Pernod Ricard Scholarship 2026 — Fully Funded One Young World Summit for Young Leaders Tackling Harmful Drinking

Not every scholarship funds a degree. Some fund something rarer — access to a global network of changemakers, expert mentorship, and a platform to amplify work you are already doing.

The Pernod Ricard Scholarship 2026, run in partnership with One Young World, is exactly this kind of opportunity. It selects 10 young leaders from around the world who are actively working to tackle harmful drinking, promote responsible social spaces, or address social isolation — and funds them to attend the One Young World Summit 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa from 3–6 November 2026 as part of Pernod Ricard’s official delegation.

The application deadline is 14 July 2026.

What Is One Young World?

One Young World is one of the world’s most respected global forums for young leaders — connecting outstanding young people from every country and sector to collaborate, develop leadership skills, and accelerate impact on the issues that matter most. The annual Summit brings together thousands of young leaders alongside heads of state, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, and senior figures from government, business, and civil society.

Previous Summit speakers have included Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, Bob Geldof, Paul Polman, and leaders from across the political and business spectrum. The network of One Young World alumni — over 15,000 across 190+ countries — includes heads of government, CEOs, and founders of significant social enterprises.

Being selected as a One Young World delegate is a meaningful credential. Being selected as a scholarship delegate — specifically chosen and sponsored by a global company — adds another layer of distinction and direct industry connection.

What the Scholarship Covers

The scholarship covers all the core costs of Summit attendance — flights, accommodation, meals, and transport. Beyond logistics, the access to Pernod Ricard professionals for expert mentorship and consultation is a genuine career development benefit for scholars working in relevant fields.

The Context — Why Pernod Ricard Is Doing This

Understanding the scholarship’s purpose helps you understand what kind of candidate they are looking for.

Pernod Ricard is one of the world’s largest spirits companies. Their flagship responsible drinking initiative — DRINK MORE WATER — is built around the idea that balance and moderation in drinking enhances rather than diminishes social experiences. This is not a corporate box-ticking exercise — it sits at the heart of an industry attempting to grapple seriously with the harm its products can cause when misused.

The statistics framing the scholarship are real: 3 million deaths per year globally result from harmful alcohol use — 5.3% of all deaths. 1 in 4 young adults globally experiences social isolation. The scholarship is looking for people working on these problems — from any angle — not people who want to work on them someday.

Who Should Apply

The scholarship is genuinely interdisciplinary. Relevant backgrounds include people working in or contributing to:

Hospitality and responsible service: Bartenders, bar managers, and restaurant owners who are active on responsible drinking, balance, moderation, or consumer information, or who have developed initiatives fighting harmful drinking. People on the frontline of where alcohol consumption happens who are working to make those spaces safer and more inclusive.

Public health and prevention: Professionals or researchers working on alcohol harm reduction, prevention education, or policy advocacy around harmful drinking behaviours.

Social inclusion and community building: People working on creating safer, more inclusive social spaces — tackling social isolation, improving psychological safety in social environments, or building community connection initiatives.

Research and academia: Researchers investigating behavioural patterns of Gen Z, trends in socialising, the role of alcohol in social connection, or related topics that contribute to understanding the field.

Any field with a relevant impact angle: The scholarship is not restricted to health or hospitality professionals. If your work — in technology, law, media, education, or any other sector — actively contributes to creating more positive, balanced, and inclusive social environments or tackling harmful drinking, your application is relevant.

Who Must Apply

Two conditions apply to all candidates:

Age: You must be of legal drinking age in your country of residence at the time of application. The scholarship does not specify an upper age limit — One Young World typically defines “young leaders” as broadly under 30, but check the official application for the current age parameters.

Availability: You must be available to participate in post-Summit collective thinking sessions with other scholarship recipients after the Cape Town Summit. These sessions are part of the scholarship commitment — not optional extras.

The Application — What Makes a Strong Candidate

Applications opened on 19 May 2026 and close 14 July 2026.

The scholarship is selecting 10 people from a global pool of applicants. Your application needs to demonstrate three things clearly:

You are already doing the work. This scholarship does not fund aspiration — it funds action. Whether you are running a community initiative, leading a prevention programme, conducting research, or innovating in a hospitality context, your application needs to show active, real, ongoing impact. What have you built? What has changed because of your work? Who have you reached?

Your work connects to the scholarship’s themes. The connection does not need to be direct — you do not need to be a bartender or an alcohol researcher. But you need to be able to articulate clearly how your work contributes to the goals of promoting balanced social occasions, reducing harmful drinking, or creating more inclusive social spaces.

You will contribute to the collective. One Young World is built on the premise that young leaders learn from and with each other. Scholars are selected not just for their individual impact but for what they bring to the cohort. What perspective, experience, or expertise do you contribute that will make the ten-person scholarship group stronger?

Key Dates

Why Cape Town — and Why This Summit

Cape Town is one of the world’s most internationally connected and culturally significant cities, and hosting the One Young World Summit 2026 signals the event’s deepening engagement with African leadership and African contexts. For scholars from Africa — and particularly from Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa — attending a global leadership summit in Cape Town has both practical and symbolic significance.

The One Young World Summit is not a passive conference. It is an active, participatory forum where delegates develop and pitch initiatives, engage with global leaders, and form the peer relationships that sustain careers and projects for decades. Scholars attend as part of Pernod Ricard’s delegation — with additional access to company professionals and influence on Pernod Ricard’s own thinking about socialising and responsible drinking.

Honest Assessment — Who Should Apply

This scholarship is not for everyone. It is specifically for people who are already doing work that is relevant to its themes — not people who want to start.

If you are a public health professional working on alcohol harm reduction, a community leader building safer social spaces, a hospitality professional advocating for responsible service, a researcher studying youth socialising and drinking behaviour, or anyone whose active work touches on these themes — this scholarship is worth a serious application.

The access it provides — to the One Young World network, to Pernod Ricard’s professional community, and to nine other young leaders doing similar work globally — is not replicable through any other channel. The post-Summit collective sessions turn the experience into an ongoing professional relationship rather than a one-off conference attendance.

If you are doing the work, apply. The deadline is 14 July 2026 and the application window is short.

FAQ

Is this scholarship open to Nigerian and African applicants? Yes. The scholarship is global — candidates from any country are eligible. African applicants working in relevant fields are strongly encouraged to apply.

Does the scholarship cover a full degree or study programme? No. This is not a degree scholarship. It covers full participation in the One Young World Summit 2026 in Cape Town — flights, accommodation, meals, transport, and professional access.

Do I need to work specifically in alcohol or hospitality? No. The scholarship is interdisciplinary. Any field of work that contributes to promoting responsible social occasions, reducing harmful drinking, or building inclusive communities is relevant.

What is the age requirement? You must be of legal drinking age in your country of residence. Check the official One Young World application for any additional age parameters for the 2026 cohort.

Where do I apply? Through the One Young World scholarship application portal. Visit oneyoungworld.com and search for the Pernod Ricard Scholarship 2026.

What happens after the Summit? Scholars participate in post-Summit collective thinking sessions — an ongoing commitment that is part of the scholarship terms. These sessions are designed to develop the scholars’ collective thinking on the future of socialising and responsible drinking.

 

For more information and application: 

Visit the official website of the

Pernod Ricard Scholarship 2026 — Fully Funded One Young World Summit for Young Leaders Tackling Harmful Drinking