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Our planet is facing challenges, however there is hope. A fresh honor originating at the science, music and arts festival the Starmus festival will encourage the public to take action.

The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal is to be awarded to pay tribute to the renowned British primatologist who died recently. It is designed to celebrate those who protect life on Earth.

The Medal's Framework

The first recipients are slated for announcement at the upcoming Starmus event in the Canary Islands, which will run from 17–22 October next year.

Reports indicate that Jane Goodall, who was a Starmus advisory board member, had endorsed the award’s creation. “The vision behind this award, and the festival being tasked with organising it, is Jane’s,” a statement said. “Her desire was that she wanted for this to occur. This is likely due to the very special connection she shared with us.”

“The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal aims to highlight ongoing initiatives carried out to make our world a better place for people, animals and the environment and offer support to carry on that work,” said a family member.

Format and Inspiration

One of the founders of the festival stated that the medal – unveiled at a prestigious venue – would probably have multiple categories.

“It’s going to be very much similar to the Stephen Hawking medal for science communication established exactly 10 years ago,” it was explained. Goodall was a recipient of that award.

Sharing thoughts on the outlook for Earth, one figure said, “To be truthful, it’s very hard to maintain optimism. Certain policies in one major nation represents an assault on knowledge. So this really cripples global initiatives.”

“To be honest, things don’t look very good therefore we must begin to thinking again, much more seriously about the consequences of human activity. And that’s not just global warming, but also the whole way in which we interact with our environment.”

Following an Example

As a result, it was noted this is a good time to follow Goodall’s example. “I think that in bestowing this medal, the focus will be on this core philosophy of Jane’s – which made her priority, to transform our relationship with fellow creatures around us.”

A major topic currently is the proliferation of misinformation. The central topic of next year’s Starmus festival will be “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“We realised that truth is becoming contested where political interests is involved. And it’s a perilous development,” it was said. “The science of climate is a science; you cannot allow interference from politics in climate science.”

Hope and Determination

The aspiration is that the medal will inspire concrete steps. “It’s about inspiring individuals to engage and to show concern and to strive toward these goals, truly. Whether or not we’re optimistic, we must look at working all that is possible,” a statement concluded. “Accept the possibility of failure, yet we must have to work towards succeeding.”

A descendant involved in conservation work expressed confidence that “given direction and once enabled, humans are capable of being diligent stewards of Earth”, highlighting the programs of an institute that, in addition to its projects, empowers young people get involved locally, wildlife, and environment.

“As Jane Goodall often reminded us, our daily actions have an impact and it is up to us what type of impact we choose to create,” he said. “It is not too late and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will give encouragement and raise awareness about the positive actions that are being undertaken.”