One Young World Summit 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa
The One Young World Summit returns to Africa for the first time since 2013, taking place in Cape Town, South Africa from 3-6 November 2026. Over twelve fully funded scholarship paths are open right now, with the earliest deadline on 14 July 2026. Here is exactly how to win your seat at the world's biggest youth leadership summit.
Close your eyes for a second.
It's 3 November 2026. You step out of an Uber at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town. The sun is going down over Table Mountain. Around you, two thousand two hundred young people from one hundred and ninety countries are arriving for the Opening Ceremony of the One Young World Summit. There is a brass band somewhere in the distance. Someone walks past holding the flag of Ghana. Someone else holds the flag of Mongolia. A camera crew is filming the entrance.
You're holding the flag of your country.
You didn't pay for the flight that got you here. You didn't pay for the hotel room waiting for you at the V&A Waterfront. You didn't pay for the dinner you ate on the plane or the breakfast that will be served tomorrow morning at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Someone, somewhere, looked at your application, read about the small thing you've been quietly building back home, and decided to send you to South Africa.
This is what winning a One Young World scholarship feels like.
And the best part? There isn't just one way to get there. There are over a dozen funded paths to the One Young World Summit 2026, with deadlines that stretch from next month to the end of October. Some are open to anyone from any country. Others are tied to specific industries, causes, or partners. Most ambitious young people never realise how many doors there are. This guide opens all of them.
By the end of this post, you'll know exactly which One Young World scholarship matches your background, when each one closes, and how to write the kind of application that actually makes selectors stop scrolling. Let's begin.
Why the One Young World Summit 2026 Is the Most Important Youth Conference of the Year
The One Young World Summit is the world's largest annual gathering of young leaders. It happens once a year in a different global city. Past hosts include London, Pittsburgh, Bogotá, Bangkok, Munich, and most recently Montréal.
In 2026, the Summit comes home.
It will be hosted in Cape Town, South Africa from 3 to 6 November 2026, the first time it has returned to the African continent since Johannesburg 2013. The timing is deliberate. November 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Youth Uprising, the moment in 1976 when South African schoolchildren stood up to apartheid and changed the trajectory of a continent. For young African leaders attending in 2026, you will be walking onto a stage drenched in that history.
Here's the rough scale of what you'd be joining:
2,200+ delegates from 196 countries
Plenary sessions featuring heads of state, Nobel laureates, CEOs, and global activists. Past speakers have included Justin Trudeau, Mary Robinson, Sir Richard Branson, Meghan Markle, Bob Geldof, Paul Polman, Emmanuel Macron, and dozens of African presidents, foreign ministers, and business leaders.
Workshops in small groups, run by world-leading organisations on the biggest issues of our time
One on one networking with potential mentors, employers, co-founders, and lifelong collaborators
Lifetime membership of the One Young World Ambassador Community, a network of more than 20,500 young leaders across nearly every country in the world
The Summit is officially welcomed by President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa. The Mayor of Cape Town has personally announced the city as host. The opening ceremony will take place at DHL Stadium, with the main conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
If you're 18 to 35, doing something meaningful in your community, and curious about what your life could look like with the right network behind you, this is the room you want to be in.
What You Actually Experience as a Delegate
Forget the brochure version. Here is what a One Young World delegate's four days actually look like.
Day One opens with delegates walking into the Opening Ceremony behind their country's flag. The room is dressed for a global moment. The lights go down. The first speakers take the stage. By the end of day one, you'll have introduced yourself to more people than you have all year.
Days Two and Three are workshop-heavy. Small group sessions, run by global companies and NGOs, dig into climate, mental health, education, food security, conflict, inequality, technology ethics, gender equality, and more. You break out, you debate, you draft solutions, you exchange WhatsApp numbers with people from countries you've never visited.
In between workshops, the plenary sessions roll on. World leaders speak. You sit in the audience. Then you stand in the queue for lunch with the same world leaders, and they actually answer your questions.
Day Four closes with a Closing Ceremony and the announcement of next year's host city (which we already know is Tokyo for 2027). Delegates exchange contacts, post photos that will define their LinkedIn for the next decade, and start planning what to take home and do differently.
When you leave Cape Town, you don't just leave with memories. You leave as a One Young World Ambassador for life, with access to regional events, mentoring sessions, speaking opportunities, exclusive job boards, and a Slack network of changemakers across nearly every country on earth.
This is what scholarships pay for. This is what we're going to show you how to win.
The Big Secret: There Are More Than Twelve Ways to Get Funded to Cape Town
Most applicants discover one path and assume it's the only one. Then they apply, miss, and give up.
Here's what the One Young World website actually has on offer. We've grouped them into three categories.
Category 1: Open to applicants from any country, any sector
The Leading Scholarship (the flagship)
The Pernod Ricard Scholarship
The ICMM Young Leaders Scholarship
And several country and sector specific scholarships listed below
Category 2: Tied to a specific country, region, or community
Country specific scholarships announced by individual governments and NGOs
Sector specific scholarships tied to journalism, media, healthcare, technology, mining, hospitality
Category 3: Indirect pathways
Joining as part of a corporate delegation (your employer sponsors)
Winning the Lead2030 challenges (open competitions tied to the Sustainable Development Goals)
Applying as a Workshop Facilitator or Volunteer (free Summit participation, not always with funded travel)
The smart move is to apply to two or three paths in parallel, not just one. We'll walk through each major option below, in deadline order. The most urgent comes first. Read carefully.
Pernod Ricard Scholarship 2026: The Deadline That's Four Weeks Away
If you're reading this in mid-June 2026, this is the scholarship to act on immediately.
The One Young World Pernod Ricard Scholarship 2026 funds 10 selected young leaders to attend the Cape Town Summit. The application deadline is 14 July 2026, which is about four weeks from now.
Who they're looking for: young leaders aged 18 to 35, of legal drinking age in their home country, working on initiatives related to responsible drinking, social inclusion, community wellbeing, or harm prevention. This is broader than it sounds. If your work touches mental health, youth wellbeing, gender-based violence prevention, safer nightlife, alcohol harm reduction, healthier social spaces, or community building, you fit.
What it covers:
Economy-class return flights to Cape Town
Hotel accommodation during the Summit
All meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Local transportation between accommodation and the Summit venue
Full delegate access to all Summit programming
Mentorship from Pernod Ricard professionals before, during, and after the Summit
Post-Summit collective thinking sessions
Who especially is encouraged to apply: people working in hospitality (bartenders, bar managers, restaurant owners), researchers, community development practitioners, and social impact leaders whose work aligns with the programme objectives.
How to apply: through the official One Young World Pernod Ricard Scholarship application portal on oneyoungworld.com. You'll be asked about your leadership experience, the specific initiative you lead, the impact you've created, and how Cape Town would amplify your work.
If your work touches this space, drop everything and apply this week.
The Leading Scholarship: One Young World's Flagship and Your Best Shot if You're African
If the Pernod Ricard angle isn't yours, the Leading Scholarship probably is.
This is One Young World's flagship scholarship, designed specifically to bring outstanding young leaders from countries that are usually under-represented at global forums. Most African countries qualify under this priority, along with countries from the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, Central Asia, and parts of Latin America and the Middle East.
Key dates:
Applications opened: 11 June 2026
Deadline: 31 October 2026
Selection: rolling between June and October. Apply early. Don't wait for the deadline.
Who they're looking for:
Aged 18 to 35 at the time of the Summit
Evidence of commitment to delivering positive change
Tackling key local or global issues in your current work
A track record of generating impactful and innovative ideas
Priority to applicants from countries under-represented at previous Summits
What's covered:
Full delegate access to the One Young World Summit 2026 in Cape Town
Hotel accommodation from 2 to 6 November 2026
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout the Summit
Round-trip travel costs to and from Cape Town. (Important detail: your return flight must depart from and return to the same international airport. If you fly out from Lagos, you must fly back to Lagos. They will not pay for a multi-city itinerary.)
Access to the global Ambassador network of 20,500+ leaders
The opportunity to represent your country during the Summit's Opening Ceremony
Speaking, mentoring, and regional networking opportunities for life
What's not covered:
The visa fee for entering South Africa, if your nationality requires one. You pay this yourself.
The cost of travelling to your visa application centre
Travel insurance and any incidental costs
For Nigerian, Ghanaian, Kenyan, Ethiopian, Ugandan, Tanzanian, South African, Egyptian, Senegalese, Cameroonian, Zimbabwean, Algerian, and most other African applicants, this is your primary path. Apply early. Treat the application like a job interview, because that's what it is.
ICMM Young Leaders Scholarship 2026: For the Climate and Sustainability Crowd
The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) runs its own scholarship to bring young leaders working on climate, biodiversity, and responsible natural resource management to Cape Town.
Who they're looking for:
Young leaders with a proven and demonstrated interest in biodiversity conservation, decarbonisation, responsible natural resource production, social performance, or sustainability
Active changemakers driving positive change in these spaces
What's covered:
Full funding to attend the One Young World Summit 2026
An exclusive dialogue with the ICMM CEO on the sidelines of the Summit. This is rare, intimate, career-changing access.
Lifelong membership of the One Young World Ambassador Community
How to apply: through the official ICMM scholarship portal on oneyoungworld.com. You may be invited to submit additional documentation including references, a pitch video, or a video call with One Young World and ICMM representatives.
If you've worked on climate, energy transition, sustainable mining, environmental justice, or community engagement around natural resources, this scholarship was written for you.
Application deadline
October 31, 2026We'll email you 14, 3, 1 days before the deadline.
Other Funded Pathways to One Young World 2026
The three above are the major open scholarships, but they are not the only paths. Depending on your country and your sector, watch out for these too:
Country-specific scholarships: Several governments, embassies, and major employers sponsor country delegations. If you're Filipino, the Rappler delegation has its own track. If you're from specific countries with strong corporate partners, your national One Young World ambassador chapter may run an open call. The full list updates throughout the year on the One Young World scholarships page.
The Lead2030 challenges: One Young World runs annual open challenges tied to each Sustainable Development Goal, in partnership with companies like AstraZeneca, BNY Mellon, GSK, and others. If you run an organisation working on a specific SDG, applying to Lead2030 can both win you Summit attendance and unlock additional funding for your work.
Workshop Facilitator and Volunteer applications: If you don't fit any scholarship, you can apply to be a Workshop Facilitator (running a session at the Summit) or a Volunteer (helping run the event). Both routes give you Summit access. Funding varies and is not guaranteed.
Corporate delegations: Many global companies pay for their employees to attend as part of their delegation. If your employer has ever sponsored anyone for a leadership conference, ask. The list of corporate partners is long and includes most of the Fortune 500.
The point: there is almost no young leader, in almost no country, in almost no sector, who has zero path to Cape Town. The question is which one fits you.
How to Choose Which One Young World Scholarship to Apply To
Pause for a moment and answer four questions honestly.
Question 1: What country are you applying from? If you're from an African country, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Central Asia, or any country historically under-represented at global forums, the Leading Scholarship is your strongest base case. Start there.
Question 2: What sector is your work in? If your work touches alcohol harm reduction, responsible nightlife, or healthier social spaces, add the Pernod Ricard Scholarship to your list. If your work touches climate, biodiversity, energy transition, or natural resources, add the ICMM Scholarship to your list. If your work touches a specific SDG and you run a small organisation, look at the Lead2030 challenges.
Question 3: Does your employer have any tie to the Summit? Ask. Many companies pay for staff to attend. Free is free.
Question 4: What's your deadline reality? If today's date is mid-June 2026 and you can do a sharp application in four weeks, prioritise Pernod Ricard (14 July). If you need more time, the Leading Scholarship (31 October) gives you breathing room but rewards early applications because selection is rolling.
The smart strategy is to apply to two or three paths in parallel, with each application tailored to that specific scholarship. Selectors can spot copy-paste applications instantly.
How to Write a One Young World Application That Actually Wins
Here's where most applicants undersell themselves. They write generic statements about "wanting to make a difference" and "being passionate about leadership." Those words mean nothing.
Strong One Young World applications do three things.
They lead with a specific action you've taken. Not "I care about education in my community." Instead, "I started a Saturday reading group for fifteen children in my neighbourhood in March 2024. By December, the group had grown to forty-two children meeting at the local church. Two of the older girls have now been enrolled in secondary school for the first time."
Names. Numbers. Places. Dates. Outcomes.
They name a specific problem you want to keep working on. Not "Africa faces many challenges." Instead, "My focus is the lack of reading materials in the indigenous languages of northern Nigeria, specifically Hausa, and the connection between that gap and primary school dropout rates."
Specific is winning. Specific is honest. Specific is hard to fake.
They explain why the Summit matters to that specific work. Not "I want to network and learn." Instead, "I'm trying to find collaborators in West African children's publishing and funders who care about mother-tongue literacy. One Young World gives me a four-day window to find them, and the Ambassador Community gives me a network to keep finding them for the rest of my career."
That kind of clarity is what selectors are reading thousands of forms looking for. Write yours so it stands out at the top of the pile.
A few practical add-ons:
Submit early. Rolling selection means early applications get fresher attention.
Have someone read your draft. A friend, a mentor, anyone. If they can't summarise your application back to you in one sentence, your application is too vague.
Prepare for the video interview. Some scholarships (especially ICMM) may request a video call. Treat it like a job interview.
Plan for the visa. Most non-African applicants and some African applicants need a visa to enter South Africa. Apply for it the moment you receive your acceptance, because South African visa processing for some nationalities takes weeks.
Real Questions from Real Applicants
Frequently asked questions
I'm 35 right now and turning 36 in February 2027. Can I still apply?
These are the questions young leaders from across Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond actually asked while preparing their One Young World applications. We answer each one as plainly as we can.
I'm 17 right now and turning 18 in September 2026. Can I apply?
Yes. You must be 18 by the time of the Summit. If you'll be 18 by November 2026, you qualify. Mention your birthday clearly in the application.
My English is not strong. Will that disqualify me?
The Summit is conducted primarily in English, and you do need to be able to follow plenary sessions and participate in workshops. But "academic English perfection" is not the bar. If you can hold a conversation, you can be a delegate. Apply.
Do I need a university degree?
No. One Young World specifically welcomes leaders whose education has taken non-traditional paths. Self-taught entrepreneurs, community organisers, artists, athletes, and activists are all welcome. Your impact is what matters.
My work is small. I run a project that's only reached a hundred people. Is that enough?
Yes. Selectors are not impressed by inflated numbers. They are impressed by clear, honest, well-documented impact. A project that has truly changed a hundred lives beats a vague "movement" of ten thousand followers on social media. Apply with what you actually have.
I've been rejected from One Young World before. Should I try again?
Yes. Many current Ambassadors applied two or three times before being selected. Each year is different. The competition shifts. Your work has likely grown. Apply again with a strengthened story.
Do I need to pay anything to apply?
No. The application itself is free. You only pay for your visa fee if your scholarship is awarded and you require a visa to enter South Africa.
Will the scholarship cover my visa?
No. This is the single thing the scholarships do not cover. You will need to pay for the visa application fee yourself, plus any costs of travelling to your visa application centre. Budget for this in advance.
How competitive is it?
Very. The Summit has roughly 2,200 delegate spots, against tens of thousands of applications across all funding routes. But "competitive" does not mean impossible. Specific, well-written, early applications consistently outperform last-minute generic ones.
Can I apply to multiple One Young World scholarships at the same time?
Yes, and you should, as long as each application is genuinely tailored to that specific scholarship's focus. Don't copy-paste. Customise.
What happens after I'm selected?
You receive an offer letter, you accept, and One Young World begins coordinating your flights, accommodation, and visa support documentation. You'll be added to communications channels with other delegates from your country and your sector. The community starts long before the Summit itself.
What if I'm selected but can't actually travel?
Notify One Young World immediately. In some cases, your spot can be transferred to a reserve candidate. Letting them know early protects your reputation for future applications.
Is there an online or virtual delegate option?
The 2026 Summit is primarily in-person in Cape Town. Some content may be streamed publicly, but full delegate access is for those physically present.
What to Do This Week
The Summit is five months away. The fastest deadline (Pernod Ricard) is four weeks away. The flagship deadline (Leading Scholarship) is four months away. Here's the only action plan you need:
Today or tomorrow: open oneyoungworld.com, find the scholarships page, and read each scholarship description in full.
This week: decide which two or three scholarships fit you, and start drafting your applications.
In the next 7 days: ask one mentor or referee to be ready to support your application. Send them a one-page brief on your work and the Summit.
Before 14 July 2026: submit your Pernod Ricard application if you're eligible.
Before 31 October 2026: submit your Leading Scholarship and any other applicable scholarship applications. Submit as early as possible since selection is rolling.
A Final Note to the Person Still Reading
If you've read this far, you're probably not just curious. You're someone who has been quietly doing something that matters, somewhere others aren't watching, and you've been wondering whether anyone notices.
One Young World notices.
The young woman who started the Saturday reading group. The young man who has been organising clean-up drives every weekend for two years. The nurse who has been training other nurses for free. The teacher who has been smuggling textbooks across borders. The journalist who has been writing the stories no one else will write. The student who has been quietly building an app to track water access in their hometown.
There is a flight to Cape Town with your name on it, if you write the application that tells your story honestly.
The form is open. The deadline is real. The flight is waiting. Go and write.
Never miss an opportunity
Get new scholarships and deadline alerts straight to your phone — join our free channels.
