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Caroline Kennedy believes Prince William ’s Earthshot Prize is a “great tribute” to her late father, President John F. Kennedy. The Duke of Cambridge’s prestigious environment prize was inspired by JFK’s 1962 speech at Rice University and the optimism it created. More than half a century after the former president delivered his famous speech about going to the moon, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation has announced a new partnership with The Earthshot Prize.
“Over the past 60 years I have watched each new generation find inspiration in my father’s decision to send a man to the moon – not just inspiration for mankind or for America, but for their own lives,” Ambassador Caroline said in a press release. “It is a great tribute to President Kennedy that The Earthshot Prize has been inspired by his moonshot to take on the most important challenge we face today – repairing the planet.”
She added, “My family and the JFK Library Foundation look forward to partnering with Prince William and The Earthshot Prize on this exciting initiative.”
Three years ago, William challenged his team at The Royal Foundation “to explore ways to harness the optimism and drive of President Kennedy’s moonshot to tackle the greatest challenge of our time – the grave threats to the natural world,” Jason Knauf, CEO of The Royal Foundation, said.
As they were developing The Earthshot Prize they “time and time again” returned to President Kennedy’s address at Rice University. “His vision for the moonshot as an organising goal for the best of the ‘energies and skills’ of his generation is what we have sought to reinvent for our age. The Earthshot Prize and our five Earthshots will help drive collective innovation and leadership to not just tackle our environmental crisis, but to build a fundamentally better world for all who come after us,” Jason said.
“It is a profound honour to have the partnership of Ambassador Kennedy and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation on the Earthshot mission,” he continued. “Almost 60 years on from a goal that inspired an unprecedented human endeavour, together we will show that best of our energies and skills can be harnessed to repair our planet in this decisive decade.”
News of the JFK Library Foundation joining as a Global Alliance Partner of The Earthshot Prize comes months after Prince William held a virtual meeting with JFK’s daughter Caroline, who is Honorary President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. The first-ever Earthshot Prize finalists will be announced on Friday. The Earthshot Prize, which launched in 2020, was designed to incentivize change and help repair the planet over the next ten years. Every year for the next ten years, five winners will be awarded £1 million. The first ceremony is scheduled to take place on Oct. 17 in London.