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Our planet might be facing challenges, yet there is hope. A fresh honor originating at the science, music and arts festival Starmus seeks to motivate the public to make a difference.

The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth medal is to be awarded to pay tribute to the celebrated scientist and conservationist who passed away recently. It is designed to celebrate individuals and groups that champion life on Earth.

Award Details

The first recipients will be revealed during the upcoming Starmus event in the Canary Islands, which will run from 17–22 October next year.

Reports indicate that Goodall, who was a member of the festival's board, had supported the award’s creation. “The idea of having this medal, and Starmus being entrusted with organising it, originated with Jane,” a statement said. “She said she would like this to happen. This is likely due to the unique relationship she had with the festival.”

“This medal aims to highlight ongoing initiatives undertaken to build an environment a better place for people, animals and the environment and provide encouragement for the continuation such efforts,” said a family member.

Structure and Vision

One of the founders of the festival stated that the medal – unveiled at a scientific institution – will likely include several divisions.

“It’s going to be very much similar to the Stephen Hawking medal honoring scientific outreach that we created exactly 10 years ago,” it was explained. Goodall herself received of that very medal.

Sharing thoughts on the outlook of the planet, a prominent voice said, “Honestly, it's challenging to feel hopeful. The current political climate globally represents a dismissal of evidence. This situation undermines global initiatives.”

“Realistically, things don’t look very good therefore we must begin to reflecting, much more seriously about the consequences of human activity. And that’s not just global warming, that’s the entire manner in which we interact with the natural world.”

A Call to Action

Consequently, it was noted this is an opportune moment to follow Jane Goodall's legacy. “It is believed 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 our relationship with fellow creatures with which we share the planet.”

A pressing concern at present is the proliferation of disinformation. The theme of the upcoming Starmus festival is set as “the pursuit of factual understanding”.

“We realised that factual reality has become a matter of debate when politics is involved. This is an alarming trend,” he commented. “The climate science remains a scientific discipline; it is impossible to allow interference by political agendas in climate science.”

Hope and Determination

The aspiration remains that the medal will spur action. “It focuses on encouraging people to engage and to care and to strive toward these goals, truly. Regardless of if we’re optimistic, we must look at doing the best we can,” a statement concluded. “Be prepared for failure, but you still have to work towards succeeding.”

A descendant engaged in environmental protection expressed confidence that “given direction and once enabled, humanity are capable of being conscientious guardians of Earth”, citing the programs of an institute that, among its other activities, assists the next generation become engaged with their community, wildlife, and environment.

“As my late grandmother repeatedly reminded us, the choices we make each day are significant and it is up to us the kind of difference we choose to create,” it was stated. “It is not too late and this medal will provide inspiration and raise awareness about beneficial initiatives currently in progress.”