About the scholarship
Social gatherings and moments of celebration are vital for promoting safe and responsible spaces where people can build and sustain healthy social interactions. Pernod Ricard is dedicated to elevating these occasions into authentic experiences of conviviality and sharing, ensuring they are enjoyed responsibly and inclusively, with or without alcohol.
However, parties and gatherings are not without risk. Moments of togetherness may fail to include those experiencing isolation, anti-social behaviour can be a threat to personal safety, and, when alcohol is involved, excessive consumption can cause harm to individuals and their communities. Worldwide, 3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol. This represents 5.3% of all deaths (1). Recent statistics indicate that feelings of isolation are on the rise globally, with some reports suggesting that up 1 in 4 young adults experience social isolation (2).
To truly generate the social and health benefits of togetherness, we must work together to create more inclusive, safer and more balanced moments of social connection. On the frontline in the fight against isolation and the harmful use of alcohol, the industry and the hospitality sector plays a pivotal role in realising inclusive environments that promote balance and personal well-being.
Pernod Ricard’s flagship responsible drinking initiative, DRINK MORE WATER, aims to do just this - empower individuals to foster balance in their habits to enhance social moments. In a world that is becoming more polarized, the notion of balance and moderation can be questioned. Through strong programmes and innovative initiatives, Pernod Ricard continues its mission to promote balanced drinking in society; to encourage mindful drinking behaviours, to engage with the hospitality and bartending community and make them champions of moderation and to ensure that all social moments and interactions are inclusive - that everyone has a place at the table.
This ambition can only be achieved if we engage meaningfully with individuals through programmes and partnerships, equipping young adults with the tools and knowledge to foster a culture of balance, responsibility and sustainability. This is why we’re teaming up with One Young World, the global community for young leaders, to launch the One Young World | Pernod Ricard Scholarship.
The scholarship will identify and connect an interdisciplinary team of 10 committed young leaders who are working to build positive social spaces and tackle harmful drinking and its wider impacts in their countries and communities. Scholars will receive full funding to participate in the One Young World Summit 2026 which takes place in Cape Town, South Africa from 3 - 6 November.
Scholars will participate in the Summit as members of Pernod Ricard’s delegation, have opportunities to help shape our interventions at the event and receive expert mentorship to accelerate their initiatives. In addition, scholars will participate in post Summit collective thinking sessions to reflect on the future of socialising.
1. Harmful use of alcohol kills more than 3 million people each year, most of them men (who.int)
Successful applicants will share our ambition to encourage positive social occasions and tackle harmful drinking. They will be actively making an impact in support of these goals through their own projects, as emerging leaders in larger organisations, through their own work and experience, or by contributing to collective understanding through research.
This can include people working in the hospitality sector (bartenders, bar managers, restaurant owners, etc) who are active on responsible drinking, balance, moderation, or consumer information, or have initiatives fighting harmful or excessive drinking. It can also include those contributing to other fields, who are working on creating inclusive and safe spaces for people to come together.
Relevant activities include:
- Initiatives that aim to promote balance and moderation.
- Prevention and education initiatives that aim to reduce excessive alcohol consumption.
- Prevention initiatives that aim to reduce social harm.
- Projects that tackle the harmful impacts of excessive alcohol consumption.
- Projects that encourage the bringing together of communities, the savoir être of being together and educational initiatives around social inclusion and fighting isolation.
- Projects that improve physical and psychological safety in social environments.
- Research into habits and the behavioural patterns of Gen Z, trends in socializing, including the role of alcohol in this socializing.
In addition, candidates must:
- Be of legal drinking age in their country of residence at the time of their application.
- Available to commit to contribute to collective post-Summit thinking sessions alongside other scholarship recipients. See below for further details.
- Participation in the One Young World Summit 2026 in Cape Town as a Pernod Ricard delegate.
- Hotel accommodation in Cape Town between 2 - 6 November (inclusive) 2026.
- The cost of travel to and from Cape Town (flights in economy)
- Catering which includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Transport between the Summit accommodation and the Summit venue.
- Access to Pernod Ricard professionals in their field on the basis of needs & consultancy.
- Collaborate with other scholars to influence Pernod Ricard’s thinking on socialising and efforts to reduce excessive alcohol consumption. Make your voice heard through the collective sessions with guest speakers.
All scholars will be invited to participate in post summit collective thinking sessions to help discuss in more detail the challenges and solutions for promoting responsible drinking globally. These sessions can also include external guest speakers on the different topics and provide a platform for scholars to share their own ideas, experiences and recommendations as well as seek advice and inspiration for their own work.
The subject of these sessions will reflect the themes of the scholarship and include:
- Promoting balance: How can we promote balance in social gatherings and nudge individuals towards more responsible behaviours?
- Social connections within communities: How can we further bring people together in the current social climate and create moments of celebration / togetherness whilst fighting isolation and exclusion?
- Role of the hospitality sector: what is the role of the hospitality sector in creating safe and inclusive spaces for people to come together, thereby fighting isolation?
- Culture and society: What is the role of celebrations, and partying in our society in the future and what is the role of alcohol in this? How can we ensure that these social interactions and moments of togetherness are safe, responsible and inclusive? What does convivialité mean & what will it look like in the future?
- The role of prevention during these interactions: What initiatives can be developed to ensure social gatherings are safe for all? How can responsibility and prevention be integrated into social gatherings in a positive way? How can prevention programmes have more impact?
- Gen Z & their influence: How can this generation define a new culture of drinking and partying? What is their role and influence on this?
Successful candidates must be able to demonstrate their ability and interest in contributing to the collective thinking sessions. This time commitment will involve: 1-2 group sessions before the Summit in November (between September & November), a physical meeting together in Cape Town alongside the Summit and 2 - 3 meetings post-Summit during the year following the Summit.
As well as this, extra sessions for mentoring and consultancy can be added based on the needs of the scholar and opportunities available within the Pernod Ricard network.