The Power of Togetherness: From Connection to Action
At a time when isolation, division and disconnection are growing challenges, what does it take to bring people together and turn connection into meaningful change? The Spirit of Togetherness Award celebrates young leaders who are doing exactly that. Hear directly from this year’s awardees as they share the ideas, experiences and initiatives creating stronger, more inclusive communities. Through their stories and a lively panel conversation, delegates will explore what togetherness looks like in practice, the role each of us can play in creating it, and leave with fresh inspiration and practical ideas to strengthen connection and belonging in their own communities.
Speakers
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Pamela NkunaCorporate Affairs DirectorPamela Nkuna
Corporate Affairs Director
Pamela is a results-driven leader for Public Affairs, Sustainability & Responsibility and
Communications at Pernod Ricard’s Africa Middle East affiliates. Pamela has worked in the
alcohol industry for over 15 years, and she is a subject matter expert on a variety of topics.
These include Regulatory matters, Stakeholder Engagement with National, Provincial and
Local Governments, Civil Society and NGOs. She also has extensive experience in Internal
and External Communications as well as ESG with a focus on Harm Reduction around Binge Drinking, Road Safety, Underage Drinking, Sustainability & Entrepreneurship, Social Norm & Behavioral change as well as Illicit Trade. Pamela holds a Paralegal Diploma cum laude as well as an LLB Degree. -
Elle Beecher HoganFounderElle Beecher Hogan
Founder
Elle Beecher Hogan is the founder of The Board Walks: a free, phone-free, 5-mile walk where strangers become friends. Since July 2022, The Board Walks has grown from 8 people in Austin to 20,000+ walkers across 16 cities and 4 countries — the US, UK, Spain, and Portugal. They have hosted 500+ walks (200+ in Austin alone), bringing hundreds of people together every week. Phone-free, side by side, five miles, no agenda — every element engineered so connection becomes the default, not the hope.
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Chansangva KouvDirectorChansangva Kouv
Director
Chansangva ‘Tin’ Kouv is the Director of Skateistan Cambodia and an architect of belonging for marginalized youth. Having started as a student, she now leads a team of dedicated Cambodian staff and continues to strengthen the pathway that supports young people as they grow from participants into mentors and leaders. She addresses the crisis of social exclusion faced by marginalized youth in Phnom Penh by creating moments of connection through the shared joy of skateboarding. Her skatepark serves as a neutral space where social hierarchies, such as socioeconomic status or physical ability, fade away.
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Grace Ann ChuaCEO & Co-FounderGrace Ann Chua
CEO & Co-Founder
Grace Ann Chua is the co-founder and CEO of Friendzone, a Singapore-based social enterprise helping young adults build meaningful friendships and stronger communities. She is passionate about building meaningful relationships and believes that conversations create community, and that friendship matters across every "zone" or domain of life. Founded 8 years ago, Friendzone has grown from a grassroots initiative into one of Singapore's leading platforms for intentional social connection, running more than 500 facilitated conversation experiences for over 15,000 participants. At the heart of their work is a structured conversation methodology, our signature Conversation Menu, that moves small groups from light-hearted introductions to genuine vulnerability within a single session.
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Carolina DíazExecutive DirectorCarolina Díaz
Executive Director
Carolina Diaz is the co-founder and Executive Director of Peruvian Neurodivergent Coalition. The Coalition works on peer support, self-advocacy, accessible information, community-building, and the participation of neurodivergent people in decisions that affect their lives. Their initiatives include neurodivergent-friendly community picnics that create opportunities for people to connect, build relationships, and experience belonging in accessible and affirming spaces. She has also taken part in national and international advocacy spaces, including the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, contributing to discussions on disability rights, psychiatric violence, peer support, and meaningful participation.
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Carme Salleras CampoCreator and Executive DelegateCarme Salleras Campo
Creator and Executive Delegate
Carme Salleras Campo is a Spanish social entrepreneur and founder Fundación GOLEES, an organisation born in 2019 from her university thesis and dedicated to using football as a tool for gender equality, violence prevention, social inclusion and community empowerment. Since 2019, she has lived and worked across Latin America, developing GOLEES from a three-month university project into a social movement and a recognised model of feminist football that has directly engaged hundreds of direct participants through community, educational and social actions. Her work focuses on transforming spaces traditionally shaped by exclusion into places of belonging, where girls, women and historically marginalised groups can build leadership, confidence and collective agency.