R.F.: What is the most important challenge facing FIAT-IFTA in the coming months? 

M.C.: I think that during the coming year of 2024, the most important task facing the organization will be to update the Constitution and Bylaws to be more in line with the current times and the changes that have taken place in the organization and the funeral industry over the decades.

R.F.: Why is important a federation like FIAT-IFTA?

M.C.: Being a member of FIAT-IFTA is first and foremost an opportunity to present yourself on the international market, to establish business relations more easily. Being a member of FIAT-IFTA means trust and prestige. Talking among FIAT-IFTA members is a chance for inspiration in solving local challenges related to service standardization, for example. It's also access to an international training and education program. However, the overriding valueis relationships - it's where everything starts and everything is built on. This is why it is so important to actively participate in FIAT-IFTA meetings, to take care of your visibility through promotional activities, even as simple as keeping your business card, which every member has on our website www.thanos.org, up to date.

R.F.: What do you think are the most important milestones that the entity has achieved since its inception?

M.C.: In the history of the organisation as a whole, a milestones was the granting of FIAT-IFTA, as the only funeral organisation, NGO status at UNESCO and at the United Nations ECOSOC. FIAT-IFTA proudly boasts the titles of NGO Special Consultative Status with UN-ECOSOC and International NGO Consultative Status UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. On the other hand, I think it won't be much of an overstatement to say that each new president's term in office on a two-year cycle marks milestones. Each professional taking on this role views the industry through the prism of his or her experiences and the culture of the country he or she represents. Recognises different values and needs. This is why an organisation can develop in such a multifaceted way, and why each presidential term is different and important in the history of the entire organisation.

R.F.: What role do Spanish associates play within the entity?

M.C.: Associations and funeral companies from Spain are very active in FIAT-IFTA. A total of 37 entities represent Spain. The National Member is Panasef, while as many as 8 companies have Active Member status. Both the National Member and Active Members participate in decisions made within the organization and can submit international initiatives, and they do. One example is the aforementioned international training on thanatopraxia in Barcelona organized by Sortem and Altima as part of the FIAT-IFTA Global Education Program.

R.F.: In your opinion, how has the funeral sector evolved in recent years?

M.C.: Recent years was very much marked by COVID pandemic. I think we have learned that none of us are indestructible. The pandemic has claimed the lives of many workers in the industry. We have also learned to be resourceful and to act in precarious conditions – in many countries, the governments were slow to introduce legal regulations to protect the workers in our industry and did not recognize them as those who were on the front lines of danger. We have learned as well that we should take care of our mental and physical health – we experienced a lot of human tragedies, we lived under stress and worked 24 hours a day. We have also paid more attention to digital solutions, and have begun to pay more attention to automating process management in our funeral companies. Post-pandemic times are a time of renewal for most companies in terms of strengthening the business through investments, and also a time of reviewing the core values of the business.

R.F.: How do you see the sector in 10 years?

M.C.: Let’s look at the world we currently live in: global, mirrored (intensive and constant transfer of life at all possible levels – social, political, economic and even biological – to the digital world), progressive digitization and growing interest in AI and the metaverse. Above all, we live in a complex and uncertain world where resilience and agility are the essential skills. However, they would be nothing without the ability to build relationships between us, entrepreneurs and between the entrepreneurs and the Families to whom we serve. Relationships are of crucial importance.
Many contemporary phenomena are seemingly mutually exclusive, for instance: reindustrialization and deindustrialization of Europe, i.e. the disappearance and development of heavy industry, mainly in connection with the raw materials crisis. An example from our industry – on the one hand, consolidation, globalization and takeovers, i.e. a certain standardization, and on the other hand, the development of niches related to special wishes, personalization, non-religious and non-standard funeral ceremonies. We live in a complex world, and it is an "and-and" world, not an „either-or” world.
Our world is losing social cohesion, it is subject to deglobalization, it is defined by the increasing number of conflicts / crises. We are struggling, among others, with economic, health, climate, raw material crisis, the crisis of relationships and geopolitical crises. In addition, the progressive technologization of our lives, algorithmization, excessive use of social media, which cause a sense of loneliness, and finally the struggle for resources in the world of polycrises make modern societies lose social cohesion necessary for proper functioning. The polarization is clearly visible in virtually every area of our lives. As a consequence, de-globalization and anti-democratic activities are intensifying; it becomes impossible to establish a common vision of the problems that we as a society and the world have to face, maybe not directly as an industry, but we and our customers as people.
Our funeral industry may not feel these phenomena acutely. We operate in a certain bubble of constant demand, but it is worth having in the back of one’s head that the world around us is changing. However, we are also partly affected by some of these phenomena – for example, gas prices in the context of crematoria.
We should certainly pay attention to the global phenomenon of demographic change. Along with technological progress and broadly understood development – social and economic – on the one hand, the length of human life is extended, and on the other, the number of children born in the world is decreasing significantly. This has huge multidimensional consequences – both short-term (e.g. three or four generations or more work together in one company, which gives rise to natural conflicts) and long-term (the need to determine how to build an economy in such a society, since the aging society gets sick more often and longer; social issues such as building a hybrid society composed of people and social robots).
We cannot turn our backs on the issue of climate transformation and thinking about how to join it to make burials more environmentally friendly. The specific solutions in this trend include: transition to a circular economy, low- or zero-emission economy (responsible management of resources, investments in low-emission technologies, RES, electric cars, filters in crematoria, changes in the funeral culture – promotion of natural/biodegradable materials).

R.F.: The FIAT-IFTA usually has presence at the most relevant sectoral events, as is the case of the last edition of Funermostra. Why is it important for you to attend these types of meetings?

M.C.: Relationships start during meetings. Relationships are where business begins. Participation in funeral events is an opportunity to open up to international relationships, to establish a presence on the global market. Our presence at Funermostra gives the opportunity to get to know us better and take on new challenges. We will certainly also be present at the next edition of this event in 2025.

R.F.: Would you like to highlight anything else?
M.C.: This year we have an important event ahead of our organization, the FIAT-IFTA 2024 Convention taking place in my home country, Poland, in one of the most beautiful cities - Krakow. I hope to meet there with a large group of current and potential FIAT-IFTA members to discuss the future of the organization, build international relationships, expand the horizons of industry knowledge and also to honor the end of my presidency and celebrate the new president, Mr. William C. Wappner from USA.