🔗 Share this article

Earth is under pressure, however a sense of hope remains. A new award from the interdisciplinary festival Starmus aims to motivate the public to take action.

This new Earth medal bearing Jane Goodall's name will honor to pay tribute to the renowned scientist and conservationist who passed away recently. It will recognise those who champion life on Earth.

The Medal's Framework

The inaugural winners are slated for announcement during the Starmus VIII festival in Tenerife and La Palma, scheduled from October 17th to 22nd next year.

Reports indicate that Goodall, who was a member of the festival's board, had endorsed the medal's establishment. “The vision behind 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 close relationship she had with the festival.”

“The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will recognize sustainable programmes undertaken to make our world improved for people, animals and the environment and offer support for the continuation such efforts,” commented a relative.

Format and Inspiration

A co-founder of Starmus noted that the medal – which was announced at a scientific institution – would probably have multiple categories.

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

Expressing concern about the future for Earth, a prominent voice remarked, “To be truthful, it’s very hard to maintain optimism. Present governance globally is conducting an assault on knowledge. This situation undermines the world’s efforts.”

“In truth, the situation appears very good therefore we must commence reconsidering, more deeply regarding the impact of human activity. And that’s not just climate change, but also the whole way in which we interact with nature.”

Inspiring Change

As a result, observers believe it was a good time to honor Goodall’s example. “I think that when we’re awarding this medal, the focus will be on this essential spirit that Jane embodied – that was her foremost concern, to change our relationship with wildlife around us.”

A pressing concern at present is the proliferation of false information. The focus of next year’s Starmus festival will be “the search for truth”.

“We realised that factual reality has become a subject of discussion where political interests are involved. This is a perilous development,” it was said. “Climate research remains a scientific discipline; you cannot allow interference from politics in climate science.”

Optimism and Resolve

The aspiration is that this honor can motivate action. “The purpose is inspiring individuals to participate and to show concern and to work toward these goals, truly. Regardless of if we feel hopeful, we have to focus on working all that is possible,” a statement concluded. “Accept the possibility of failure, yet we must have to work towards succeeding.”

A descendant engaged in conservation work shared optimism that “given direction and when empowered, humanity are capable of being diligent stewards of Earth”, highlighting the programs of a foundation which, among its other activities, assists young people become engaged locally, wildlife, and the natural world.

“As Jane Goodall constantly reminded us, our daily actions have an impact and the responsibility lies with 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 that people are making.”