A Starmus Earth Medal in Honor of Jane Goodall to Recognise Those Acting to Improve the World.

The world might be under strain, however a sense of hope remains. A new award originating at the interdisciplinary festival the Starmus festival seeks to motivate individuals to make a difference.

The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will honor to pay tribute to the celebrated scientist and conservationist who died recently. It is designed to celebrate individuals and groups that champion life on Earth.

Honoring a Legacy

The inaugural winners are slated for announcement during the Starmus VIII festival in the Canary Islands, scheduled from 17–22 October the coming year.

Reports indicate that Goodall, who was a Starmus advisory board member, had endorsed the medal's establishment. “The idea of having this medal, and Starmus being entrusted with organising it, was Jane's wish,” a statement said. “She said that she wanted for this to occur. This is likely due to the unique bond she shared with the festival.”

“This medal aims to highlight ongoing initiatives carried out to build an environment improved for people, animals and the environment and offer support to carry on such efforts,” commented a relative.

Structure and Vision

A co-founder of Starmus noted that the medal – which was announced at a prestigious venue – would probably have multiple categories.

“It’s going to be inspired by the Stephen Hawking medal honoring scientific outreach established a decade past,” it was explained. Goodall was an honoree of that very medal.

Expressing concern about the future of the planet, one figure said, “To be truthful, it’s very hard to be optimistic. Certain policies globally represents a war on science. This situation really cripples collective action.”

“In truth, the situation appears particularly bright which means we need to begin to reflecting, with greater urgency about the consequences of human activity. And that’s not just global warming, that’s the whole way in which we interact with our environment.”

Inspiring Change

As a result, it was noted this is a good time to honor her guiding principles. “I think that when we’re awarding this medal, the focus will be on this essential spirit of Jane’s – which made her priority, to transform the way we treat wildlife with which we share the planet.”

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

“We realised that factual reality is becoming a matter of debate where political interests is involved. And it’s a very dangerous thing,” it was said. “Climate research is a science; you cannot allow interference by political agendas in this field.”

Hope and Determination

The hope is that the medal will spur concrete steps. “The purpose is encouraging people to engage and to care and to strive toward these goals, really. Regardless of if we’re optimistic, we must focus on working our utmost,” a statement concluded. “Accept the possibility of failure, but you still have to work to achieve positive outcomes.”

A descendant involved in conservation work shared optimism that “with guidance and once enabled, humans can be diligent stewards of Earth”, citing the work of a foundation which, among its other activities, assists the next generation get involved with their community, wildlife, and environment.

“As Jane Goodall often emphasized, our daily actions make a difference and it is up to us the kind of difference we make,” he said. “It is not too late and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal will offer support and increase understanding regarding constructive efforts that are being undertaken.”