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Earth could be under strain, but there is hope. A fresh honor originating at the interdisciplinary festival the Starmus festival will encourage people to make a difference.

The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal is to be awarded in honour of the renowned scientist and conservationist who died this year. It is designed to celebrate those who champion the natural world.

Award Details

Initial honorees are expected to be announced at the Starmus VIII festival in the Canary Islands, which will run from October 17th to 22nd next year.

It was shared that Goodall, a former Starmus advisory board member, had backed the award’s creation. “The concept behind this medal, and the festival being tasked with organising it, is Jane’s,” a statement said. “She expressed she would like for this to occur. This is likely because of the very special connection she shared with us.”

“The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will acknowledge ongoing initiatives carried out to build an environment improved for all living beings and ecosystems and foster motivation to continue such efforts,” commented a relative.

Structure and Vision

A co-founder of Starmus noted that the medal – unveiled at a scientific institution – will likely include several divisions.

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

Expressing concern about the future for Earth, a prominent voice remarked, “Frankly, it’s very hard to be optimistic. Present governance in one major nation represents an assault on knowledge. So this undermines collective action.”

“To be honest, the situation appears very good which means we need to really start reconsidering, with greater urgency regarding the impact of our actions. And that’s not just global warming, that’s the whole way that we treat nature.”

Inspiring Change

Consequently, observers believe this is a good time to honor her guiding principles. “I think that when we’re awarding the prize, we will be considering this essential spirit of Jane’s – which made her priority, to change our relationship with the other animals with which we share the planet.”

A pressing concern at present was highlighted of disinformation. The theme of the upcoming Starmus festival will be “the search for truth”.

“We realised that factual reality is becoming a matter of debate when politics is involved. This is an alarming trend,” he commented. “The climate science is a science; it is impossible to allow interference by political agendas in climate science.”

Hope and Determination

The goal is that this honor will inspire action. “It’s about encouraging people to engage and to show concern and to strive toward these goals, really. Regardless of if we feel hopeful, we have to look at doing the best we can,” it was added. “Be prepared for failure, yet we must have to work toward success.”

A family member engaged in environmental protection expressed optimism that “given direction and once enabled, humanity are capable of being diligent stewards of our planet”, citing the work of an institute that, among its other activities, helps young people become engaged locally, wildlife, and the natural world.

“As my late grandmother repeatedly emphasized, the choices we make each day make a difference and it is up to us the kind of difference we choose to create,” he said. “We still have an opportunity and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will give encouragement and raise awareness regarding constructive efforts that people are making.”