Island Innovation is proud to become an official nominator for the Earthshot Prize! Launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in October 2020, the Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious global environment prize in history and is designed to transform the global pessimism surrounding current environmental challenges into optimism by highlighting the work and human ingenuity being put into bringing about global change. Winners of the Earthshot Prize are each awarded £1 million to help scale and roll out their innovations and will receive a global platform and prestigious profile, with their stories being showcased over the decade, with the ambition that their solutions lead to mass adoption, replication, and scaling.
This year, Island Innovation is a nominating organization for the Earthshot Prize and will join a truly diverse and experienced group of nominators to seek out potential winners. Island Innovation intends to use its diverse and far-reaching global network of island stakeholders to discover and nominate projects for the award. As a nominating organisation, finalists from the Island Innovation Awards will be considered for nomination to the Earthshot Prize across all categories, where applicable. Winners of the Earthshot Prize can be from any country, not just the UK, but they must have been nominated by an official Earthshot Prize Nominator, rather than being able to apply themselves.
Earlier this year, Island Innovation announced the creation of its own unique awards program in collaboration with the Clinton Global Initiative, which recognizes individuals, organizations and technologies driving positive change for remote and island communities globally. The program has 12 unique categories and awards are made at the individual, project, and organization level. This is an excellent opportunity for individuals, organizations, and projects to get recognized globally, with categories including Future Island Leader Award, Women SDG Leadership Award, Resilient Island Award, and Green Finance and Investment Award. Award winners will be visible to Island Innovation’s network of over 130,000 global island stakeholders and finalists will be selected by an esteemed panel of judges including the likes of James Michel, the former President of the Republic of Seychelles, Anote Tong, the former President of the Republic of Kiribati, and Peter Thompson, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. A full list of judges can be seen here.
This year we have seen Island communities and leaders demand change and action for their communities. From the Island Finance Forum and Virtual Island Summit to COP26, Island Innovation is fortunate to have had the opportunity to listen and learn from individuals, organizations, and governments on what is most important for the success and continued livelihood of their communities and other islands alike. The innovative solutions and decisive actions of individuals and organizations displayed this year are truly inspiring and impactful in taking a stand against climate change and making our world more sustainable. Island Innovation wants to continue to recognize such actions and the individuals and organizations who are proactive and committed to creating positive change.
We want to hear how you, or your organization, is making a difference, and we also happily encourage nominations of any projects or individuals who you feel deserves the recognition. Applications will be accepted until February 15th, 2022. The winners will be announced during the live virtual awards ceremony which will be broadcast during the Island Finance Forum 2022. To find out more information about the Island Innovation Awards, please visit our awards webpage.
