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The world might be facing challenges, however there is hope. A new award from the science, music and arts festival the Starmus festival aims to motivate individuals to take action.

This new Earth medal bearing Jane Goodall's name is to be awarded in honour of the celebrated British primatologist who passed away recently. It will recognise those who champion our planet's biodiversity.

Award Details

The first recipients are slated for announcement during the upcoming Starmus event in the Canary Islands, scheduled from October 17th to 22nd the coming year.

Reports indicate that Jane Goodall, a former member of the festival's board, had supported the award’s creation. “The idea of having this medal, and Starmus being entrusted to oversee it, is Jane’s,” a statement said. “She said that she wanted for this to occur. This is likely because of the very special connection she had with the festival.”

“The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal aims to highlight enduring projects carried out to make our world a better place for all living beings and ecosystems and provide encouragement to continue such efforts,” commented a relative.

Structure and Vision

A co-founder of the festival stated that the medal – which was announced at a scientific institution – will likely include several divisions.

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

Expressing concern about the future of the planet, a prominent voice remarked, “Frankly, it’s very hard to maintain optimism. Certain policies globally represents a war on science. This situation undermines global initiatives.”

“Realistically, things don’t look particularly bright so we have to commence reconsidering, with greater urgency about the consequences of human activity. This concern encompasses not just climate change, that’s the whole way that we treat the natural world.”

Following an Example

As a result, it was noted it was a good time to emulate Jane Goodall's legacy. “I think that when we’re awarding this medal, the focus will be on this essential spirit that Jane embodied – that was her priority, to change how we regard wildlife around us.”

A major topic today was highlighted of misinformation. The focus of the upcoming festival is set as “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“There is a recognition that factual reality is becoming a matter of debate when politics is involved. And it’s a perilous development,” he commented. “The science of climate is a science; it is impossible to allow interference by political agendas in climate science.”

Optimism and Resolve

The hope remains that this honor will inspire action. “The purpose is encouraging people to get involved and to show concern and to work toward these goals, really. Regardless of if we’re optimistic, we have to look at working all that is possible,” it was added. “Accept the possibility of failure, but you still have to work towards succeeding.”

A descendant involved in environmental protection shared confidence that “given direction and once enabled, people can be conscientious guardians of Earth”, pointing to the work of a foundation which, among its other activities, empowers the youth become engaged with their community, wildlife, and the natural world.

“As my late grandmother often told everyone, the choices we make each day are significant and the responsibility lies with us what type of impact we make,” he said. “We still have an opportunity and this medal will offer support and increase understanding about beneficial initiatives currently in progress.”