Tackling loneliness for a new era of connection

Recordings available until 07.09.23

We were delighted to welcome so many fantastic speakers and delegates to our international conference on the 2nd February 2023. Our online conference is the world’s largest conference dedicated to tackling loneliness and brings together the threads of research and practice into a unique conversation, focused on what is working and the meaningful impact it is having.

All of the sessions were recorded and delegates who attended can play back and catch up on all of the sessions from across the day. We have also put a recordings ticket on offer for £10 for those who were unable to attend the day so that they can access the content too.

Book recordings ticket here

You can watch recordings of:

Progamme 

Welcome: From the Campaign to End Loneliness, Robin Hewings, Campaign Director and the Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Civil Society, and Minister for Equalities

Keynote: Loneliness and the Lifecourse: How does social isolation vary over our lifetimes and between recent generations? How is this experienced across multiple contexts where social isolation can occur? Professor Praveetha Patalay, Professor of Population Health and Wellbeing, UCL, Centre for Longitudinal Studies

Panel: Young People and Loneliness: Research shows that young people are a group of concern in terms of their experience and feelings of loneliness. What is the latest research on youth loneliness and what practical work is being done? Professor Pamela Qualter, Professor of Psychology of Education, Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester (Chair). Dr Claire Goodfellow, Research Associate, University of Glasgow, Professor Richard Phillips, Professor of Human Geography, University of Sheffield, Kyra Haerkens, Quality Coach, Join Us, Kevin Franks, CEO, Youth Focus North East.

Break: with music from the Southbank Sinfonia

Parallel Sessions

1: Funding Loneliness Projects: This session is aimed at practitioners and commissioners to provide a better sense of what funders are looking for, and address the challenges of collecting strong qualitative data for small organisations or certain kinds of projects. How is the approach to funding and evaluation changing or developing in the current landscape? Su Moore, CEO, Jo Cox Foundation (Chair), Alex Hayes, Head of Funding (Strategic Programmes), National Lottery Community Fund, Sarah Hale, Foundation Manager, Astra Foundation, Catherine Underwood, Director for People, Nottingham City Council.

2: Workplace Loneliness: Creating a workforce for the 21st century: why tackling loneliness at work makes good business sense. How can employers keep loneliness high on the agenda with changing ways of working? Nancy Hey, CEO, What Works Centre for Wellbeing (Chair), Bridget Bryan, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, Kate Jopling, Independent Consultant and Policy Advisor, Mantasha Firoz, Senior Lecturer, Goa Institute of Management.

3: Developing a Place-Based Loneliness Strategy: Harnessing the power of community networks and infrastructure to bring together the interests of lonely people. What work is being done locally to develop cross-sector approaches to addressing loneliness? What needs to happen to get a place-based loneliness strategy up and running, and to make it sustainable? How can we ensure the voices of lonely people are heard and represented? Paul Cann, Chair of Programme Advisory Group, Campaign to End Loneliness (Chair), Rachel Friggins, Head of Social Prescribing, Together Co, Kirsty Veitch-Sorsby, Tackling Loneliness Collaborative Lead, Tackling Loneliness Collaborative Nottingham, Claire Vincent, Engagement Projects Lead, Action Hampshire, David Peel, Commissioning Manager for Older People, Leeds City Council

Break: with an audio clip from the Conversations to Connect podcast and video clips from UK Youth and Lonely Not Alone

Poster Presentations: Robin Hewings, Programme Director, Campaign to End Loneliness (Chair), will be joined from the winners of our poster competitiion who will be sharing their work and taking questions: Samia Akhter-Khan, PhD Candidate, King’s College London, Lyndsey Young, CEO and Founder, The Friendly Bench CIC, Professor Christina Victor, Director of Research Institute, Brunel University London, Georgia Wheadon, Business Development, Umii Technologies Ltd, Elizabeth Robinson, Research Associate, Bolton Clarke Research Institute. 

Afternoon Welcome: Kim Leadbeater MP for Batley and Spen

Keynote Conversation: Kim Leadbeater MP for Batley and Spen and Dr Vivek Murthy, United States Surgeon General.

Panel – The Role of Local Design and Planning of the Built Environment in Addressing Loneliness: Dr Helen MacIntyre, Head of Evidence, Campaign to End Loneliness (Chair), Dr Layla McCay, Psychiatrist and Director, Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health, Abdi Hassan, Managing Director, Coffee Afrik, Thomas Astell-Burt, Professor of Population Health and Environmental Data Science, Wollongong University Australia, Natasha Reid, Founder of Matter.Space.Soul SS; Associate in Placemaking for Brent Council.

Parallel Sessions:

1: The Cost of Loneliness: Making the case for tackling loneliness across communities, locally, nationally and internationally.What evidence do we have on the cost of loneliness? What evidence do we need? Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstaad, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Brigham Young University (Chair), Nia Morrish, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Health Economics, University of Exeter, David McDaid, Associate Professorial Research Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science, Rachelle Meisters, PhD Candidate (Health Services Research), Maastricht University.

2: Addressing Loneliness in the Digital World: This session will look at the role of digital in tackling loneliness, and discuss the potential limitations and risks of using technology to reduce feelings of loneliness. Su Moore, CEO, Jo Cox Foundation (Chair), Louis Stupple-Harris, Senior Foresight Analyst, Nesta, Stacey Dobson, Director of Service Delivery, Sky UK, Ian Wolstenholme, CEO, Age UK Gateshead, Kate Wildish, Community Development Team, Age UK Gateshead.

3: How Can we Tackle Loneliness in Healthcare?: Liam Duggan, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Carers NI Policy Unit (Chair), Jon Wood, Operations and Digital Learning Manager, NHS Property Services, Professor Rachel Wood, Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing, Dr Michelle Lim, Chairperson and Scientific Chair, Ending Loneliness Together. 

Panel: A Tale of Two Cities, New York and London Learning on Loneliness: John Leland, Reporter, New York Times (Chair), Harry Hobson, Founder and Director, Neighborly Lab, Mark Meridy, Executive Director, DOROT.

Closing: Robin Hewings, Campaign Director, Campaign to End Loneliness