Jane Goodall Earth Medal to recognize people working to improve the world | Jane Goodall
The Earth may be under pressure, but Queen guitarist Sir Brian May hopes a new prize from the science, music and arts festival he co-founded will encourage people to take action.
The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth Medal will be awarded in honor of the British primatologist who died this year and will recognize those who defend life on Earth.
The first winners are expected to be announced at the Starmus VIII festival in Tenerife and La Palma, which runs from October 17-22 next year.
May told the Guardian that Goodall, who was a member of Starmus’ advisory board, supported the creation of the prize. “The idea of having this medal, and Starmus being responsible for organizing it, came from Jane. Jane said she would love to see it happen. And I think it’s because of the very special relationship she had with us,” he said.
Goodall’s grandson, Merlin van Lawick, hosted the award. “The Starmus Jane Goodall Earth Medal will recognize sustainable programs undertaken to make our world better for people, animals and the environment and will encourage the continuation of this work,” he said.
Starmus co-founder Garik Israelian said the medal – which was announced to the Royal Society – would likely have several categories.
“It will look a lot like the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication that we created exactly 10 years ago,” he said. Goodall was a recipient of this award.
May said it was difficult to be optimistic about the future of the planet. “Honestly, it’s very difficult to be optimistic,” he said. “The current U.S. government is waging a war on science and knowledge, so it’s really crippling the world’s efforts in my opinion.
“To be honest, things aren’t looking great and we really need to start thinking again, I would say, a lot more seriously about the consequences of our actions. And it’s not just about global warming, but about the whole way that we treat the natural world.”
As a result, May said, it was a good time to follow Goodall’s lead. “I think when we award the prize, we will take into account this essential spirit of Jane’s: that was her priority, to change the way we treat other animals around us.”
The Israeli said a significant problem at the moment was the proliferation of disinformation. Next year, the main theme of the Starmus festival will be “the search for truth”.
“We realized that the truth becomes a topic of discussion when politics is involved. And that is a very dangerous thing,” he said. “Climate science is science; you can have no political influence on climate science.”
May hopes the medal will inspire action. “It’s really about encouraging people to get involved, to care and to work towards this. Whether we’re optimistic or not, we have to look to work as best we can,” he said. “Prepare yourself to fail, but you still have to work to succeed. »
Van Lawick, who is involved in conservation work, said he was optimistic that “with guidance and when empowered, humans can be responsible stewards of our planet,” highlighting the work of the Jane Goodall Institute which, among other activities, helps young people become involved in their communities, animals and environments.
“As my late grandmother Jane Goodall constantly reminded us, our daily actions make a difference and it is up to us to decide what kind of difference we make,” he said. “It is not too late and the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth Medal will encourage and raise awareness of the positive actions being taken.”
