Building a More Connected Future: The WE Award – Together Against Loneliness 2025
In today’s hyper-connected yet divided world, genuine human connection has never mattered more. As loneliness and social isolation rise globally, the need to foster inclusion, belonging, and togetherness is more important than ever.
This session celebrates the recipients of The WE Award - Together Against Loneliness, created in partnership with One Young World. These inspiring young leaders are redefining what it means to bring people together, from building inclusive community spaces to promoting authentic moment of sharing and a spirit of conviviality.
Join this session to hear their powerful stories and discover how they are strengthening and connecting beyond borders.
Speakers
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Nadège Foucher de BrandoisSenior Vice President, Group Communications - Pernod RicardNadège Foucher de Brandois
Counsellor
Senior Vice President, Group Communications - Pernod Ricard
Pernod RicardNadège Foucher de Brandois is Senior Vice President – Group Communications of Pernod Ricard, a role she held since September 2025. With over 20 years of experience in the FMCG and healthcare industries, she has held senior roles at Procter & Gamble, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Danone. A seasoned and results-oriented Communications leader, she specializes in developing and implementing comprehensive communication strategies with a focus on public affairs, crisis management, and corporate social responsibility.
At Pernod Ricard, she leads a talented global team dedicated to strengthening the company’s corporate reputation, engaging employees, and amplifying the Group’s commitments to sustainability, responsibility, and conviviality.
She is particularly proud of Pernod Ricard’s partnership with One Young World, which empowers young leaders and celebrates the WE Award – Together Against Loneliness, reflecting the Group’s beliefs: nurturing conviviality with authentic moments of sharing and connecting beyond borders.
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Chanté JosephWriter and Founder of Strangers in the CityChanté Joseph
Writer and Founder of Strangers in the City
WE Award WinnerChanté is a writer, award-winning presenter, and digital content producer. With a following of over 160,000 across her social media platforms, Chanté has cultivated an engaged and loyal audience of smart and driven followers who are curious about the world at large. She has partnered with some of the world’s most renowned brands, including Hinge, Bumble, and Tinder, on campaigns focused on dating and has been an ambassador for women with ADHD. As a versatile journalist, Chanté has spent nearly a decade writing for notable publications, including. Women’s Health, Vice, Vogue, and Refinery29. She frequently writes pieces ranging from celebrity interviews to cultural commentary and first-person reportage. Her talent extends to the literary world, with published essays in Black Joy and Unattached anthologies. Chanté’s production skills are equally impressive. She has worked with Netflix, scriptwriting for The Legacy of Top Boy documentary and produced stories for Bumble’s Black Love Series and Chivas Regal’s series, The Rise, featuring Stefflon Don, Headie One, and Dexta Daps. As a broadcaster and presenter, Chanté presented Channel 4’s How Not To Be Racist for two successful seasons, earning her an Edinburgh TV Fest Ones to Watch nomination. She also hosted Channel 4’s stand-alone Snapchat series House of Horoscopes. In 2024, Chanté launched Strangers in the City, a groundbreaking event series designed to tackle adult loneliness through curated in-person experiences. The concept is simple but powerful: every guest must attend alone. Since its launch, the project has sold out over 22 events and welcomed over 1000 guests, offering a playful and welcoming space for strangers to connect in a digital-first world. With plans to expand globally, Strangers in the City is evolving into a platform that reimagines how adults build community through serendipitous connections.
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Lukas ReinhardtFounder and CEO of Meet5Lukas Reinhardt
Founder and CEO of Meet5
WE Award WinnerI am Lukas Reinhardt, founder and CEO of Meet5, Europe’s largest social community focused on bringing people together in real life. Meet5 helps individuals, especially those over 40, connect through group activities such as hiking, dinners, and cultural events. Our mission is to fight loneliness by fostering real, meaningful connections beyond the digital world. Today, our platform hosts over 40,000 activities each month across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, France, and even the USA. With 2.5 million registered users and a rapidly growing community, Meet5 has already had a profound social impact by creating countless opportunities for friendships and improving well-being — tackling one of society’s most pressing issues: loneliness. Our growth has also attracted strong investor support. We recently secured an €8M Series A funding round, which will allow us to further expand internationally and scale our impact. As a scholarship recipient, I am honored to attend the One Young World Summit to share the journey of building a purpose-driven company that combines strong business growth with real social change. My goal is to connect with like-minded leaders, exchange ideas, and explore new ways to create meaningful human connections worldwide.
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David GradonCEO and Founder of The Great Friendship ProjectDavid Gradon
CEO and Founder of The Great Friendship Project
WE Award WinnerDavid Gradon is the founder of The Great Friendship Project, a fast-growing, UK-based non-profit organisation dedicated to tackling loneliness among young adults. As a young adult who experienced loneliness first-hand, David founded the project because, while loneliness has long been seen as an issue affecting older people, research shows that young people are actually most at risk. In fact, UK government figures estimate that young adults are five times more likely to struggle with chronic loneliness than those over 65, with more than one million 16–34-year-olds in the UK experiencing it every week. Created to counter this growing crisis, The Great Friendship Project combines research, awareness campaigns, and accessible opportunities for social connection. Through free and low-cost activities, day trips, and initiatives across the UK, the project helps young adults meet new people, build lasting friendships, and rise out of loneliness. Since launching in 2021, the project has grown into a community of more than 50,000 members in London and has already seen thousands of friendships form. Its campaigns have reached over 40 million people, supported by high-profile partnerships with Sky, Hinge, Canva, Snapchat, and many more. The project’s impact has been recognised nationally and internationally, with features on the BBC, The Independent, Mail Online, and global coverage on GloboTV (Brazil) and 9News (Australia). David’s journey reflects both his personal story and his commitment to creating a more connected future for young people and a world in which loneliness is de-stigmatised.
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Ilya KneppelhoutCo-founder of The Offline ClubIlya Kneppelhout
Co-founder of The Offline Club
WE Award WinnerIlya Kneppelhout, 28 years old, is the co-founder of The Offline Club, a pioneering venture that provides a face-to-face refuge from the omnipresent digital world. Within a year, the Club ignited a global movement, growing from 0 to 500 thousand followers on Instagram and creating phone-free spaces and in-real-life communities in eight countries, and growing. On top of hosting offline community gatherings, Ilya, together with his team, has organized a series of global 24-hour digital detoxes that inspired over 15 thousand people around the globe to take a break from tech and reconnect with themselves, others and the world around them. Driven by a passion for social entrepreneurship, Ilya sees innovation as a force for good - using business not just to create impact, but to spark meaningful change in how we connect and engage with the world. His background as a high-level tennis player in the United States instilled in him the ambition to dream big and the resilience to push boundaries, fueling his mission to drive real cultural, societal, and behavioral shifts in an increasingly digital age. His vision for the future? To make phone-free spaces and experiences the norm - as common as smoking areas are now. By bringing people together, offline, and creating moments and spaces for rest and human connection, Ilya aims to battle the loneliness and mental health epidemics, and inspire people to change the way we interact with technology, and each other.