The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. Friday, February 11, 2022 — The search for the winners of The Earthshot Prize 2022 is underway and The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is inviting applications from staff, students, alumni, NGOs and other stakeholders from across the Caribbean.
Launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious global environment prize in history, designed to incentivise, change and help repair our planet over a decade. It’s centred around five ‘Earthshots’: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-free World and Fix our Climate. These five are simple but ambitious goals for our planet, which if achieved by 2030, will improve life for us all for generations to come.
Each year, between 2021 and 2030, five new Earthshot Prize category winners will receive £1 million to support the adoption, replication, and scaling of their environmental and conservation projects. Nominations will be assessed in terms of the inspiring stories behind them, their inclusivity, equity and benefits for humans, their impact on the Earthshots, and the ability for this impact to be scaled.
Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Affairs, Dr. Stacy Richards Kennedy, commented that “The UWI is recognised globally as an SDG-engaged university and leader in climate action and is indeed proud to have been selected as an Official Nominator for the EarthShot Prize alongside some 343 official nominators from across 80 countries.”
According to the organisers, Official Nominators are selected for their ability to identify the most impactful solutions to the five Earthshots across all countries and sectors, from grassroots and Indigenous communities to businesses and governments.
The UWI’s Office of Global Affairs is leading this partnership with EarthShot through its Sustainable Futures Team, in collaboration with the University’s recently-launched virtual hub, the Global Institute for Climate-Smart and Resilient Development.
Interested persons are asked to contact gpsf@sta.uwi.edu OR visit https://uwi.edu/oga/the-earthshot-prize to complete the application form. The deadline for submitting applications to The UWI is February 28, 2022.
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Learn more about the Earthshot Prize, The UWI’s role as an Official Nominator, and the five-stage process to selecting winners at www.earthshotprize.org.
About The UWI
The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region.
From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Open Campus, and 10 global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.
The UWI has been consistently ranked among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). In the latest World University Rankings 2022, released in September 2021, The UWI moved up an impressive 94 places from last year. In the current global field of some 30,000 universities and elite research institutes, The UWI stands among the top 1.5%.
The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists since its debut in the rankings in 2018. In addition to its leading position in the Caribbean, it is also in the top 20 for Latin America and the Caribbean and the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old). The UWI is also featured among the leading universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.
For more, visit www.uwi.edu.
(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)
