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Matt Damon and José Andrés are set to speak at the upcoming Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit. Prince William's Earthshot Prize and Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the first slate of speakers on Sept. 9. In addition to the Oscar winner and award-winning chef, Michael R. Bloomberg, Jacinda Ardern, Joel Embiid, Christiana Figueres and Earthshot Prize finalists and winners will also address attendees at the summit on Sept. 24 in New York City. Both Matt and José have previously attended the summit. The Hollywood star, who is the co-founder of Water.org and WaterEquity, was at the inaugural summit in 2022 and the restaurateur at the second one in 2023.
It was announced last week that José had joined the Earthshot Prize Council, along with environmentalist and activist Wanjira Mathai, and indigenous activist and author Nemonte Nenquimo. In a statement, José said, “I am thrilled to join the Earthshot Prize Council to help showcase the changemakers pushing the boundaries of innovation and ingenuity around the world."
"In good times and hard times, I’ve seen firsthand the power of food to heal and unite communities. Food is the best way to address some of the planet’s most pressing challenges, and I firmly believe that we must transform our food systems to be more sustainable and equitable," the founder of World Central Kitchen added. "There is so much we can do to inspire the world to see food as a powerful tool for creativity and change, and Earthshot solutions are at the forefront of this movement.”
The Earthshot Prize Council—which also includes Prince William, Queen Rania of Jordan, Cate Blanchett, Sir David Attenborough, Ernest Gibson, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Indra Nooyi, Luisa Neubauer, Naoko Yamazaki, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Stella McCartney—selects the five winners of the Earthshot Prize every year in a "judging session" led by the Chair of The Earthshot Prize, Christiana Figueres.
The 2024 finalists will be unveiled at the third annual Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit in New York City. While the Prince of Wales, who is the founder and president of the Earthshot Prize, attended the event in 2023, he won't be in attendance this year. The 2024 winners will be revealed this November at the fourth annual Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa.