Yesterday, Dr. Jenn-Chuan Chern, CEO of the Tang Prize Foundation, flew to Singapore with a Tang Prize documentary film crew to meet with Dr. Jane Goodall, the 2020 laureate of the Tang Prize in Sustainable Development. This morning, accompanied by Andie Ang, President of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) Singapore, Kuo Hsueh-chen, President of JGI Taiwan, and Lim Chung-biao, President of JGI Malaysia, Dr. Chern personally presented Dr. Goodall with her pure gold Tang Prize medal. The medal presentation had been delayed for four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Goodall was delighted to receive the medal, praising its beautiful design and expressing surprise at the weight of the 214-gram pure gold medal.
Dr. Chern commended Dr. Goodall as a wise, compassionate, and resilient woman. Her field research on chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, began in 1960 and has continued for 64 years. Today, at the age of 90, she remains actively involved, traveling tirelessly around the world, giving lectures and attending events to promote the long-term development of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and its branches worldwide. She also advocates for ecological conservation for the Earth and humanity, which is truly admirable.
Dr. Chern shared that Dr. Goodall's recent itinerary has been incredibly packed. She traveled from London to India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and China, personally carrying two large suitcases to Singapore. Her abundant energy transcends age limitations. Her 90th birthday celebrations in Singapore were filled with events over three days, including fundraising dinners and auctions, a dialogue with 89-year-old marine biologist Sylvia Earle, a Roots & Shoots Youth Summit, and a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. Each event was packed with attendees, with adults bringing their children, demonstrating the importance of education from a young age. Dr. Goodall will continue her journey to Nepal and New York before returning to the UK for Christmas.
Dr. Goodall was awarded the Tang Prize in Sustainable Development in 2020 for her groundbreaking discoveries in primatology, which redefined the human-animal relationship, and for her unparalleled lifelong dedication to the conservation of Earth environment. In that year, the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tang Prize Foundation and its founder, Dr. Yen-Liang Yin, had hoped to invite the 2020 laureates to Taiwan to receive their awards and participate in Tang Prize Week activities when the global pandemic subsided. However, as the pandemic persisted into 2021, the events were eventually held online. At that time, Jane Goodall expressed her gratitude to the Tang Prize in a handwritten letter: "The generosity of the Tang Prize Foundation is beyond words. The Foundation's sponsorship will help me expand our Roots & Shoots program, enabling young people around the world to take action to make the planet a better place for people, animals, and the environment."
About the Tang Prize
Since the advent of globalization, mankind has been able to enjoy the convenience brought forth by the advancement of human civilization and science. Yet a multitude of challenges, such as climate change, the emergence of new infectious diseases, wealth gap, and moral degradation, have surfaced along the way. Against this backdrop, Dr. Samuel Yin established the Tang Prize in December 2012. It consists of four award categories, namely Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law. Every other year, four independent and professional selection committees, comprising many internationally renowned experts, scholars, and Nobel winners, choose as Tang Prize laureates people who have influenced and made substantive contributions to the world, regardless of ethnicity, nationality or gender. A cash prize of NT$50 million (approx. US$1.7 million) is allocated to each category, with NT$10 million (approx. US$ 0.35 million) of it being a research grant intended to encourage professionals in every field to examine mankind’s most urgent needs in the 21st century, and become leading forces in the development of human society through their outstanding research outcomes and active civic engagement.
