diff --git a/context-protocol.ts b/context-protocol.ts
index 6b8873e..69c501b 100644
--- a/context-protocol.ts
+++ b/context-protocol.ts
@@ -1,36 +1,30 @@
 // From: https://github.com/webcomponents-cg/community-protocols/blob/main/proposals/context.md#definitions
 
 /**
- * A Context object defines an optional initial value for a Context, as well as a name identifier for debugging purposes.
+ * A context key.
+ *
+ * A context key can be any type of object, including strings and symbols. The
+ *  Context type brands the key type with the `__context__` property that
+ * carries the type of the value the context references.
  */
-export type Context<T> = {
-  name: string;
-  initialValue?: T;
-};
+export type Context<KeyType, ValueType> = KeyType & { __context__: ValueType };
 
 /**
  * An unknown context type
  */
-export type UnknownContext = Context<unknown>;
+export type UnknownContext = Context<unknown, unknown>;
 
 /**
  * A helper type which can extract a Context value type from a Context type
  */
 export type ContextType<T extends UnknownContext> =
-  T extends Context<infer Y> ? Y : never;
+  T extends Context<infer _, infer V> ? V : never;
 
 /**
  * A function which creates a Context value object
  */
-export function createContext<T>(
-  name: string,
-  initialValue?: T,
-): Readonly<Context<T>> {
-  return {
-    name,
-    initialValue,
-  };
-}
+export const createContext = <ValueType>(key: unknown) =>
+  key as Context<typeof key, ValueType>;
 
 /**
  * A callback which is provided by a context requester and is called with the value satisfying the request.
@@ -51,7 +45,7 @@ export type ContextCallback<ValueType> = (
  * multiple times if the value is changed, if this is the case the provider should pass an `unsubscribe`
  * function to the callback which requesters can invoke to indicate they no longer wish to receive these updates.
  */
-export class ContextEvent<T extends UnknownContext> extends Event {
+export class ContextRequestEvent<T extends UnknownContext> extends Event {
   public constructor(
     public readonly context: T,
     public readonly callback: ContextCallback<ContextType<T>>,
@@ -67,12 +61,12 @@ export class ContextEvent<T extends UnknownContext> extends Event {
  */
 declare global {
   interface WindowEventMap {
-    "context-request": ContextEvent<UnknownContext>;
+    "context-request": ContextRequestEvent<UnknownContext>;
   }
   interface ElementEventMap {
-    "context-request": ContextEvent<UnknownContext>;
+    "context-request": ContextRequestEvent<UnknownContext>;
   }
   interface HTMLElementEventMap {
-    "context-request": ContextEvent<UnknownContext>;
+    "context-request": ContextRequestEvent<UnknownContext>;
   }
 }
diff --git a/index.ts b/index.ts
index 84ae654..9866fc0 100644
--- a/index.ts
+++ b/index.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import { ObservableMap } from "./observable-map.js";
 import {
   createContext,
-  ContextEvent,
+  Context,
+  ContextRequestEvent,
   UnknownContext,
 } from "./context-protocol.js";
 
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ export declare type Constructor<T> = new (...args: any[]) => T;
 
 type ProviderElement = CustomElement & {
   contexts?: Record<PropertyKey, () => unknown>;
-  updateContext?(name: string, value: unknown): void;
+  updateContext?(name: PropertyKey, value: unknown): void;
 };
 
 type ConsumerElement = CustomElement & {
@@ -57,18 +58,14 @@ export function ProviderMixin<T extends Constructor<ProviderElement>>(
       this.removeEventListener("context-request", this.#handleContextRequest);
     }
 
-    updateContext(name: string, value: unknown) {
-      this.#dataStore.set(name, value);
+    updateContext(name: PropertyKey, value: unknown) {
+      this.#dataStore.set(createContext(name), value);
     }
 
     // We listen for a bubbled context request event and provide the event with the context requested.
-    #handleContextRequest(event: ContextEvent<UnknownContext>) {
-      const { name, initialValue } = event.context;
+    #handleContextRequest(event: ContextRequestEvent<UnknownContext>) {
       const subscribe = event.subscribe;
-      if (initialValue) {
-        this.#dataStore.set(name, initialValue);
-      }
-      const data = this.#dataStore.get(name);
+      const data = this.#dataStore.get(event.context);
       if (data) {
         event.stopPropagation();
 
@@ -93,11 +90,11 @@ export function ConsumerMixin<T extends Constructor<ConsumerElement>>(
   return class extends Class {
     #unsubscribes: Array<() => void> = [];
 
-    getContext(contextName: string) {
-      let result;
+    getContext(contextName: PropertyKey) {
+      let result: unknown;
 
       this.dispatchEvent(
-        new ContextEvent(createContext(contextName), (data) => {
+        new ContextRequestEvent(createContext(contextName), (data) => {
           result = data;
         }),
       );
@@ -116,7 +113,7 @@ export function ConsumerMixin<T extends Constructor<ConsumerElement>>(
         // reaches a component that is able to provide that value to us.
         // The event has a callback for the the value.
         this.dispatchEvent(
-          new ContextEvent(
+          new ContextRequestEvent(
             context,
             (data, unsubscribe) => {
               callback(data);
diff --git a/observable-map.ts b/observable-map.ts
index e3bf3e3..1b7e710 100644
--- a/observable-map.ts
+++ b/observable-map.ts
@@ -1,19 +1,22 @@
 type Subscriber<T> = (value: T) => void;
 
-export class ObservableMap {
-  #store = new Map<string, {value: unknown, subscribers: Set<Subscriber<unknown>>}>
+export class ObservableMap<K, V> {
+  #store = new Map<K, { value: V; subscribers: Set<Subscriber<V>> }>();
 
-  set(key: string, value: unknown, subscribers = new Set<Subscriber<unknown>>()) {
+  set(key: K, value: V, subscribers = new Set<Subscriber<V>>()) {
     const data = this.#store.get(key);
-    subscribers = new Set([...subscribers, ...(data?.subscribers || new Set())]);
+    subscribers = new Set([
+      ...subscribers,
+      ...(data?.subscribers || new Set()),
+    ]);
 
-    this.#store.set(key, {value, subscribers});
+    this.#store.set(key, { value, subscribers });
     for (const subscriber of subscribers) {
       subscriber(value);
     }
   }
 
-  get(key: string) {
+  get(key: K) {
     return this.#store.get(key);
   }
 }