The LONELY-EU project wishes you a wonderful holiday season filled with piece and joy. Anecdotal observation: After listening to many Christmas songs that are about loneliness, most of them are actually about missing a specific person, rather than being lonely.

LONELY‑EU starts in 2025 to turn loneliness research into real policy. Our online country dialogues connect EU insights with national realities and practitioners. If you work in health, social policy, youth, employment or inclusion, join us. First stop: Portugal, Jan 2026.

Our colleague Judith Merkies was on Dutch Television @omroepmax.bsky.social to talk about the LONELY-EU project and Loneliness in general. You can watch the broadcast in Dutch buff.ly/Ct9MdMD

We had a great session "Loneliness in Europe. Addressing loneliness – learning from each other between North Rhine-Westphalia and Europe", hosted by NRW MP Hendrik Wüst. Judith Merkies moderated the event brilliantly, Maike Luhmann and Evelyn Regner among others were panelists youtu.be/E-Q4tL0groE

The LONELY- EU Evidence to Action Board (E2A), formed by 18 specialists from different sectors, aims to convert findings into practical, evidence-driven policies. Judith Merkies and Marit Maij engage with Evi Huber, St. Johann's mayor in Austria and board member during a visit. #LONELY-EU #SIL #E2A

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You feel if a mango is ready to eat, or still needs some time. Does this relate to loneliness? Policy makers want to know if loneliness interventions are ready to use. Evidence Readiness Levels could determine the interventions 'fit for use' and establish Evidence Based Policy recommendations. ^RB

We had a super conference last week @volkswagenstiftung.de. Well organized, great speakers and content. Our Symposium, organized by @maikeluhmann.bsky.social looked into the next big questions on Loneliness. The Photo by Christian Burkert für VolkswagenStiftung shows the attendees at Herrenhausen

Another great day at the Loneliness Theme Week organized by @volkswagenstiftung.de and @maikeluhmann.bsky.social. Really to much to put in this post, a film on robots against loneliness, a panel discussion and of course Looking for the Next Big Questions

Day two of the #VolkswagenStiftung Theme Week on Loneliness. Today some of our colleagues presented. Another day filled with a mix of research but also sessions of Policy with a member of German Parliament, civil servants and other stakeholders. Tmw the last day with Evelyn Regner / Judith Merkies

@maikeluhmann.bsky.social Judith Merkies and Herlind Megges in conversation during the talk about Loneliness as a Policy. The talk gave a lot of insight into loneliness policies in Germany and how they come about. #VolkswagenStiftung #Loneliness #Einsamkeit #LONELY-EU

We are in Hannover for the Loneliness Theme Week organized by the VolkswagenStiftung. @maikeluhmann.bsky.social leads 1 of 4 conferences called "The Next Big Questions on Loneliness: Integrating National and International Perspectives on Research and Policy Priorities. We will keep you posted!

RetailTrends had an article about supermarketchain Jumbo who organize 'chitchat' walks in local communities. Jumbo also have cashiers in the store who actually have time for a talk, so called 'chitchat registers'. In an age where time is money this is a very nice initiative . lnkd.in/eXngNu4d

Last week in Leiden (Lorentz Center) an important question was discussed: When does Loneliness become harmful? Experts / stakeholders discussed this in order to create a framework. From the Lonely-EU Judith Merkies and Rob Blaauboer were present. Looking forward to seeing the first results!

Great column in @theguardian.com about solving loneliness with an ‘AI friend’ by Emma Brockes. No, online interaction is not equivalent to real human interaction and perhaps interaction with a AI system is miles away from being anything like seeing someone face to face.

DUTCH Linda Magazine has dedicated the 250th edition of the magazine to Loneliness. Loneliness does not discriminate as you can read in the Magazine. It can happen to everyone, even famous people like Linda de Mol. In the same edition also an interview with @lonely-eu.bsky.social Judith Merkies!

Hello World. The Lonely-EU project is on Bluesky. We are a Horizon Funded EU Project that will develop Evidence Based Policy recommendations to combat loneliness. We have a group on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/groups/13108... where you can find more content as we are building our presence.

Hello World. The Lonely-EU project is on Bluesky. We are a Horizon Funded EU Project that will develop Evidence Based Policy recommendations to combat loneliness. We have a group on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/groups/13108... where you can find more content as we are building our presence.