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The world might be facing challenges, yet a sense of hope remains. A new award from the interdisciplinary festival the Starmus festival aims to encourage individuals to make a difference.

The medal will honor to pay tribute to the renowned scientist and conservationist who died this year. It seeks to acknowledge individuals and groups that advocate for life on Earth.

Award Details

The first recipients are slated for announcement at the Starmus VIII festival in the Canary Islands, which will run from October 17th to 22nd next year.

It was shared that Goodall, who was a member of the festival's board, had supported the medal's establishment. “The concept behind this medal, and the festival being tasked to oversee it, originated with Jane,” a representative said. “She said she would like for this to occur. And I think due to the very special relationship she shared with the festival.”

“The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will recognize sustainable programmes carried out to build an environment a better place for people, animals and the environment and offer support to carry on such efforts,” commented a relative.

Structure and Vision

One of the founders of Starmus noted that the medal – unveiled at a prestigious venue – will likely include several divisions.

“It will be modeled after the Stephen Hawking award honoring scientific outreach that we created a decade past,” it was explained. Goodall herself received of that award.

Expressing concern on the outlook of the planet, a prominent voice said, “Frankly, it’s very hard to be optimistic. Certain policies globally represents a dismissal of evidence. So this really cripples collective action.”

“To be honest, the prospects aren't very good which means we need to begin to reflecting, with greater urgency about the consequences of human activity. This concern encompasses not only global warming, but also the entire manner that we treat the natural world.”

Following an Example

Consequently, observers believe it was a good time to emulate Jane Goodall's legacy. “I think that when we’re awarding the prize, we will be considering this core philosophy of Jane’s – that was her priority, to transform how we regard wildlife around us.”

A major topic today is the proliferation of disinformation. The focus of next year’s Starmus festival will be “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“We realised that factual reality is becoming a matter of debate where political interests is involved. This is a perilous development,” he commented. “The climate science remains a scientific discipline; you cannot allow interference from politics in climate science.”

Hope and Determination

The aspiration remains that the medal can motivate concrete steps. “It’s about inspiring individuals to participate and to care and to strive in that direction, truly. Whether or not we’re optimistic, we must look at doing the best we can,” it was added. “Be prepared for setbacks, but you still have to work to achieve positive outcomes.”

A family member engaged in conservation work shared optimism that “given direction and once enabled, humanity can be conscientious guardians of Earth”, citing the work of an institute which, among its other activities, empowers the next generation become engaged with their community, wildlife, and the natural world.

“As my late grandmother repeatedly reminded us, the choices we make each day are significant and the responsibility lies with us the kind of difference we make,” it was stated. “It is not too late and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will offer support and raise awareness about beneficial initiatives currently in progress.”