Rolex has unveiled this year’s Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureates who have been recognized for their visionary projects that have the potential to help reinvent the future.
Five laureates have been named from five corners of the globe: Brazil, Chad, Nepal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Among them are a marine scientist, conservationist, polar explorer, social entrepreneur and a geographer and climate advocate.
2021 ROLEX LAUREATES
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, from Chad, uses indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge to map natural resources and prevent climate conflicts in the Sahel.
Felix Brooks-church, from the United States, tackles malnutrition in Tanzania through equipping rural flour mills with a ‘dosifier’ machine, which adds critical micronutrients to fortify staple foods.
Gina Moseley, from the United Kingdom, aims to lead the first expedition to explore the planet’s northernmost caves to improve our knowledge of climate change in the Arctic.
Luiz Rocha, from Brazil, works to explore and protect mesophotic coral reefs and their biodiversity in the Indian Ocean, and to strengthen conservation of these largely unknown ecosystems.
Rinzin Phunjok Lama, from Nepal, works to protect the richly diverse ecosystems of the Trans-Himalayan region, home of iconic and globally threatened mammals, by involving local communities.
Nepal’s trans-Himalaya region
“Rolex has long recognized its responsibility to play a part in creating a sustainable planet, a Perpetual Planet,” said Arnaud Boetsch, Rolex Director of Communication & Image.
“Rather than venturing into the unknown and discovering uncharted lands, the new breed of explorers is committed to protecting the planet. The five Laureates are prime examples of these guardians of the future.”
The five Laureates 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.
