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Our planet is facing challenges, however optimism persists. A new award from the science, music and arts festival Starmus seeks to motivate people to make a difference.

The medal will be given in honour of the esteemed British primatologist who passed away this year. It will recognise individuals and groups that protect life on Earth.

Honoring a Legacy

Initial honorees are expected to be announced during the upcoming Starmus event in Tenerife and La Palma, which will run from October 17th to 22nd the coming year.

Reports indicate that Jane Goodall, who was a Starmus advisory board member, had endorsed the medal's establishment. “The vision of having this medal, and the festival being tasked with organising it, was Jane's wish,” a representative said. “She said that she wanted this to happen. And I think due to the unique bond she shared with us.”

“This medal aims to highlight sustainable programmes undertaken to build an environment improved for all living beings and ecosystems and provide encouragement to carry on such efforts,” said a family member.

Structure and Vision

One of the founders of Starmus stated that the medal – which was announced at a scientific institution – will likely encompass various fields.

“It will be inspired by the Stephen Hawking medal honoring scientific outreach that we created exactly 10 years ago,” he explained. Goodall was a recipient of that award.

Sharing thoughts about the future of the planet, a prominent voice stated, “To be truthful, it’s very hard to maintain optimism. The current political climate globally represents a war on science. So this undermines collective action.”

“Realistically, things don’t look very good which means we need to begin to reconsidering, more deeply regarding the impact of our actions. And that’s not only climate change, that’s the entire manner that we treat our environment.”

A Call to Action

Therefore, it was noted it was an opportune moment to emulate Goodall’s example. “It is believed that when we’re awarding this medal, the focus will be on this core philosophy that Jane embodied – which made her priority, to transform our relationship with wildlife with which we share the planet.”

A major topic at present is the proliferation of misinformation. The central topic of the upcoming Starmus festival will be “the search for truth”.

“We realised that truth has become a matter of debate when politics are involved. And it’s a very dangerous thing,” 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 spur action. “The purpose is motivating others to engage and to show concern and to work toward these goals, really. Whether or not we’re optimistic, we must focus on working our utmost,” it was added. “Be prepared for setbacks, but you still continue striving towards succeeding.”

A descendant engaged in conservation work shared confidence that “given direction and once enabled, humanity are capable of being responsible caretakers of Earth”, citing the initiatives of a foundation that, among its other activities, empowers the youth get involved with their community, wildlife, and the natural world.

“As my late grandmother constantly reminded us, our daily actions make a difference and the responsibility lies with us the kind of difference we make,” it was stated. “We still have an opportunity and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will provide inspiration and raise awareness about constructive efforts that people are making.”