The Royal African Society is delighted once again to be a Nominator for the second year of The Earthshot Prize.

 

The Earthshot Prize (TEP) was launched in 2020 by the Society’s Royal Patron, Prince William, and Sir David Attenborough. The first fifteen finalists were announced last September, and included the Pole Pole Foundation, one of the projects nominated by RAS. All finalists were invited to join the COP26 Summit in Glasgow to publicise their solutions, John Kahekwa, the founder of the Pole Pole Foundation, among them.

 

Full details of the prize, the criteria, and last year’s prize winners can be found on the Earthshot Prize website.

 

The fate of Africa’s natural as well as human environment in the face of climate change is a central concern of the Royal African Society. We are therefore calling for bids from all organisations, businesses, governments and people concerned with preserving our world, not only for our own benefit today but for the benefit of our children and their children tomorrow, in any of the areas covered by the Earthshot Prize. We will then nominate the best proposals for the 2022 prize and hope this year to deliver not only a finalist but a prize winner.

 

The five areas for the prizes are:

 

1. ‘Protect and restore nature’,
2. ‘Clean our air’,
3. ‘Revive our oceans’,
4. ‘Build a waste-free world’
5. ‘Fix our climate’

 

In each of these areas we are looking for proposals that have already got beyond the drawing board and have something of a track record to demonstrate that they work, that the concept has been proved and is ready to develop, expand or be emulated. We are also keen to promote solutions that encourage stewardship of natural resources, engage communities, and ensure the most efficient use of resources.

 

To give you a clearer idea of the information we need to nominate your programme or organisation, including which Earthshot it is aimed at and how it links to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, please see the outline nomination form attached here.

 

Overall, we would like to find proposals that focus particularly on preserving what exists, that embody diversity, provide inspiring , inclusive and impactful solutions, and help democratise data, empower women, indigenous and disadvantaged groups, and have robust financial and legal mechanisms for implementation.

 

Last year, we held a conference jointly with the International Crisis Group and Africa Confidential on Climate, Conflict and Demography in Africa. This highlighted the challenges that were being faced in Africa by the squeeze ion resources from the impact of climate change and the growth of populations. To meet these challenges, innovative and imaginative solutions are essential.  And that is what the Earthshot Prize is seeking.

 

There is a 5-stage prize process to select a winner for each Earthshot:

 

1. Nominations: We need to submit our nominations by 4 March 2022.
2. Screening: Nominations will be screened as part of an independent assessment process run by Deloitte, our implementation partner.
3. Shortlist: A distinguished panel of experts will support the judging process, making recommendations to The Earthshot Prize Council by the summer.
4. Selection: Prince William and The Earthshot Prize Council select our five winners.
5. Awards: The winners of The Earthshot Prize will be announced at an awards ceremony, which will take place in 2022 in the USA.

 

Each of the five Awards is worth £1 million, to be used to promote and develop the solutions proposed. The winners will be provided with a global platform and prestigious profile, with their stories being showcased over the decade so that they can be widely emulated, copied and adopted. Shortlisted nominees will also be given tailored support and opportunities to help scale their work, including being connected with likeminded individuals and organisations.

 

If you wish to make a proposal to the Royal African Society for nomination, please send it by noon on Monday 28 February 2022 to:

 

The Director, Royal African Society, ras@soas.ac.uk, headed ‘The Earthshot Prize: [proposal name]’. We look forward to making a successful nomination – and hope it will be yours!