Stronger Together: Preventing Loneliness and Empowering Youth
| Wednesday, March 18, 2026 |
| 8:55 AM - 9:40 AM |
Overview
Assoc Prof Michelle Lim, Emerging Mental Health Challenges
Presenter
Associate Professor Michelle Lim
CEO and Scientific Chair
Ending Loneliness Together
Stronger Together: Preventing Loneliness and Empowering Youth
Presentation Overview
Loneliness is not just a fleeting feeling - it is a growing public health challenge with profound consequences for the wellbeing of adolescents and young adults. Across national and international studies, evidence reveals that young people report some of the highest rates of loneliness, with long-term impacts on their health, relationships, and future opportunities.
In this keynote, Associate Professor Michelle Lim will share the latest national data on the prevalence of loneliness among adolescents and young people, highlighting both the scale of the issue and the urgent need for action. She will explore universal strategies that can be implemented to prevent persistent loneliness before it takes root approaches that centre on connection, community, and empowering young people to find belonging.
The presentation will also present the development of the 2025 Ending Loneliness Together campaign, a groundbreaking public health awareness initiative designed specifically for young people aged 16 to 25. By combining evidence-based insights with storytelling and collective action, Michelle will show how research can be transformed into engaging solutions that resonate with young people, inspire change, and strengthen social relationships.
This keynote will call on researchers, educators, policymakers, and community leaders to work together to ensure that every young person feels seen, supported, and connected.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Loneliness is a Public Health Issue, Not Just an Emotion
National and international data reveal that loneliness is highly prevalent among adolescents and young people, with serious long-term impacts on wellbeing. Recognizing it as a public health priority is essential.
2. Prevention is Possible Through Universal Solutions
Evidence shows that we can intervene early with universal strategies—such as strengthening social connection, creating inclusive environments, and supporting life transitions—to stop loneliness from becoming persistent and harmful.
3. Collective Action Can Address Loneliness Together
Public health awareness campaigns like Ending Loneliness Together’s Loneliness Awareness Week demonstrate how research, storytelling, and community engagement can empower young people, influence policy, and drive cultural change toward greater belonging.
In this keynote, Associate Professor Michelle Lim will share the latest national data on the prevalence of loneliness among adolescents and young people, highlighting both the scale of the issue and the urgent need for action. She will explore universal strategies that can be implemented to prevent persistent loneliness before it takes root approaches that centre on connection, community, and empowering young people to find belonging.
The presentation will also present the development of the 2025 Ending Loneliness Together campaign, a groundbreaking public health awareness initiative designed specifically for young people aged 16 to 25. By combining evidence-based insights with storytelling and collective action, Michelle will show how research can be transformed into engaging solutions that resonate with young people, inspire change, and strengthen social relationships.
This keynote will call on researchers, educators, policymakers, and community leaders to work together to ensure that every young person feels seen, supported, and connected.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Loneliness is a Public Health Issue, Not Just an Emotion
National and international data reveal that loneliness is highly prevalent among adolescents and young people, with serious long-term impacts on wellbeing. Recognizing it as a public health priority is essential.
2. Prevention is Possible Through Universal Solutions
Evidence shows that we can intervene early with universal strategies—such as strengthening social connection, creating inclusive environments, and supporting life transitions—to stop loneliness from becoming persistent and harmful.
3. Collective Action Can Address Loneliness Together
Public health awareness campaigns like Ending Loneliness Together’s Loneliness Awareness Week demonstrate how research, storytelling, and community engagement can empower young people, influence policy, and drive cultural change toward greater belonging.
Biography
- CEO & Scientific Chair. Ending Loneliness Together
- Principal Research Fellow, Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Australia
- Deputy Co-Chair, International Scientific Board, Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection
- Registered Clinical Psychologist
Associate Professor Michelle Lim is CEO and Scientific Chair of Ending Loneliness Together, Australia’s peak organisation focused on addressing loneliness and social isolation in Australia. She is also a Principal Research Fellow and co-director of the Social Health and Wellbeing Group at the Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney.
Her research interests include understanding loneliness across the lifespan and in populations including those with chronic disease and mental ill health.
She is a practising Clinical Psychologist with over 22 years' experience.
Associate Professor Lim was the chief investigator of the Australian Loneliness Report (2018), the Young Australian Loneliness Survey (2019), State of the Nation: Social Connection (2023), the Why We Feel Lonely report (2024) and A Call for Connection: Understanding and Addressing Youth Loneliness (2025).
Associate Professor Lim is considered the leading Australian expert in loneliness, with more than 300 national and international media appearances to date. Her online articles have a global readership of more than 1 million. Her work informs governments, and the not-for-profit and corporate sectors across the world.
In 2020, Associate Professor Lim cofounded and was the inaugural co-director of the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection, an international coalition of organisations across 23 countries committed to ending the pressing global issue of loneliness and social isolation. In 2024, Associate Professor Lim was appointed as one of 20 global experts on the Technical Advisory Group to the World Health Organization Commission to Social Connection.
