THE effect

An independent 8-month study into the raw methodology

For over 4 years, RAW, our uncensored storytelling night, has been changing people. Now, an independent 8-month study into RAW and its cross-disciplinary methodology, conducted by Rosie McKelvie of London Interdisciplinary School, is finally out.

The study documents meaningful shifts in how people felt and described themselves – and identifies some of the conditions through which RAW builds connection, community and personal transformation. For WDN, the larger possibility is how these conditions might help reweave the social fabric beyond the night itself.

The future will not arrive fully formed. it will be shaped by how we gather, share, listen and care.

THE WHY

“RAW is a monthly storytelling night in London, that offers a platform for ordinary people and emerging artists to share their personal stories around a chosen theme.

The need for something like RAW has never been more urgent. We are living through a loneliness epidemic, now formally recognised as a public health crisis. In a world of ever increasing division, polarisation, and reduced understanding, RAW emerges: connecting people through vulnerability; broadening perspectives; and, rebuilding empathy and togetherness through shared humanity.

The study sits within a growing conversation around social prescribing – the practice of connecting people to community-based, non-clinical support for issues like loneliness, isolation, and poor mental wellbeing, as an alternative or complement to traditional medical care.”

ONE iN siX

The number of people affected by loneliness worldwide. (WHO, 2025)

In 2017, The Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness formally declared loneliness a public health epidemic in the UK. Then in 2025, the WHO Commission on Social Connection identified loneliness as a global crisis, positioning social health as a distinct third pillar alongside physical and mental wellbeing.

Study excerpts

about RAW

RAW is our monthly uncensored storytelling night, and first-of-its-kind experience that has be to lived to be understood. It centres true stories by everyday people, and pairs them with live music and art.

RAW started decades ago among inner circles – born from WDN founder Christine's insatiable obsession with talking to strangers as both survival strategy and favourite pastime.

Today, it aims to change the world by asking the question, ‘what if we have more in common with people we thought we had nothing in common with?’

learn more about RAW

THE HOW

RAW creates change and transformation

bridging the distance between self and other

reframing what is considered possible

Help finding common ground without erasing difference

inspiring & empowering people to take action

this way to build more empathic spaces or teams

Belonging and connection create memorable experiences and stimulate a more collaborative, productive workplace. Talk to us if you’re in the market for human connection.

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fourth spaces, social prescribing & raw

Initially, RAW caught the attention of Rosie McKelvie at London Interdisciplinary School for its innovative approach to creating a fourth space: defined as ‘an offline, intentional gathering place rooted in shared passions and analog connection,’ distinct from home (first space), work (second space), and casual public hangouts like cafés or bars (third space).

The research outcomes, however, pointed to a more powerful story: RAW as a social prescription.

“Social prescribing is “an emerging [NHS] practice that connects people facing non-medical struggles, like loneliness, isolation, low mood, to community-based support instead of, or alongside, clinical treatment. Activities range from walking groups and gardening projects to arts activities and volunteering, each offering a different route to the same goal: connection.”

Study excerpt

"social prescribing's existing menu is built almost entirely around offering frequent physical activity or group participation. Storytelling as a mechanism for change is almost entirely missing."

Study excerpt
"Research by Cacioppo and Hawkley (2009) found that the quality of social connection matters far more than the quantity; for example, emotional closeness, rather than physical proximity or frequency of contact, is what actually improves wellbeing. This shifts the question away from how often an intervention brings people together, and toward whether it creates the conditions for real connection to occur."

Study excerpt
"RAW already produces the benefits that social prescribing is designed to achieve: connection, reduced isolation and improved wellbeing."

Study excerpt
"This research provides evidence to support RAW as a model of social prescription which commissioners can fund, and practitioners can refer service users to. It also unpacks how RAW creates social connection and personal transformation."

Study excerpt

4 insights into raw’s impact

“RAW IS UNIQUE & DEEPLY NEEDED”

“RAW IS A SAFE SPACE TO BE VULNERABLE & AUTHENTIC”

“RAW builds real Community & connection”

“RAW sparks personal transformation”

The what

Four themes emerged from the interviews and testimonials describing what RAW does for the people in the room.

Request the full study

BECAusE HuMANiTy's NEXT EVoluTioN Will BE soCiAl, NoT TEcHNologicAl

Read the manifesto

The long term impact

Toward an empathic civilisation

“The next evolution of humanity entails an upgrade of human identity, an expansion of empathy beyond the individual and into the collective.

As Jeremy Rifkin (2010) explores in his TED talk on "the empathic civilisation," our capacity for empathy has been the quiet engine of human development throughout history, and its continued expansion may be the defining shift of our time. RAW plays a part in this evolution: moving us from survival of the fittest to survival of the most empathic.”