Cape Town will host the fourth annual Earthshot Prize. Picture:
For the first time since its inception, Prince William’s Earthshot Prize will be hosted in Cape Town this year.
The annual environmental celebration has previously taken place in London, Boston and Singapore respectively.
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Earthshot Prize was launched by Prince William in 2020 to search for and scale the most innovative solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges.
“We’re delighted to be working with changemakers and partners across Africa to spotlight the incredible innovation emerging across the continent, to convene courageous conversations about scale and finance, and to partner with young creators and filmmakers to tell the story of changemakers across Africa,” CEO of The Earthshot Prize, Hannah Jones said in a statement.
Across five days of landmark events, The Earthshot Prize will celebrate the ground-breaking work of fifteen global environmental solutions and convene leading innovators, Earthshot Alumni, partners, investors and philanthropists for inspiring conversations and action on catalysing solutions to protect and restore our planet.
The Prize is centred around five ‘Earthshots’; simple but aspirational goals to ensure communities, oceans and ecosystems can thrive together in harmony for generations to come.
Over the coming months, a rigorous selection process will unearth fifteen Finalists from around the world, of whom five will be awarded a £1 million (R23 800 000,00) prize to scale their solutions, during the ceremony in Cape Town.
“Coastal communities are instrumental in the fight to preserve the health of our oceans. Our technology, developed in partnership with fishing communities, is both easy to use and can be adopted at scale, meaning responsible small- scale fishers across the globe can be appreciated as stewards of the ocean,” said a South Africa-based 2023 Earthshot Prize Finalist, Serge Raemaekers, Co-Founder and Managing Director of ABALOBI.
“Our gratitude to The Earthshot Prize for recognising the efforts of coastal communities in this endeavour.”
Last year’s Earthshot Prize was held in Singapore, where South Africa’s Nomzamo Mbatha was in attendance.
Last year’s winners were Acción Andina, GRST, WildAid Marine Program, S4S Technologies, and Boomitra. Each of them walked away with the R23 million prize to support efforts to scale their innovative climate and environmental solutions.
“A year in which the effects of the climate crisis have become too visible to be ignored. And a year that has left so many feeling defeated, their hope, dwindling,” said the Prince of Wales in a statement last year.
South Africa’s MultiChoice Group is a member of The Earthshot Prize Global Alliance of Partners.
“This marks the first time the prestigious prize comes to our continent. MultiChoice is well positioned to not only amplify the urgent message of climate change but also to inspire and galvanize innovators, corporate partners, and governments to prioritize sustainable solutions,” averred MultiChoice Group Chairman, Imtiaz Patel.
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