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Our planet might be under pressure, however a sense of hope remains. A fresh honor from the interdisciplinary festival Starmus aims to inspire people to act.

The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal is to be awarded to pay tribute to the renowned British primatologist who died this year. It will recognise those who protect our planet's biodiversity.

Award Details

Initial honorees are slated for announcement at the upcoming Starmus event in the Canary Islands, which will run 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 medal's establishment. “The vision behind this medal, and the festival being tasked to oversee it, was Jane's wish,” a representative said. “Her desire was that she wanted for this to occur. This is likely because of the close bond she shared with the festival.”

“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 to carry on such efforts,” commented a relative.

Structure and Vision

A co-founder of Starmus indicated that the medal – which was announced at a prestigious venue – will likely have multiple categories.

“The intent is for it to be very much similar to the Stephen Hawking medal honoring scientific outreach that we created exactly 10 years ago,” he explained. Goodall was a recipient of that award.

Expressing concern about the future of the planet, a prominent voice stated, “Frankly, it’s very hard to be optimistic. Certain policies in one major nation is conducting a dismissal of evidence. This situation undermines the world’s efforts.”

“In truth, the prospects aren't very good which means we need to begin to reflecting, more deeply about the consequences of our actions. This concern encompasses not just climate change, but also the whole way that we treat our environment.”

Inspiring Change

Consequently, it was noted this is an opportune moment to emulate her guiding principles. “It is believed that in bestowing the prize, the focus will be on this core philosophy that Jane embodied – which made her priority, to transform the way we treat fellow creatures with which we share the planet.”

A pressing concern currently involves the spread of disinformation. The focus of the upcoming Starmus festival will be “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“There is a recognition that factual reality has become contested where political interests is involved. And it’s a perilous development,” he commented. “Climate research is a science; you cannot have any influence from politics in this field.”

Hope and Determination

The aspiration is that this honor can motivate action. “It focuses on encouraging people to participate and to show concern and to work toward these goals, really. Whether or not we’re optimistic, we must look at working all that is possible,” it was added. “Be prepared for setbacks, but you still continue striving toward success.”

A family member involved in conservation work expressed hope that “with guidance and once enabled, people can be responsible caretakers of Earth”, pointing to the initiatives of an institute which, among its other activities, helps young people get involved locally, animals, and environment.

“As Jane Goodall constantly told everyone, our daily actions have an impact and the responsibility lies with us what type of impact we make,” it was stated. “There is still time and this medal will provide inspiration and increase understanding about beneficial initiatives that are being undertaken.”