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Our planet is under pressure, yet a sense of hope remains. A fresh honor originating at the science, music and arts festival the Starmus festival aims to inspire people to act.

The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will be given to pay tribute to the renowned British primatologist who passed away this year. It seeks to acknowledge individuals and groups that protect life on Earth.

Award Details

The first recipients are expected to be announced at the upcoming Starmus event in Tenerife and La Palma, which will run from October 17th to 22nd the coming year.

It was shared that Jane Goodall, a former member of the festival's board, had supported the medal's establishment. “The vision of having this medal, and the festival being tasked with organising it, was Jane's wish,” a representative said. “Her desire was that she wanted for this to occur. And I think due to the unique relationship she had with us.”

“This medal will acknowledge sustainable programmes undertaken to make our world improved for all living beings and ecosystems and offer support to continue that work,” said a family member.

Structure and Vision

One of the founders of Starmus stated that the medal – which was announced at a scientific institution – will likely have multiple categories.

“The intent is for it to be modeled after the Stephen Hawking medal for science communication established exactly 10 years ago,” he explained. Goodall was an honoree of that award.

Sharing thoughts about the future of the planet, one figure remarked, “To be truthful, it’s very hard to feel hopeful. Present governance in one major nation is conducting a war on science. So this really cripples global initiatives.”

“Realistically, things don’t look particularly bright so we have to commence reconsidering, with greater urgency about the consequences of human activity. This concern encompasses not just global warming, that’s the entire manner in which we interact with the natural world.”

Following an Example

As a result, observers believe it was an opportune moment to emulate Goodall’s example. “It is believed that when we’re awarding the prize, we will be considering this core philosophy of Jane’s – which made her priority, to change the way we treat fellow creatures with which we share the planet.”

A pressing concern today is the proliferation of misinformation. The central topic of next year’s Starmus festival is set as “the search for truth”.

“We realised that truth has become contested where political interests are involved. This is a perilous development,” he commented. “The climate science remains a scientific discipline; you cannot have any influence from politics in climate science.”

Hope and Determination

The aspiration is that this honor will inspire action. “It focuses on motivating others to engage and to show concern and to work toward these goals, really. Regardless of if we feel hopeful, we must look at doing the best we can,” a statement concluded. “Accept the possibility of setbacks, but you still have to work to achieve positive outcomes.”

A descendant engaged in conservation work shared optimism that “with guidance and when empowered, humanity are capable of being responsible caretakers of our planet”, pointing to the programs of a foundation which, among its other activities, assists the youth get involved with their community, animals, and environment.

“As my late grandmother repeatedly emphasized, our daily actions are significant and the responsibility lies with us what type of impact 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 that people are making.”