Rolex 2019 Awards

Rolex 2019 Awards

For more than 40 years, the Rolex Awards have supported individuals with projects that advance human knowledge, protect cultural heritage or help preserve natural habitats and species.

Join a Jury of experts to help select the five 2019 Laureates who will be supported by Rolex.

Discover the finalists and vote:

Miranda Wang

Recycling unrecyclable plastic waste

If 25 year-old Canadian entrepreneur Miranda Wang fulfils her goal, a third of the world’s plastic waste – which now chokes landfills, rivers and oceans – could be converted into new wealth.

João Campos-Silva

Protect a giant fish for the Amazon

The largest scaled freshwater fish in the world – the giant arapaima – is bound for extinction. But in a close partnership with local associations and fishing leaders, fisheries ecologist João Campos-Silva has a plan to save not only the arapaima but with it, the livelihoods, food supply and culture of the indigenous communities who depend on the Amazon’s rivers for survival.

Topher White

Electronic ‘ears’ listen to world’s rainforests

Technologist Topher White is giving scientists and conservationists a unique view of wildlife in the world’s rainforests – through an alert system he originally developed to detect illegal logging using old mobile phones.

Emma Camp

Reef rescue with the toughest corals

Marine biologist and explorer Emma Camp is out to find the world’s toughest corals – and use them in the struggle to reverse the devastation wreaked by climate change and human activity.

Brian Gitta

Rapid malaria testing with no blood sample

A powerful new weapon in the war on malaria – a disease that attacks 220 million people every year – is the dream of Ugandan IT specialist Brian Gitta.

Grégoire Courtine

Help paralysed people walk again

For medical scientist Grégoire Courtine, a broken back need no longer be a barrier to walking again.

Krithi Karanth

Reduce wildlife-human conflict in India

As human numbers surge, conflicts between people and the planet’s dwindling wildlife are multiplying – but Indian conservationist Krithi Karanth is convinced this problem can be solved.

Sara Saeed

Women doctors for telemedicine in Pakistan

In the rugged hill country of Pakistan, doctors are scarce – and many families suffer from lack of medical care. But Pakistani doctor Sara Saeed believes she has the answer. At the same time, in the cities, thousands of well-qualified female doctors are staying home, unable to practice their vocation.

Yves Moussallam

Explore remote volcanoes affecting Earth’s climate

French volcanologist Yves Moussallam wants to shed light on a great scientific unknown: how the gases and aerosols emitted by the Earth’s 150-plus active volcanoes are affecting climate change.

Pablo García Borboroglu

Saving the world’s threatened penguins

An alarming decline in world penguin populations is spurring Argentinian conservationist Pablo García Borboroglu to launch an international campaign to find out what is going wrong – and how we can save these magnificent and fragile ocean birds.

Global impacts

The support given by Rolex to Award winners since the launch of the programme has had a catalytic impact and has in many cases transformed lives and communities. It has also stimulated new ways of thinking about common problems in areas as diverse as creating technologies that improved lives, saving endangered ecosystems, protecting the oceans, exploring new frontiers on the planet, or pioneering advances in science and health.
Invite others to discover the inspiring projects of the 2019 Rolex Awards finalists #PerpetualPlanet