‘Eight people who are changing the world’ descend on St Andrews
Eight people who are changing the world will descend on the University of St Andrews next week (Tuesday 29 April 2014) to showcase their achievements and plans since winning a global environmental prize.
As part of a free, public event to celebrate the 15th anniversary of The St Andrews Prize for the Environment, eight former winners will gather to present their award-winning projects, and spark lively audience debate, including online via Twitter (#8changeworld).
Travelling from as far as Nairobi, Cape Town and the USA, the former winners will discuss everything from the role of bees in deterring crop-raiding elephants, to a Kenyan lion guardianship programme which aims to conserve lions rather than kill them. Other projects to be highlighted include a pioneering method of removing arsenic from groundwater in Bengal and the ‘elephant toilet’ which has provided a sustainable sanitation solution for people across Africa.
‘Eight People Who Are Changing the World’, which is free and open to all, will take place at the Medical and Biological Sciences Lecture Theatre, North Haugh, St Andrews from 15.30 – 17.30 on Tuesday 29 April 2014.
Meanwhile, the following evening, Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE will give an insightful lecture entitled, ‘Beyond £s: Valuing The Things That Really Matter’. Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Dame Fiona Reynolds is a member of the BBC Executive Board and a Non-Executive Director of Wessex Water. In 1998, she was awarded the CBE for her services to the environment and conservation and was appointed DBE in 2008.
The public lecture, which is also free and open to all, will take place at the Medical and Biological Sciences Lecture Theatre, North Haugh, St Andrews, at 18:00 on Wednesday 30 April 2014.
The St Andrews Prize for the Environment is a joint environmental initiative by the University of St Andrews and exploration and production company ConocoPhillips. Since its launch in 1998, 3,500 innovative projects from 64 countries across the world have competed for the prestigious award, all sharing one common goal: to find practical solutions to environmental challenges from around the globe. The winner of this year’s prize, to be awarded on Thursday 1 May 2014, will receive $100,000 USD (£60,000) and the two runners-up will each receive $25,000 USD (£15,000).
For more information, visit www.thestandrewsprize.com.
Note to editors:
You are invited to send a reporter / photographer to Lower College Hall, University of St Andrews, North Street, St Andrews at 11.00 on Tuesday 29 April 2014 when the eight former winners will be available for interviews / photographs. Should you wish to attend, please contact Emma Shea, Senior Communications Manager, University of St Andrews in advance – telephone 01334 462167 or 07850900352.
Press are welcome to attend the ‘8 people who are changing the world’ event on Tuesday 29 April 2014 and the public lecture on Wednesday 30 April 2014.
The former winners attending the event on Tuesday 29 April 2014 are:
Dr Lucy King (Elephants and Bees) – winner 2013
Dr Leela Hazzah (Lion Guardians) – winner 2012
Jonathan den Hartog (Biolite) – winner 2011
Bhaskar Sen Gupta (Arsenic Removal from Water) – winner 2010
Catlin Powers (SolSource) – winner 2009
Ian Thorpe (Elephant Toilet) – winner 2008
Dr David Manalo (River, Fibre and Power) – winner 2007
Erika Vohman (Maya Nut) – winner 2006
Category Awards