Creating connected places for all generations
28th April 2026
To mark Global Intergenerational Week 2026, we’re looking back at last month’s Campaign to End Loneliness Roadshow in Edinburgh. The event showcased and celebrated the incredible impact of social connection interventions in our communities and across generations.
The day kicked off with a presentation from Professor Andrea Wigfield, Director of the Campaign to End Loneliness, about why loneliness matters and the importance of taking action to support social connection between generations.
The rest of the day featured workshops, discussions and presentations showcasing how our communities can work together to build meaningful connections. We were delighted to hear from several of our members, including Forget Me Notes, Re-engage, Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland and Berwickshire Housing Association. Read on for a taste of some of the topics explored on the day.
Connecting through food
A highlight of the day was an interactive food experience with Oma’s Soep (Grandma’s Soup), a Netherlands-based social enterprise whose Foundation provides support and connection for older people experiencing loneliness.
Each city with an Oma’s Soep programme is coordinated by a volunteer student board who organise intergenerational cooking days in community centres and retirement homes. They also prepare gift packages with handwritten notes and a friendly chat on the doorstep. In 2025, they facilitated over 100,000 meetings between younger and older people.
Richard Gettings from the Campaign to End Loneliness reflected:
“Across all communities, intergenerationally, food is an incredibly social element of our being. The preparation of food, the eating of it, even the cleaning up and tidying away after, are catalysts to powerful conversation, gathering together, listening to each other and grounding ourselves together.”
Connecting through volunteering
Volunteering is a powerful way to create opportunities for intergenerational relationships to develop. Volunteers will find themselves crossing paths with people they might not have connected with otherwise, people of different ages, backgrounds and experiences.
We were delighted to welcome some of our members to share their good practice with Roadshow delegates and give us an insight into the power of volunteering.
Forget Me Notes facilitated a fantastic interactive session (including Derek on the fiddle!) Their project uses music to build community and combat isolation in a variety of settings, bringing people together in song.
This was followed by a brilliant session where Georgina Everett from Re-engage guided us through the concept of the Funnel of Loneliness. This helps to visualise the systemic factors that shape loneliness through the whole life course. Befriending and other volunteer programmes can be a great way to interrupt this Funnel of Loneliness and help people build connections.
Connecting through design
Each Campaign to End Loneliness Roadshow event focuses on a different theme, with the Edinburgh event digging into loneliness in relation to housing and place.
Our neighbourhoods should be places that are accessible and welcoming for people of all ages. Community engagement in the design of our built environment is key, ensuring that spaces reflect the real needs of those who will use them.
Our CEO, Susan Hunter, chaired a fascinating panel discussion on loneliness, housing and place. We are very grateful to Cherie Morgan (Planning Aid Scotland), Diarmaid Lawlor (Scottish Futures Trust), Dougie Paterson (Berwickshire Housing Association) and David Aitchison (Shelter Scotland) for their insights!
Throughout the day, we covered significant ground in policy and research. Paul Okroj OBE of Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, with whom we co-facilitate the Scottish Forum on Isolation and Loneliness, updated delegates about the progress being made on loneliness policy. To explore more, you can read the Manifesto for Social Connection here.
A huge thank you to the whole team at the Campaign to End Loneliness, as well as the Befriending Networks members who contributed to the event. Explore their projects in our directory:
Find out more about the Campaign to End Loneliness and upcoming events on their website.
Photos from Faith Ogala at the Campaign to End Loneliness.