On December 16, 2025, 3:00 p.m. at London’s Royal Society, board members of the world-leading science and music festival STARMUS - Garik Israelian, Sir Brian May, Peter Gabriel, Lord Michael Hintze, and Lord Martin Rees were joined by members of Jane Goodall’s family and Mary Lewis, Vice President of the Jane Goodall Institute, to announce Starmus VIII and the launch of the Jane Goodall Earth Medal, which will be awarded for the first time at the upcoming festival.

As STARMUS VIII will take place in Tenerife, Rosa Dávila,  President of the Tenerife Island Council and Migdalia Machín,  Regional Minister of Science, Innovation, Education and Culture, Government of the Canary Islands, were also present and part of the presentation. 

STARMUS VIII and the new medal were announced at the Royal Society exactly ten years after STARMUS and Professor Stephen Hawking stood together in the historic venue to launch the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication.  

 Sir Brian May, STARMUS Co-Founder, said,

"Jane Goodall and Stephen Hawking are two human spirits who changed the way we see the world: one by looking to the stars, the other by reminding us of the urgent need to protect the life beneath our feet, and the need for true humanity in science. Bringing their legacies together at STARMUS is something profoundly moving and deeply necessary for our time."

STARMUS Director and Cofounder, Garik Israelian said - 

“Ten years ago, Stephen Hawking joined us to launch a medal that inspired millions to look to the stars. Today, with the blessing of Jane Goodall and her family, we launch a medal that calls us to protect the Earth. STARMUS VIII will unite these two visions — the cosmic and the planetary — in a festival dedicated to the search for truth.” 

In October 2026, Tenerife and La Palma will host the most ambitious STARMUS edition yet — a celebration of science, art, music, exploration, and the responsibility we share for the future of our species and our planet. Over the past decade, STARMUS has grown into what international media have called “a festival that is truly out of this world” — a gathering where dozens of Nobel laureates, legendary astronauts, pioneering scientists, technology leaders, and world-renowned artists share the same stage. A place where boundaries between disciplines dissolve, and where ideas travel freely from the depths of the cosmos to the frontiers of human creativity. This STARMUS is a gathering of global thinkers to discuss one of humanity’s most urgent missions: the pursuit of scientific and moral truth in a troubled world.

As Stephen Hawking once said of STARMUS:

“In a world beset by so many terrible problems and so lacking in solutions, STARMUS offers a ray of hope. STARMUS confirms its position as a unique debating chamber for the future of the human race.” 

At the forthcoming 2026 festival, Starmus will mark the 10th anniversary of the STARMUS Stephen Hawking Medal, celebrating a decade of creators, scientists, storytellers, musicians, filmmakers, and communicators who have carried forward Stephen Hawking’s vision— inspiring the world to look upward, question deeply, and celebrate the transformative power of science.

In 2026 the festival will award the inaugural STARMUS JANE GOODALL EARTH MEDAL, a global award honouring the most impactful voices who work to protect our planet, defend biodiversity, and redefine humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Approved and blessed by Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE and her family, this new medal becomes a powerful extension of the STARMUS mission. Jane played a cherished role within STARMUS as an Advisory Board Member, Hawking Medal laureate, keynote speaker, and a beacon of inspiration whose messages touched the people of La Palma after the volcanic eruption. In private conversations with STARMUS director and co-founder Garik Israelian and her VP & assistant Mary Lewis, Jane gave her blessing to create an environmental and humanitarian medal in her name 

Merlin Van-Lawick, grandson of Jane Goodall, who works for the Jane Goodall Institute in Tanzania and continues his grandmother’s inspirational work, expressed gratitude on behalf of himself and the family for the creation of the medal -

“I want to express how grateful we are as a family that Starmus decided to honour our late grandmother in this way. We fully support this initiative and Jane has also given it her blessing. Thank you all, I look forward to all the incredible programs and people who will be selected for this prestigious medal.”

If the Hawking Medal celebrates those who communicate the wonders of the universe the Starmus Jane Goodall Earth Medal celebrates those who champion the life that flourishes on our home planet. 

Together, the two medals form a unified arc of human responsibility: 

From the cosmos above us to the living world around us.  
From curiosity to compassion.  
From exploration to stewardship.

https://starmus.com/