule, member of the board of Hospiss LV.
The Forum will be moderated by TV3 journalist and RSU lecturer Edijs Bošs, who, together with Ilse Zosulis, will open the Forum by introducing the participants during the day. Dāvis Sīmanis, director and rector of the Latvian Academy of Culture, who has also dealt with the theme of mortality in his latest film "Frankenstein 2.0", will give a lecture on "Fear as a condition for the search for longevity". Rinalds Gulbis, a religious researcher, pastor and member of the European Association for the Study of Death and Society, will present his view on how the modern world has marginalised death and pushed it out of everyday conversations, while on the other hand it has made death part of the cult of eternal youth.
Līga Keiša-Ķirse, a palliative care physician, will talk about the inner struggle between courage and fear, while Ilze Veģe will share a personal story, revealing the experience of a patient's loved one.
A special highlight of this year's Forum is the participation of Sheldon Solomon, a world-renowned expert and experimental social psychologist at Skidmore College (New York). His presentation "The Role of Death in Life" is made possible thanks to the cooperation with the Ilze Aizsilniece Foundation for Healing. Professor Solomon will present unique and up-to-date psychological research data from 2025 and 2026, which scientifically supports that the fear of death is fundamentally different from the fear we experience in everyday life and has completely different neural pathways in the human brain.
Žanete Jansone, board member of the social enterprise Hospiss Māja, will analyse the fear of the first meeting, while Ernests Pūliņš-Cinis, a psychotherapist, will help to understand fear as a necessary, if often unpleasant, friend. Expert presentations and panel discussions will help to understand the different facets of fear and find solutions to ensure respectful care until the last moment, despite the emotional challenges.
"The Hospiss LV team invites everyone to join the live broadcast on the Hospiss LV YouTube and Facebook channels, as well as on the Tvnet.lv portal, to break stigmas and fears together, to learn to talk more safely and openly about death and to strengthen support for hospice care in Latvia. Let's meet at the Forum to find answers and inspiration for a humane, dignified end-of-life experience!
The Forum is supported by volunteers, supporters and the Society Integration Foundation.
