A Jane Goodall Earth Medal to Honor Individuals Acting to Improve the Planet.

Earth is under strain, yet a sense of hope remains. A new award from the interdisciplinary festival the Starmus festival will motivate people to act.

This new Earth medal bearing Jane Goodall's name will be given to pay tribute to the celebrated scientist and conservationist who died recently. It will recognise individuals and groups that protect our planet's biodiversity.

The Medal's Framework

The inaugural winners are slated for announcement at the upcoming Starmus event in the Canary Islands, scheduled from October 17th to 22nd the coming year.

Reports indicate that Jane Goodall, who was a Starmus advisory board member, had endorsed the award’s creation. “The idea behind this medal, and Starmus being entrusted 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 unique bond she had with the festival.”

“This medal aims to highlight enduring projects undertaken to create a planet a better place for all living beings and ecosystems and provide encouragement for the continuation that work,” said a family member.

Format and Inspiration

One of the founders of the festival indicated that the medal – which was announced at a scientific institution – would probably include several divisions.

“The intent is for it to be very much similar to the Stephen Hawking medal honoring scientific outreach established a decade past,” he explained. Jane Goodall was an honoree of that very medal.

Expressing concern on the outlook for Earth, a prominent voice remarked, “Frankly, it’s very hard to feel hopeful. The current political climate globally represents a war on science. This situation undermines global initiatives.”

“To be honest, the prospects aren't very good so we have to begin to reflecting, with greater urgency about the consequences of human activity. And that’s not just global warming, but also the whole way that we treat the natural world.”

Inspiring Change

Therefore, it was noted it was an opportune moment to emulate her guiding principles. “I think that in bestowing this medal, the focus will be on this core philosophy of Jane’s – which made her priority, to change the way we treat the other animals around us.”

A pressing concern at present involves the spread of disinformation. The focus of the upcoming festival is set as “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“We realised that truth has become contested when politics are involved. This is a perilous development,” it was said. “Climate research remains a scientific discipline; it is impossible to have any influence by political agendas in climate science.”

Hope and Determination

The aspiration is that the medal will inspire concrete steps. “It focuses on inspiring individuals to get involved and to show concern and to work in that direction, really. Regardless of if we feel hopeful, we must look at doing all that is possible,” a statement concluded. “Accept the possibility of failure, yet we must continue striving towards succeeding.”

A family member engaged in environmental protection shared confidence that “given direction and when empowered, humans can be diligent stewards of Earth”, citing the initiatives of a foundation that, among its other activities, empowers the next generation get involved with their community, wildlife, and environment.

“As my late grandmother constantly emphasized, our daily actions are significant and the responsibility lies with us what type of impact we make,” it was stated. “We still have an opportunity and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will give encouragement and raise awareness regarding beneficial initiatives currently in progress.”