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Our planet is facing challenges, but there is hope. A novel accolade originating at the interdisciplinary festival Starmus aims to encourage the public to act.

The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will honor to pay tribute to the celebrated British primatologist who died this year. It seeks to acknowledge individuals and groups that champion life on Earth.

Honoring a Legacy

The first recipients will be revealed at the upcoming Starmus event in the Canary Islands, scheduled from October 17th to 22nd next year.

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

“This medal will acknowledge enduring projects carried out to build an environment improved for people, animals and the environment and offer support for the continuation that work,” commented a relative.

Format and Inspiration

A co-founder of Starmus indicated that the medal – unveiled at a scientific institution – would probably include several divisions.

“The intent is for it to be inspired by the Stephen Hawking award for science communication that we created a decade past,” he explained. Jane Goodall was an honoree of that very medal.

Expressing concern on the outlook of the planet, one figure said, “Frankly, it’s very hard to be optimistic. Certain policies in one major nation is conducting a dismissal of evidence. So this significantly hampers the world’s efforts.”

“In truth, things don’t look particularly bright which means we need to begin to reflecting, much more seriously about the consequences of our actions. This concern encompasses not only global warming, that’s the whole way that we treat our environment.”

Following an Example

Therefore, observers believe this is an opportune moment to honor Goodall’s example. “I think that when we’re awarding the prize, the focus will be on this essential spirit that Jane embodied – which made her priority, to change the way we treat wildlife around us.”

A major topic at present is the proliferation of misinformation. The focus of the upcoming Starmus festival will be “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“We realised that factual reality is becoming a matter of debate when politics is involved. This is an alarming trend,” he commented. “Climate research remains a scientific discipline; you cannot have any influence from politics in this field.”

Optimism and Resolve

The goal is that the medal will inspire concrete steps. “The purpose is inspiring individuals to get involved and to care and to work in that direction, really. Regardless of if we feel hopeful, we have to look at working the best we can,” it was added. “Accept the possibility of setbacks, but you still have to work toward success.”

A descendant involved in environmental protection expressed optimism that “with guidance and when empowered, people can be responsible caretakers of our planet”, pointing to the work of a foundation that, among its other activities, helps the youth get involved locally, animals, and the natural world.

“As my late grandmother often told everyone, the choices we make each day have an impact and it is up to us what type of impact we choose to create,” it was stated. “It is not too late and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will offer support and raise awareness regarding beneficial initiatives currently in progress.”