“Loneliness is a big problem among our youth – not only during the coronavirus pandemic, but also before and after. With this campaign, we want to break the taboo around loneliness and appeal to young people to recognise it – and even better, to reach out to each other. I think there’s a particular momentum for that at the moment. During the first months of the coronavirus crisis, many young people may have experienced the feeling of loneliness personally and will therefore be better able to understand what it must be like to feel lonely every single day. Many young people would like to be there for others. But taboos and the fear of intimacy often get in the way,” said the Chairperson of The Mary Foundation, HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
The Mary Foundation is launching the campaign with a film featuring the Crown Princess about why it is so important that we do all we can to put loneliness on the agenda. The campaign will also include various content for social media aimed at young people, including a film and a number of tips for young people on how to reach out to each other and what to do if you feel lonely. The tips have been prepared in collaboration with Ventilen and Børns Vilkår.
“We adults can do a lot to help lonely young people. But young people who feel lonely need other young people. Feeling seen and included by peers in the communities you move in is hugely important. Our hope is that with this campaign we can start a conversation among young people about loneliness, and that more young people will dare to reach out to someone who may be lonely. And also dare to speak up if they are feeling lonely themselves,”
said Director of The Mary Foundation, Helle Østergaard.
The films for the campaign have been created by Mayday Film, in partnership with The Mary Foundation.
“Convincing young people to address such a serious topic is a very difficult task. They are critical and quickly lose interest if they feel patronised or lectured by adults. We’ve made great efforts to avoid that – which isn’t easy. That’s why we have tried to create a campaign that communicates with young people on their level,” said Helle Østergaard.
The campaign starts today and will run over the next few weeks. You can read about the entire campaign at www.fåøjepåensomhed.dk
The Mary Foundation works to combat loneliness as one of its three focus areas, based on its vision of a society where everyone experiences belonging. Among other things, The Mary Foundation strives to break the taboo around loneliness so that more can be done to tackle it.
