Iceland launches second Week of Loneliness with community events
Friday 2nd October 2026 on 23:15 in
Iceland
Iceland’s Week of Loneliness begins its second year on Friday with a live programme at Kringlan at 5 p.m., mbl.is reports. The initiative is run by the Icelandic Women’s Association.
“The idea came up at the national congress of women’s associations in Ísafjörður in 2024, where someone suggested discussing loneliness, which is a growing public health issue in modern society,” said Jenný Jóakimsdóttir, a project manager on the initiative’s steering group.
The organisers looked at similar projects abroad rather than starting from scratch. One example was the Marmalade Trust in Britain, Jenný said. Its name refers to Paddington Bear, who ate marmalade and was lonely at a railway station but always had a smile for everyone.
The British initiative takes place in June, but that timing did not work in Iceland because many people are on holiday. Organisers held the week in October last year, after Yellow September and before Pink October and Christmas. They chose orange as its symbolic colour to bring those colours together.
The week aims to raise awareness of loneliness and highlight simple ways to increase human connection. Its website, vikaeinmanaleikans.is, has a calendar of activities and a “togetherness bingo” where people can mark off things they do to encourage interaction and positivity in daily life.
Activities range from walks, coffee meet-ups and board games to a dance at Hlégarður in Mosfellsbær on Friday evening. Six women’s associations in the upper districts of Rangárvallasýsla are also holding an evening event for local women.
Orange conversation benches have been placed in communities around the country to encourage people to talk. Women’s associations have donated many of them, Jenný said.
She said small gestures can help, such as looking up from a phone to call a friend instead of scrolling, smiling, or waving to thank another driver. “We can all do something to tackle loneliness, and perhaps it’s time to call an old friend,” she said.