🔗 Share this article A Starmus Earth Medal in Honor of Jane Goodall Will Honor Those Acting to Better the Planet. The world is under pressure, yet a sense of hope remains. A fresh honor from the science, music and arts festival the Starmus festival seeks to inspire the public to act. An event related to the Starmus festival. This new Earth medal bearing Jane Goodall's name is to be awarded in honour of the celebrated British primatologist who died recently. It seeks to acknowledge individuals and groups that protect life on Earth. The Medal's Framework The first recipients are slated for announcement during the upcoming Starmus event in the Canary Islands, which will run from 17–22 October the coming year. It was shared that Jane Goodall, who was a Starmus advisory board member, had supported the award’s creation. “The idea of having this award, and the festival being tasked with organising it, was Jane's wish,” a statement said. “She expressed she would like for this to occur. This is likely because of the very special bond she had with us.” “This medal will recognize enduring projects undertaken to make our world a better place for people, animals and the environment and foster motivation to continue that work,” said a family member. Format and Inspiration A co-founder of the festival indicated that the medal – which was announced at a prestigious venue – will likely have multiple categories. “It’s going to be inspired by the Stephen Hawking award honoring scientific outreach established a decade past,” he explained. Jane Goodall was a recipient of that very medal. Sharing thoughts about the future for Earth, a prominent voice remarked, “To be truthful, it’s very hard to maintain optimism. The current political climate in one major nation represents an assault on knowledge. This situation really cripples collective action.” “Realistically, things don’t look particularly bright which means we need to really start reflecting, with greater urgency regarding the impact of our actions. This concern encompasses not just climate change, but also the whole way that we treat nature.” Inspiring Change Therefore, it was noted it was a good time to emulate her guiding principles. “It is believed that in bestowing this medal, the focus will be on this core philosophy that Jane embodied – that was her foremost concern, to change our relationship with the other animals around us.” A pressing concern currently involves the spread of false information. The central topic of next year’s Starmus festival will be “the search for truth”. “We realised that factual reality is becoming a matter of debate when politics is involved. And it’s a perilous development,” it was said. “The climate science is a science; it is impossible to allow interference by political agendas in this field.” Optimism and Resolve The aspiration is that this honor will spur concrete steps. “The purpose is motivating others to engage and to care and to work in that direction, really. Whether or not we’re optimistic, we must focus on doing our utmost,” a statement concluded. “Accept the possibility of setbacks, yet we must continue striving towards succeeding.” A family member engaged in conservation work expressed confidence that “given direction and when empowered, humans can be responsible caretakers of our planet”, pointing to the initiatives of an institute that, among its other activities, empowers the next generation get involved locally, animals, and environment. “As my late grandmother constantly told everyone, the choices we make each day make a difference and it is up to us what type of impact we choose to create,” he said. “It is not too late and this medal will give encouragement and raise awareness about beneficial initiatives that are being undertaken.”