A Jane Goodall Earth Medal to Celebrate Individuals Striving to Improve the World.

Our planet might be facing challenges, but a sense of hope remains. A fresh honor from the interdisciplinary festival the Starmus festival will inspire the public to act.

The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will be given in honour of the esteemed British primatologist who died this year. It is designed to celebrate individuals and groups that champion our planet's biodiversity.

Honoring a Legacy

The first recipients are expected to be announced at the Starmus VIII festival in the Canary Islands, scheduled from 17–22 October next year.

Reports indicate that Jane Goodall, who was a Starmus advisory board member, had backed the medal's establishment. “The idea of having this award, and the festival being tasked to oversee it, originated with Jane,” 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 sustainable programmes carried out to make our world a better place for people, animals and the environment and provide encouragement for the continuation that work,” commented a relative.

Structure and Vision

A co-founder of Starmus stated that the medal – which was announced at a prestigious venue – would probably encompass various fields.

“It’s going to be inspired by the Stephen Hawking medal honoring scientific outreach that we created a decade past,” he explained. Jane Goodall was an honoree of that very medal.

Expressing concern on the outlook for Earth, one figure said, “To be truthful, it's challenging to feel hopeful. Present governance in one major nation represents a dismissal of evidence. So this significantly hampers collective action.”

“In truth, the situation appears very good therefore we must begin to reconsidering, much more seriously regarding the impact of human activity. And that’s not just climate change, that’s the whole way that we treat nature.”

Following an Example

As a result, observers believe it was an opportune moment to emulate her guiding principles. “I think that in bestowing this medal, the focus will be on this essential spirit that Jane embodied – which made her foremost concern, to change how we regard the other animals around us.”

A major topic today involves the spread of misinformation. The theme of next year’s festival will be “the search for truth”.

“We realised that factual reality has become a matter of debate where political interests is involved. And it’s a very dangerous thing,” he commented. “Climate research is a science; you cannot allow interference from politics in climate science.”

Optimism and Resolve

The hope remains that this honor will spur action. “The purpose is encouraging people to participate and to care and to work in that direction, truly. Regardless of if we’re optimistic, we have to look at doing the best we can,” it was added. “Accept the possibility of failure, but you still have to work towards succeeding.”

A descendant engaged in environmental protection expressed confidence that “given direction and when empowered, people can be diligent stewards of our planet”, citing the programs of an institute which, in addition to its projects, empowers young people get involved locally, animals, and the natural world.

“As my late grandmother often emphasized, our daily actions are significant and it is up to us what type of impact we choose to create,” he said. “There is still time and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will provide inspiration and increase understanding about the positive actions currently in progress.”