A Jane Goodall Earth Medal Will Honor Those Striving to Improve the World.

Our planet is facing challenges, but a sense of hope remains. A fresh honor originating at the science, music and arts festival Starmus will encourage individuals to act.

The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal is to be awarded in honour of the renowned British primatologist who passed away this year. It is designed to celebrate individuals and groups that protect our planet's biodiversity.

Award Details

Initial honorees are expected to be announced at the upcoming Starmus event in Tenerife and La Palma, scheduled from October 17th to 22nd the coming year.

It was shared that Goodall, who was a member of the festival's board, had endorsed the award’s creation. “The vision of having this award, and Starmus being entrusted with organising it, is Jane’s,” a statement said. “Her desire was that she wanted this to happen. This is likely due to the close relationship she shared with us.”

“The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will recognize sustainable programmes undertaken to create a planet a better place for people, animals and the environment and offer support for the continuation that work,” said a family member.

Structure and Vision

One of the founders of Starmus indicated that the medal – unveiled at a scientific institution – will likely include several divisions.

“It will be modeled after the Stephen Hawking award for science communication that we created a decade past,” he explained. Jane Goodall herself received of that award.

Sharing thoughts on the outlook for Earth, a prominent voice said, “Frankly, it’s very hard to feel hopeful. Present governance in one major nation represents a dismissal of evidence. So this really cripples the world’s efforts.”

“To be honest, the situation appears particularly bright which means we need to begin to thinking again, more deeply about the consequences of our actions. This concern encompasses not only global warming, that’s the entire manner that we treat the natural world.”

A Call to Action

As a result, observers believe this is a good time to follow Goodall’s example. “I think that when we’re awarding the prize, we will be considering this core philosophy that Jane embodied – that was her foremost concern, to change the way we treat the other animals around us.”

Another key issue currently involves the spread of false information. The theme of the upcoming festival will be “the search for truth”.

“There is a recognition that factual reality has become contested where political interests are involved. This is an alarming trend,” he commented. “Climate research is a science; it is impossible to have any influence by political agendas in climate science.”

Optimism and Resolve

The aspiration is that the medal will inspire concrete steps. “The purpose is inspiring individuals to engage and to care and to work in that direction, really. Whether or not we’re optimistic, we have to look at doing all that is possible,” a statement concluded. “Be prepared for setbacks, yet we must have to work towards succeeding.”

A family member involved in conservation work shared confidence that “given direction and when empowered, humanity can be diligent stewards of our planet”, pointing to the initiatives of an institute that, among its other activities, empowers young people become engaged with their community, wildlife, and the natural world.

“As my late grandmother constantly emphasized, our daily actions make a difference and the responsibility lies with us the kind of difference we choose to create,” he said. “It is not too late and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will offer support and increase understanding about the positive actions currently in progress.”