The Campaign to End Loneliness was invited to Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh this month to be a part of Befriending Network’s Summit on Loneliness and Social Isolation. The keynote address was given by Sabina Brennan, from Trinity College Dublin, who discussed the health effects of loneliness. Marcus Rand introduced the Campaign and spoke about the need to make sure that loneliness mobilises us all – that it becomes everyone’s business, while Dr Kellie Payne discussed the importance of evaluating loneliness interventions.
Late in the afternoon, an announcement was made that the Scottish Government has pledged to create a National Social Isolation Strategy to ‘ensure a holistic approach across government to problems of loneliness and isolation”. The Campaign welcomes this exciting news.