The Tang Prize Foundation is deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall, the 2020 Tang Prize Laureate in Sustainable Development. At 91, she continued to travel tirelessly around the world to speak and engage with audiences after the COVID-19 pandemic. She passed away of natural causes in California on October 1 (Pacific Time) while on a speaking tour in the United States. Her unremitting dedication to advancing her mission until the very last moment of her life is profoundly inspiring.
In 2020, Dr. Goodall was awarded the Tang Prize “for her ground-breaking discovery in primatology that redefines the human–animal relationship and for her lifelong, unparalleled dedication to the conservation of the Earth’s environment.” That same year, using Tang Prize research funding, she launched the Jane Goodall Sustainability Academy in Taipei—the world’s first elementary school to fully implement the Roots & Shoots philosophy.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Tang Prize award ceremony was postponed by one year and held online. On December 9, 2024, Tang Prize Foundation CEO Dr. Jenn-Chuan Chern traveled to Singapore to meet Dr. Goodall in person and present her, at long last, with the solid-gold Tang Prize medal. The meeting was joined by Andie Ang, President of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) Singapore; Kelly Kok, President of JGI Taiwan; and Lim Chung-biao, President of JGI Malaysia. Dr. Goodall was delighted to receive the medal and praised its beautiful design.
In June this year, to the great anticipation of many, Dr. Goodall visited Taiwan. On June 9, she came to what she called the Tang Prize’s “home,” marking her first in-person visit to the Foundation since receiving the prize in 2020. She was warmly welcomed by Chairman Dr. Chung-Yao Yin, CEO Dr. Jenn-Chuan Chern, and the entire Foundation's staff, and she added her signature to the Tang Prize “Table of Honor,” alongside those of past laureates. Dr. Goodall also took part in a media roundtable at the Foundation. CEO Chern noted his honor in supporting Dr. Goodall’s work in sustainability and conservation through Tang Prize research funding and affirmed the Foundation’s commitment to assisting JGI’s public activities, including the “Inspiring Hope Through Action” talks.
Dr. Goodall’s Tang Prize–supported research and education initiatives comprise two major projects. The first is the “Wild Chimpanzee Conservation and Research in Southeast Senegal,” whose monitoring results have directly contributed to chimpanzee conservation in Senegal. The second is the five-year “Conservation Projects of Asia (2021–2025),” focused on conservation and education in Taiwan, Malaysia, and India, including: (1) establishing the Jane Goodall Sustainability Academy in Taipei, Asia’s first experimental elementary school dedicated to conservation and sustainability; (2) implementing “Project Monyet” in Peninsular Malaysia to enhance public awareness of primate conservation through targeted workshops and research; and (3) supporting India’s “Hope Project,” which nurtures young people’s understanding of nature and empowers environmental action, renewing the human–nature connection. The program also convenes an annual Youth Forum to foster collaboration and share achievements and produces diverse, high-impact educational materials to broaden conservation awareness.
Additionally, the Tang Prize Foundation has produced a documentary detailing Dr. Goodall’s life and enduring contributions—From Gombe to Global: The Life’s Calling of Jane Goodall. We hope this film will preserve her legacy and invaluable gifts to the world. The production is nearing completion and will be publicly screened to honor a remarkable life that awakened generations to engage in sustainability through action.
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.
