The International Cosmos Prize was established in 1993, commemorating Expo '90 in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan. The objective of the prize was to develop the basic concept of

Expo 90 or The International Garden and Greenery Exposition, organized as a part of the International Expositions Convention, was the first large-scale international gardening exposition in Asia and focused on the theme of the "Harmonious Coexistence of ...

, "The Harmonious Coexistence between Nature and Mankind" and is awarded annually by the Commemorative Foundation for the International Garden and Greenery Exposition, Osaka, Japan, 1990 (Expo '90 Foundation). The prize, which may be awarded to an individual or team, consists of a commendation, a

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

and a monetary reward, currently 40 million yen. It is awarded during a ceremony held in each autumn, at which the individual or team delivers a commemorative lecture and takes part in a

symposium In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...

held in their honor. The name of the prize, "Cosmos," refers to the ''

Cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

'' flower that bloomed during the Expo and the ancient

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ''kosmos'' meaning "universe in harmony." The prize was first awarded in 1993, to the then Director of the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

, Sir

Ghillean Prance Sir Ghillean Tolmie Prance (born 13 July 1937) is a prominent British botanist and ecologist who has published extensively on the taxonomy of families such as Chrysobalanaceae and Lecythidaceae, but drew particular attention in documenting the ...

Subject matter

The prize shall be awarded for outstanding research work and/or achievement which promote the philosophy, "The Harmonious Coexistence between Nature and Mankind." The Prize shall also illuminate research and/or achievements that use not only analytical and reductive methods, but also advocate a global outlook and show integrated, long-term vision. The prize recognizes achievements in the natural and social sciences, humanities and the arts.

Selection procedure

The Cosmos Prize Committe

will form the Screening Committee of Experts which will screen candidates recommended by the designated recommenders. Based on the results of the screening, the Cosmos Prize Committee will decide the Prizewinner.

Laureates

Source: *1993 –

*1994 – *1995 – Tatsuo Kira *1996 – George B. Schaller *1997 –

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ...

*1998 – Jared M. Diamond *1999 – Wu Zhengyi *2000 –

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histo ...

*2001 – Anne Whiston Spirn *2002 –

Charles Darwin Research Station Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

*2003 – Peter H. Raven *2004 –

Julia Carabias Lillo Julia Carabias Lillo (born August 11, 1954, Mexico City) is a Mexican ecologist and Environmental Conservationist. She is a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and served as the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resour ...

*2005 – Daniel Pauly *2006 – Raman Sukumar *2007 –

Georgina Mace Dame Georgina Mary Mace, One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: (12 July 1953 – 19 September 2020) was a British ecologist and conservation scientist. She was Professor of Biodiver ...

*2008 –

Phan Nguyên Hồng Phan Nguyên Hồng ( Đức Thọ, 1935) is a Vietnamese academic who is a leading authority on the mangrove ecosystem in Asia, and was awarded the 2008 International Cosmos Prize in recognition of his work. Hồng has been involved in comprehens ...

*2009 – Gretchen Cara Daily *2010 – Estella Leopold *2011 – The Scientific Steering Committee of the Census of Marine Life *2012 – Edward O. Wilson *2013 – Bob Paine *2014 –

Philippe Descola Philippe Descola, FBA (born 19 June 1949) is a French anthropologist noted for studies of the Achuar, one of several Jivaroan peoples, and for his contributions to anthropological theory. Background Descola started with an interest in philos ...

*2015 – Johan Rockström *2016 – Kunio Iwatsuki *2017 –

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. Seen as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best kn ...

*2018 –

Augustin Berque Augustin Berque (born 1942 in Rabat, Morocco), is a French geographer, Orientalism, Orientalist and philosopher. He is the son of the famous Egyptologist Jacques Berque. He is professor at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Par ...

*2019 –

Stuart Pimm Stuart Leonard Pimm (born 27 February 1949) is an American-British biologist and theoretical ecologist specializing in scientific research of biodiversity and conservation biology. Education Pimm was born in Derbyshire, United Kingdom. He was e ...

*2020 – Not awarded due to COVID-19 *2021 –

Peter Bellwood Peter Stafford Bellwood (born Leicester, England, 1943) is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. He is well known for his Out of Taiwan model rega ...

*2022 – Felicia Keesing

References

{{Reflist Environmental awards Environmental sciences awards Japanese awards

Subject matter

Selection procedure

Laureates

See also

References