The East West: Bridge the Gap for Children Group resulted after two conferences in Hull, one focusing on critical care and one focusing on sharing experiences about children’s health issues. It was clear after the second conference that many of those who attended the conference felt that we could not walk away from the problems that faced children worldwide and that we wished to keep up the links that had already developed or were developing within the group. We have kept a practical focus working on areas where we feel we can learn from each other and really make a difference. We aim to learn globally but act locally.