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Earth might be under pressure, but there is hope. A novel accolade originating at the science, music and arts festival the Starmus festival aims to inspire people to act.

This new Earth medal bearing Jane Goodall's name will be given to pay tribute to the renowned British primatologist who died this year. It seeks to acknowledge those who champion the natural world.

Award Details

The first recipients are expected to be announced at the upcoming Starmus event in Tenerife and La Palma, scheduled from 17–22 October the coming year.

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

“The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will acknowledge enduring projects undertaken to build an environment improved for people, animals and the environment and offer support to continue that work,” said a family member.

Structure and Vision

A co-founder of Starmus noted that the medal – which was announced at a scientific institution – will likely encompass various fields.

“The intent is for it to be very much similar to the Stephen Hawking award for science communication established exactly 10 years ago,” he explained. Goodall herself received of that award.

Sharing thoughts on the outlook for Earth, one figure stated, “Honestly, it is difficult to maintain optimism. The current political climate in one major nation represents an assault on knowledge. So this significantly hampers the world’s efforts.”

“Realistically, things don’t look particularly bright which means we need to commence thinking again, with greater urgency regarding the impact of human activity. This concern encompasses not only global warming, that’s the whole way that we treat our environment.”

Inspiring Change

Consequently, observers believe this is an opportune moment to follow Jane Goodall's legacy. “I think that when we’re awarding this medal, the focus will be on this core philosophy of Jane’s – that was her foremost concern, to change how we regard fellow creatures around us.”

A major topic currently is the proliferation of false information. The theme of next year’s Starmus festival is set as “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“We realised that truth is becoming contested where political interests is involved. This is a perilous development,” it was said. “Climate research remains a scientific discipline; you cannot allow interference by political agendas in climate science.”

Hope and Determination

The aspiration is that the medal will spur concrete steps. “It’s about motivating others to engage and to show concern and to strive toward these goals, really. Whether or not we’re optimistic, we have to focus on doing all that is possible,” a statement concluded. “Be prepared for failure, but you still continue striving towards succeeding.”

A family member involved in environmental protection expressed optimism that “given direction and when empowered, people can be diligent stewards of our planet”, highlighting the initiatives of a foundation which, among its other activities, empowers young people become engaged locally, animals, and environment.

“As Jane Goodall repeatedly reminded us, the choices we make each day have an impact 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 regarding beneficial initiatives currently in progress.”