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Earth could be facing challenges, yet a sense of hope remains. A new award originating at the science, music and arts festival the Starmus festival seeks to inspire individuals to act.

This new Earth medal bearing Jane Goodall's name will be given in honour of the celebrated British primatologist who died recently. It seeks to acknowledge individuals and groups that protect the natural world.

Award Details

The inaugural winners are slated for announcement during 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 Starmus advisory board member, had endorsed the award’s creation. “The idea of having this award, and Starmus being entrusted with organising it, was Jane's wish,” a statement said. “She said she would like for this to occur. And I think due to the unique relationship she had with the festival.”

“This medal aims to highlight sustainable programmes carried out to create a planet a better place for people, animals and the environment and provide encouragement to continue such efforts,” commented a relative.

Structure and Vision

A co-founder of the festival noted that the medal – which was announced at a prestigious venue – would probably have multiple categories.

“It will be inspired by the Stephen Hawking medal for science communication that we created exactly 10 years ago,” he explained. Goodall was an honoree of that award.

Sharing thoughts on the outlook for Earth, a prominent voice stated, “To be truthful, it’s very hard to be optimistic. Present governance globally is conducting a war on science. So this significantly hampers the world’s efforts.”

“Realistically, things don’t look very good so we have to begin to reflecting, more deeply regarding the impact of human activity. This concern encompasses not just climate change, that’s the whole way in which we interact with the natural world.”

A Call to Action

Therefore, observers believe this is an opportune moment to emulate Goodall’s example. “It is believed that in bestowing this medal, the focus will be on this core philosophy that Jane embodied – which made her foremost concern, to change our relationship with fellow creatures with which we share the planet.”

A major topic at present is the proliferation of misinformation. The central topic of next year’s Starmus festival will be “the search for truth”.

“It has become apparent that factual reality has become contested when politics is involved. This is an alarming trend,” he commented. “The climate science remains a scientific discipline; you cannot have any influence from politics in climate science.”

Optimism and Resolve

The hope is that this honor will spur concrete steps. “The purpose is encouraging people to participate and to care and to work toward these goals, truly. Whether or not we feel hopeful, we have to focus on doing all that is possible,” a statement concluded. “Accept the possibility of setbacks, but you still continue striving toward success.”

A descendant engaged in environmental protection expressed confidence that “given direction and when empowered, people can be conscientious guardians of our planet”, pointing to the work of an institute which, among its other activities, empowers the next generation get involved with their community, animals, and environment.

“As Jane Goodall repeatedly reminded us, the choices we make each day have an impact and the responsibility lies with us the kind of difference we choose to create,” it was stated. “There is still time and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will give encouragement and raise awareness about beneficial initiatives currently in progress.”