Every year, EGU honours individuals for their significant contributions to the Earth, planetary, and space sciences by bestowing more than 50 medals and awards during its spring General Assembly. In 2023 EGU is adding a new award that will honour the work of our members do to improve diversity in the geosciences, the Champion(s) for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award.

“The addition of the Champion(s) for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award to EGU’s current Awards and Medals list recognises the value that the Union places on the whole task of being a geoscientist, not just the scientific research you create,” commented EDI Committee Co-chair Lisa Wingate. “We wanted to ensure that the EGU community, especially those who work tirelessly to improve diversity and equity in the Earth, planetary and space sciences, can see just how highly we regard this work that makes geoscience better for everyone.”

The Champion(s) for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award recognises significant contributions of those who have built respectful and inclusive workplaces for the geoscience community, and/or have implemented innovative actions that advance the diversity of the geoscience community. This is the first of EGU’s Awards and Medals that can be given to either an individual or a team of people creating positive changes in our community, in acknowledgement of the fact that this kind of work is often achieved through group effort.

Reflecting on this, EDI Committee Co-chair Daniel Conley says “The EDI Committee as a whole feels very strongly about the inclusion of this new Award, which joins the Union Service Award in recognising the holistic work needed of all scientists, and were delighted when it was approved after years of work to create it. We are excited to see the first nominations this year and hope that everyone will come forward to nominate those who they know have made a big difference in promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the geosciences.”

To increase diversity among EGU awardees and medallists, EGU encourages members to consider gender, geographical, and cultural balance when nominating outstanding Earth, planetary, and space scientists at various career stages for any award or medal, as EGU Awards Committee Chair Thomas Blunier states. “We hope you’ll consider nominations of persons who may have been previously overlooked.”

Detailed information on the selection process and how to propose a candidate is available on the Awards & Medals section of the EGU website. Nominations for all medals and awards must be submitted via email to awards-medals@egu.eu by 31 August 2023. More information is available on the award webpage.

The list of awards and medals bestowed by the Union and its divisions, and the names of the previous awardees, are available on the EGU website. The 2024 awards and medals, which will be announced later in 2023, will be presented to their recipients at the EGU General Assembly 2024 (14–19 April).

• EGU Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
• EGU Awards and Medals