2021 Rolex Awards Laureate Documentary: Rinzin Phunjok Lama

2021 Rolex Awards Laureate Documentary

Rinzin Phunjok Lama

Protecting Snow Leopards 

As a young man intrigued by the mysterious and mythical snow leopard that frequented his native region of Humla in Nepal’s Trans-Himalaya, Rinzin Phunjok Lama was determined to protect the fabled animal as well as the entire mountain environment. 

Early on, the 2021 Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureate understood that an integrated, community-based approach was required to conserve both threatened wildlife and the habitat. A key for Lama is empowering locals, including students, to help restore the declining populations of animals and biodiversity. He sees them as the true stewards of the land.

Rolex Batman

Rolex Batman

With a long-standing love of bats, 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureate Rodrigo Medellín has spent the past 40 years protecting these universally feared mammals that he recognizes for their crucial role in pest control, seed dispersal and plant pollination. 

Through a mix of research, education and conservation activities, the man known as “the Bat Man of Mexico” and his Programme for the Conservation of Bats of Mexico have focused on the benefits derived from bats and expanded their activities to 28 of 32 Mexican states, 22 countries from continental Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as joining forces with people in Africa and Asia. 

Medellín claims that being recognized by the Rolex Awards, a pillar of the brand’s Perpetual Planet initiative, has been a life-changer.

Tomas Diagne Africa's 'Father of Turtles'

Tomas Diagne
Africa's 'Father of Turtles'
1998 Rolex Awards for Enterprise

The Call of the Cloud Forest

The Call of the Cloud Forest

Restoring the dwindling biodiversity of the unique montane cloud forests of Sri Lanka through the Agrapatana Montane Forest Restoration Initiative earned conservationist Rohan Pethiyagoda a Rolex Award for Enterprise in 2000. Since then, he has worked with his fellow citizens to regenerate realms of degraded farmland, tea and rubber plantations and forests in this mist-shrouded region located close to the world-famous Horton Plains National Park. Today, the journey to ecosystem renewal is taking hold, with the native forest starting to recolonize and dozens of long-absent and new species appearing.

Olivier Nsengimana 2014 Rolex Award for Enterprise Laureate

Olivier Nsengimana

Rolex Award for Enterprise Laureate 

Encouraged by his 2014 Rolex Award for Enterprise, Olivier Nsengimana has galvanized his fellow Rwandans to revive the fortunes of their much-loved grey crowned crane. A symbol of long life and prosperity, which hotels and wealthy citizens used to adorn their gardens, the crane had become scarce due to poaching and farming encroaching on wetlands. But, thanks to a wildlife management project launched by the vet and conservationist, which includes a sanctuary and separate rewilding facility, hundreds of the cranes have been liberated and released, once again flourishing in their natural habitat. As a result, the Laureate’s work is becoming a symbol of renewal in much of Africa.

Rolex Awards for Enterprise

Rolex Awards for Enterprise

Rolex.org has an AMAZING story on their Rolex Awards for Enterpise site named Eye Test Brings Equality which is the story of Andrew Bastawrous.

Rolex says: 

"Ophthalmologist Andrew Bastawrous is pursuing a vision to bring clear eyesight to millions of people around the world. With the help of his 2016 Rolex Award for Enterprise, he developed the Peek Acuity app, an easy-to-use mobile phone-based technology to test the eyesight of those experiencing readily treatable optical problems. Initially trialled in Kenya, the project has expanded to multiple locations across Africa and Asia, including remote parts of Pakistan where more than 20,000 people a month are being screened. A part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet initiative, the project shares practical science and technology universally for the betterment of humanity."

2021 Laureate Rolex Awards for Enterprise Winner Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim

 Rolex Awards for Enterprise 

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
2021 Laureate

Listening to the Earth Michel André

Listening to the Earth
Michel André

Taking A Volcano's Pulse

Taking A Volcano's Pulse

Exploring submarine forests in Patagonia’s fjords with Vreni Häussermann

Exploring submarine forests in Patagonia’s fjords
with Vreni Häussermann 

Stars of the Deep: Taking Care of Whales

 

Stars of the Deep

Rolex recently published this fascinating new video on protecting whales and said:

 "Marine scientist Brad Norman received a Rolex Award for Enterprise in 2006 to fine-tune his pioneering photo-identification system for whale sharks, the world’s biggest fish. The database contains 75,000 sightings of 12,000 sharks, photographed by 9,000 citizen scientists and researchers all over the world. It is one of the largest datasets of a marine species and emblematic of Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative to support those finding ways to protect the natural world."

Mark Kendall Revolutionizing Modern Medicine

2012 Rolex Laureate 
Mark Kendall
Revolutionizing Modern Medicine

Rolex Celebrates 5 New Laureates @ 2019 Rolex Awards

Rolex Celebrates

5 New Laureates

2019 Rolex Awards

This year's Rolex Awards Laureates have been chosen and they are ALL AMAZING!!! Check out the video below and be sure to head over to Rolex.org to learn much more about their life-changing missions! This year's Rolex Awards are unique in the sense this was the first year where anyone could vote for the Rolex Award winners, which is so cool if you think about it.

"Behind the Rolex crown is a way of thinking about our place in the world and an aspiration to contribute. We call this perpetual spirit.
It is based on a fundamental belief in unlimited human potential, in continuous improvement, in always pushing the boundaries and taking the long-term view. Our watches are built to last. So is our contribution to future generations."

1978 Rolex Ad

The next two images below were published in 1978 by Rolex in magazines. The first image is fascinating because it appears to be a wrist shot of sorts, but if you examine it closer, you might notice the remarkable similarity to the Rolex crown logo.

2019 Rolex Awards & Anybody Can Vote Now!!!

2019 Rolex Awards

Anybody Can Vote Now!!!

A new chapter is being written for the Rolex Awards...This story is beyond exciting to me as it clearly demonstrates Rolex is going full-speed ahead in the digital age!!! While the Rolex Awards have been around since ????, this year Rolex is allowing ANYBODY, ANYWHERE to participate in the voting process!!!!

All you need to do to vote and learn about all the amazing award nominees is visit Rolex.org. 

Rolex Awards For Enterprise 40th Anniversary

Even thought Rolex watches are the international mark of success, very little is known about Rolex as a company because, from all my research, I would say Rolex is kind of shy. In other words, Rolex is a very low-key company, and many people don't realize that Rolex is a highly philanthropic company.  There is an organization named, "The Rolex Institute" that governs Rolex's philanthropic endeavors. The Rolex Institute consists of  two fascinating entities which are "The Rolex Awards For Enterprise", and "The Rolex Mentor & Protégé"

In this article we are going to get in The Rolex Time-Machine and go back to explore the history of The Rolex Awards For Enterprise. The Rolex Awards For Enterprise just celebrated their 40th Anniversary, and were founded by Rolex CEO, André Heiniger who is pictured below when he became the CEO of Rolex in 1963.

Rolex CEO André Heiniger pictured above in 1963

1976 Rolex Ad

The first Rolex ad below was published in 1976, and give a superb overview of the genesis of The Rolex Awards For Enterprise.

1978 Rolex Ad

The next two images below were published in 1978 by Rolex in magazines. The first image is fascinating because it appears to be a wrist shot of sorts, but if you examine it closer, you might notice the remarkable similarity to the Rolex crown logo.

1987 Rolex Ad

The next two images below were published in 1987 and offer a fascinating perspective.

1993 Rolex Ad

The images below were published in 1993 and go into detail on the overall history of The Rolex Awards For Enterprise.

2006 Rolex Laureates Ad

What an amazing photograph!!!!! It's incredible to contrast the size of the human swimming above the whale shark. Just awe inspiring!!! The whale shark is like the size of a house–but swimming through the ocean!!! I can't imagine any dinosaur could have been larger than the whale-shark!!! Inner-Space really is every bit as fascinating as Outer-Space, if not more!!!! 

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise Presents
Cold Love

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise Presents Cold Love

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise Presents
Cold Love

2006 Rolex Laureates Ad

2006 Rolex Laureates Ad

What an amazing photograph!!!!! It's incredible to contrast the size of the human swimming above the whale shark. Just awe inspiring!!! The whale shark is like the size of a house–but swimming through the ocean!!! I can't imagine any dinosaur could have been larger than the whale-shark!!! Inner-Space really is every bit as fascinating as Outer-Space, if not more!!!!

Rolex Announces Winners of International Awards For Enterprise...

Rolex Announces Winners of International Awards For Enterprise 

Five Prizes of US$100,000 and Five of $50,000 Awarded for Ten Groundbreaking Projects Worldwide 

Rolex announced the ten winners of the 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise, which for more than 30 years have supported pioneering work in science and medicine, technology and innovation, exploration and discovery, the environment and cultural heritage. The award recipients hail from around the globe – from India, Jordan, Mexico, Paraguay, South Africa, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States – and join a global network of 110 visionaries from 38 countries who have received vital project support and recognition from the Swiss watchmaker since the Awards were founded in 1976. 

The Rolex Awards fund new and ongoing projects that demonstrate a spirit of enterprise and address pressing needs around the world, from climate change, to wildlife and habitat preservation, to cultural preservation, to providing water, food, medical supplies and education for impoverished communities. Rolex will present US$100,000 each to five Laureates, who will be honored tomorrow evening (18 November) in a ceremony in Dubai – the first ever Rolex Awards ceremony held in the Middle East. Five Associate Laureates will each receive $50,000 at ceremonies in their home countries. All ten winners will also receive a Rolex chronometer. 

“The Rolex Awards for Enterprise enable the work of global pioneers who are breaking new ground in their fields, and improving lives worldwide,” said Patrick Heiniger, Chief Executive Officer of Rolex. “We are proud to support these truly original thinkers, and salute them for their ingenuity and commitment of purpose.” 

The 2008 Rolex Laureates – chosen from nearly 1,500 applicants in 127 countries by an independent panel of scientists, educators, economists and other experts – are: 

Talal Akasheh (Jordan), 61, who, after devoting 26 years to documenting the ancient monuments of Petra, is creating an information system that will inform future conservation efforts at this beloved, yet threatened, historic site. 
Tim Bauer (U.S.), 31, who is using breakthrough technology to retrofit polluting two-stroke vehicle engines that are common in the Philippines, helping to alleviate a major environmental and public-health risk in South-East Asia. 

Andrew McGonigle (U.K.), 35, a physicist who is developing a new means to safely and reliably predict volcanic eruptions using an unmanned aircraft. 

Andrew Muir (South Africa), 43, a conservationist providing Aids orphans with life skills, training, and jobs in South Africa’s burgeoning ecotourism sector. 

Elsa Zaldívar (Paraguay), 48, who is bringing an eco-friendly solution to her country’s housing shortage by creating composite building materials made of plant and plastic waste to construct affordable housing. 

The 2008 Rolex Associate Laureates are: Alexis Belonio (Philippines), 48, creator of a new technology that transforms the waste from rice production into clean, affordable cooking fuel; Arturo González (Mexico), 44, an explorer and researcher excavating archaeological remains in submerged caves or cenotes on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula; Rodrigo Medellín (Mexico), 50, who is working to save Mexico’s indigenous bats through habitat protection and education; Moji Riba (India), 36, a film-maker helping to preserve and document the rich cultural heritage of India’s Arunachal Pradesh tribes; and Romulus Whitaker (India), 65, a lifelong conservationist who is establishing a network of rainforest research stations to document and protect the biodiversity of southern India. 

The 2008 Rolex Award winners were chosen by an independent, voluntary jury of international experts, chaired by Patrick Heiniger. This year’s Selection Committee members are: Dr Vikram Akula, founder and CEO of SKS Microfinance, based in India and the United States; Etienne Bourgois, head of a French clothing company and expedition leader; Professor Denise Bradley, president of the Australian College of Educators; Dr Geh Min, ophthalmologist, environmentalist and president of the Nature Society of Singapore; Professor Farkhonda Hassan, Egyptian geologist and professor at the American University in Cairo; Dr Rodrigo Jordán, educator and explorer from Chile; Yolanda Kakabadse, Ecuadorian environmentalist and champion of sustainable development; Dr Phil Nuytten, Canadian pioneer of the commercial diving industry; Dr Ivo Pitanguy, plastic surgeon and director of the Ivo Pitanguy Clinic and Institute in Brazil; Dr Anatoly M. Sagalevitch, Russian oceanologist and head of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology’s Laboratory of Manned Submersibles; Professor Emil Salim, professor of economics at the University of Indonesia; and Dr Kathryn D. Sullivan, director of the Battelle Center for Math and Science Education Policy at Ohio State University and former NASA astronaut. 

Rolex Philanthropy 

Since its founding a century ago, Rolex has established a tradition supporting individual excellence and achievement around the globe. Through its two primary philanthropic programmes, the Awards for Enterprise and the Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, Rolex fosters innovation in science, exploration, conservation, and the arts worldwide.