• Five winners of the 2021 Rolex Awards for Enterprise
Five remarkable people are named winners of the 2021 Rolex Awards for Enterprise for their projects which are aimed at creating a more sustainable future
Felix Brooks-church, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Rinzin Phunjok Lama, Gina Moseley and Luiz Rocha are not A-list celebrities. However, the work they do makes them superstars.
These five specialists have earned the honourable title of Laureate of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise for their bold and visionary projects that have the potential to help reinvent the future. Hailing from diverse places such as Brazil, the African nation of Chad, Nepal, the UK and the US, they each represent their areas of expertise such as marine scientist, conservationist, polar explorer, social entrepreneur and a geographer and climate advocate.
This year is a very significant year — it is the 45th year of the Rolex Awards, which was set up in 1976 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster, the world’s first waterproof wristwatch.
The Rolex Awards set out to seek and support exceptional individuals with innovative projects that expand our knowledge of the world, protect the environment —helping to preserve habitats and species — and improve human well-being.
To help the five Laureates continue their amazing work, they will receive funding for their projects and other benefits such as worldwide publicity, which often engenders further support. They were selected by the Rolex Awards jury, a group of independent experts from around the world.
The Rolex Awards are one of the three pillars of the Rolex Perpetual Planet initiative dedicated to supporting those who contribute to a better world. For now, the initiative also embraces Sylvia Earle’s Mission Blue programme to preserve the oceans and an enhanced association with National Geographic, a Rolex partner since 1954, to understand climate change through science.
From tackling hunger to protecting a nation’s rich biodiversity, these five extraordinary individuals outline their plans.