🔗 Share this article

The world is under pressure, yet a sense of hope remains. A novel accolade from the interdisciplinary festival Starmus seeks to inspire individuals to act.

The medal will honor to pay tribute to the celebrated British primatologist who died recently. It will recognise individuals and groups that protect the natural world.

Honoring a Legacy

The first recipients are slated for announcement during the Starmus VIII festival in the Canary Islands, which will run from October 17th to 22nd next year.

Reports indicate that Goodall, a former Starmus advisory board member, had backed the medal's establishment. “The vision of having this medal, and the festival being tasked with organising it, is Jane’s,” a representative said. “She said that she wanted for this to occur. And I think because of the unique connection she had with us.”

“This medal will recognize sustainable programmes undertaken to create a planet a better place for all living beings and ecosystems and offer support for the continuation that work,” commented a relative.

Format and Inspiration

A co-founder of Starmus indicated that the medal – unveiled at a scientific institution – would probably have multiple categories.

“The intent is for it to be very much similar to the Stephen Hawking award honoring scientific outreach that we created a decade past,” it was explained. Jane Goodall herself received of that very medal.

Expressing concern on the outlook of the planet, one figure stated, “To be truthful, it's challenging to be optimistic. The current political climate in one major nation represents a dismissal of evidence. So this significantly hampers the world’s efforts.”

“In truth, the situation appears particularly bright therefore we must really start reconsidering, much more seriously regarding the impact of our actions. This concern encompasses not only climate change, but also the whole way that we treat our environment.”

Inspiring Change

Consequently, it was noted it was a good time to honor her guiding principles. “I think that in bestowing this medal, the focus will be on this essential spirit that Jane embodied – which made her foremost concern, to transform the way we treat fellow creatures with which we share the planet.”

Another key issue currently was highlighted of disinformation. The central topic of the upcoming festival will be “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“It has become apparent that factual reality has become a subject of discussion when politics is involved. This is an alarming trend,” he commented. “Climate research is a science; you cannot allow interference from politics in climate science.”

Optimism and Resolve

The aspiration is that this honor will inspire action. “It focuses on encouraging people to participate and to show concern and to strive in that direction, truly. Regardless of if we’re optimistic, we have to focus on working the best we can,” a statement concluded. “Accept the possibility of failure, but you still continue striving toward success.”

A family member engaged in conservation work expressed optimism that “with guidance and once enabled, humanity can be responsible caretakers of our planet”, citing the initiatives of an institute that, among its other activities, empowers the youth become engaged locally, animals, and environment.

“As Jane Goodall often told everyone, the choices we make each day make a difference and the responsibility lies with us what type of impact we make,” it was stated. “We still have an opportunity and this medal will provide inspiration and raise awareness about constructive efforts currently in progress.”