Rolex Awards For Enterprise: A Commitment To A Perpetual Planet

Rolex does much more than just making watches. They have an ongoing commitment in which they dedicate their resources into making the world a better place. One way in which they do that is through the Rolex Awards for Enterprise. Launched over 40 years ago, these awards support the men and women who take pioneering positions in protecting the worlds natural habitat, improving the well-being in places where it is needed the most and advancing knowledge.

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For Rolex, these awards don’t stand alone but are part of their Perpetual Planet campaign. With this campaign, they want to make a significant contribution to protecting what’s making the earth such a unique place, a sense of commitment that is a vital part of the legacy established by the founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf.

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise was first launched in 1976, marking the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster. The ten finalists were announced earlier this month and selected by an international jury of 10 experts, out of a total of 957 applicants. This jury consists of many notable names, such as Jonathan Baillie, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist of the National Geographic Society, as well as Laurence de la Ferrière, the writer, alpinist and explorer who has twice broken the women’s world record for altitude without oxygen.

The ten finalists come from all over the world, yet share a sheer determination to succeed in the field of their choosing, often utilizing an innovative approach. Topher White, for example, created a system in which ordinary smartphones can be used as a warming system against illegal logging. Molecular biologist Miranda Wang targets a different area as she found a way to turn unrecyclable plastic waste into chemicals that can be used to craft new products from. Sara Saeed utilizes digital technology to bring primary health care to the impoverished and rural communities in Pakistan, not only improving their quality of life but also lowering the number of infant and maternal deaths.

While the winner of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise will receive CHF 200.000,- to further advance their project, all finalists will benefit from the publicity around the awards and will also be awarded a Rolex watch. To create an even stronger connection between the work the ten finalists are involved in and the general public, Rolex also allowed for the very first time online voting. By going to the website of the 2019 Rolex Awards, people can not only vote for the project that they think should win but also read more background information about the projects of the ten finalists, as well as the perpetual commitment of Rolex to make the world a better place for all that live in it.