There is increasing recognition that the challenges around serious illness, caregiving, dying and bereavement go beyond the scope of professional health care services. Promoting health and wellbeing in these domains entails societal and civic responses complementary to health service responses. For instance, governments, health and wellbeing organizations, workplaces, schools, churches, neighborhoods and health care services can collaborate to develop supportive social environments, policies, health services, skills and community action. In order to bring together the state of the art in science and practice of public health and palliative care, the international association Public Health Palliative Care International is organizing every second year a world congress. The conference brings together leading innovators, researchers, practitioners, policy makers, representatives of civic society in the public health palliative care approach.