Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future (Earthna) has launched the Earthna Prize, an initiative to aimed at celebrating and supporting projects, actors and systems that are working towards the preservation, integration, adaptation, and adoption of ancestral knowledge and cultural heritage in addressing contemporary environmental challenges.
A prize of US$ 1M will be presented during the global Earthna Summit 2025, recognizing up to four winners focused in four main areas.
By showcasing outstanding efforts, the prize aims to inspire a wider community to champion environmental stewardship and contribute to a more resilient and environmentally sustainable world.
Focus Areas
- The Prize will support work in the following areas:
- Water resource management
- Food security
- Sustainable urbanism
- Land stewardship
Funding Information
- The winners of the 2025 Earthna Prize will receive US$ 250,000 each to support the development of their project/initiatives.
Who can apply for the Earthna Prize?
- They welcome knowledge holders who seek to curate, administer, perpetuate, and preserve systems of traditional knowledge. This encompasses a diverse range of organizations, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and private sector entities.
- The Earthna Prize acknowledges champions who actively promote and apply the inclusion of traditional knowledge in developing solutions and supporting policymaking processes. They also value efforts focused on preserving and adopting traditional sustainability knowledge and practices. Moreover, they seek applicants who respond to the needs of local communities by fostering relationships of trust, facilitating networking, and promoting collaboration between local and global processes.
- Nominee/Applicant
- The 2025 Earthna Prize selection process accepts nominations and applications.
- Potential Earthna Prize candidates can only be initiatives/projects under a legally incorporated entity.
- Nominees for the Earthna Prize can be from any part of the world.
- Nominator
- The nominator can be an organization or an individual.
- The nominator could be working with the nominee, part of their community, or be one of the nominee’s end beneficiaries.
- The nominator will fill out the nomination form and should be very familiar with the nominee’s work. The nominator can also request information from the nominee to fill in the form.
- The nominator should provide the required contact information, in case the Earthna Prize team would like to contact the nominator for further details.
- Multiple Nominations
- Several nominations from different individuals or organizations may be submitted for the same initiative/project, although this has no bearing on the judging process.
- The same nominators may submit several nominations for different initiatives/projects.
Eligibility Criteria
- For your application to be considered eligible, your submission must adhere to the following criteria:
- At least one dedicated team member must be available to communicate with the Earthna Prize team.
- The initiatives/projects must be under a legally incorporated entity.
- The application must be in English.
- Accurate contact information for supporters must be provided.
Earthna Prize Criteria
- Addressing Identified Gaps. Applicants demonstrate the effective integration of traditional knowledge systems to comprehensively address gaps and fulfill needs within the focus areas, showcasing a deep understanding of local contexts and challenges.
- User Impact Assessment. Applicants prioritize tangible benefits for end-users, particularly emphasizing the empowerment and well-being of the local community.
- Community Resilience and Engagement. Applicants showcase a strategy for engaging and strengthening the resilience of local communities. This includes a demonstrated commitment to obtaining genuine community consent and support throughout the project lifecycle, fostering a sense of ownership and collective responsibility.
- Policy Influence and Outcome. Proposed solutions go beyond immediate outcomes to actively influence policy development and implementation, contributing to systemic change and sustainable development in the targeted areas.
For more information, visit Earthna.
