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Earth might be under pressure, yet a sense of hope remains. A novel accolade originating at the interdisciplinary festival Starmus aims to inspire people to take action.

The medal will be given in honour of the esteemed British primatologist who died this year. It seeks to acknowledge individuals and groups that protect life on Earth.

Award Details

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

According to statements that Goodall, a former 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, was Jane's wish,” a statement said. “Her desire was she would like for this to occur. This is likely due to the very special relationship she had with the festival.”

“This medal aims to highlight sustainable programmes carried out to create a planet a better place for all living beings and ecosystems and provide encouragement to continue that work,” said a family member.

Structure and Vision

A co-founder of the festival stated that the medal – which was announced at a prestigious venue – will likely encompass various fields.

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

Sharing thoughts about the future of the planet, one figure stated, “Frankly, it’s very hard to maintain optimism. Certain policies globally represents an assault on knowledge. This situation really cripples collective action.”

“Realistically, the situation appears very good so we have to begin to reconsidering, more deeply about the consequences of human activity. This concern encompasses not only climate change, that’s the entire manner that we treat our environment.”

Inspiring Change

Consequently, observers believe this is an opportune moment to honor Goodall’s example. “It is believed that when we’re awarding this medal, we will be considering this essential spirit that Jane embodied – which made her foremost concern, to transform the way we treat the other animals with which we share the planet.”

A major topic today was highlighted of misinformation. The central topic of the upcoming Starmus festival will be “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“We realised that truth has become a matter of debate when politics is involved. And it’s a perilous development,” he commented. “The climate science remains a scientific discipline; you cannot allow interference by political agendas in this field.”

Hope and Determination

The aspiration remains that the medal will spur concrete steps. “It’s about motivating others to get involved and to show concern and to strive in that direction, really. Regardless of if we feel hopeful, we must look at doing the best we can,” it was added. “Accept the possibility of setbacks, but you still have to work to achieve positive outcomes.”

A descendant involved in conservation work expressed optimism that “given direction and once enabled, humans can be responsible caretakers of Earth”, highlighting the initiatives of an institute which, in addition to its projects, helps young people get involved locally, wildlife, and environment.

“As my late grandmother constantly reminded us, the choices we make each day have an impact and the responsibility lies with us what type of impact we make,” it was stated. “We still have an opportunity and this medal will offer support and raise awareness about beneficial initiatives currently in progress.”