Prince and Princess of Wales Visit to Boston for Earthshot, 30 Nov - 2 Dec 2022


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I have to say that the crowd looks very happy that she's doing this walkabout. For someone who has described herself as shy, Catherine has adapted to this expected activity for a senior royal.

Not only does the crowd look happy, but some of the photos show that there is a very large crowd there, much larger than you would expect for an engagement where a walkabout hadn't been scheduled.
 
I'm impressed by the size of the crowds - certainly nothing to sneer at.

I'm glad the attention seems to be turning to the Earthshot prizes a bit more. I was a little surprised they didn't head further than Boston given they are there for a substantial time but I guess they - or William at least - also has things going on behind scenes to prep for the Earthshot prize ceremony.

I was very impressed Catherine was at Havard today to discuss new developments in early years science and research!
 
I have to say that the crowd looks very happy that she's doing this walkabout. For someone who has described herself as shy, Catherine has adapted to this expected activity for a senior royal.



I think both Wales have been very well received in Boston. Lots of crowds, excitement.

I read a story about William saying hello over the phone to one woman’s mom who lives in Tennessee.

Agreed. Catherine has adapted very well. And she always comes across as genuine and kind. And down to earth.

She's such a natural with people. So at ease just chatting and shaking hands. I doubt it's as easy as it looks.



As an introvert myself- this doesn’t sound easy to me. Catherine is very good at it imo.
 
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I read a story about William saying hello over the phone to one woman’s mom who lives in Tennessee.

I saw the clip of this on the news - the woman had a facetime session with her mum running, and asked William to say hello.

He handled it like an absolute champ. Like, no hesitation or awkwardness at all. Waved, smiled, said hello, asked if the weather was warmer there than in Boston.

He's just so good with people, really knows how to connect with them.
 
Catherine, Princess of Wales really knows to connect with people. So many smiling faces!

I have been following every step of this US Visit - and it is incredible. We are not yet at the main event tonight - but i have enjoyed all the engagements so far.

I didn't get any distraction from overseas couple and I suspect most people are just enjoying the Wales tour. A lot of engagements, so little time - it's hard to keep up and chat about it.

I have spent more time watching pictures and youtube videos to make sure I am not missing anything.
 
Until now this was a very well received visit in the USA.

And the princely couple makes a "bella figura". They really come across as Royalty and not as Celebrities! What is not easy! Especially in the US, where to borders are blurry...
 
Both of my children participated in studies here at the Center at Harvard. My daughter was part of an infant perceptual study from 3 months to 2 years. My son was in a study evaluating perception and behavior from 4 years to 6 years. They were there every three months.
The studies were very interesting and creative. The faculty and assistants were competent and “good with children”, as you would expect. Parents were given a report of the overall findings of the study.
I am sure that Catherine would have found it to be interesting. They had some fun equipment.
 
That emerald choker!! How divine.
 
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Here's the list of the five winning organizations from last night's awards ceremony. Each took home a one million pound prize.


https://earthshotprize.org/five-winners-of-the-second-ever-earthshot-prize-awards-unveiled/


Following a rigorous selection process focused on identifying the most inspirational, impactful, and inclusive solutions, the five 2022 winners are:
Clean our Air: Mukuru Clean Stoves, Kenya – A start-up providing cleaner-burning stoves to women in Kenya to reduce unhealthy indoor pollution and provide a safer way to cook.
Protect and Restore Nature: Kheyti, India – A pioneering solution for local smallholder farmers to reduce costs, increase yields and protect livelihoods in a country on the frontlines of climate change.
Revive our Oceans: Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia – An inspiring women led program that combines 60,000 years of indigenous knowledge with digital technologies to protect land and sea.
Build a Waste-free World: Notpla, United Kingdom – A circular solution creating an alternative to plastic packaging from seaweed.
Fix our Climate: 44.01, Oman – Created by childhood friends who have developed an innovative technique to turn CO2 into rock, and permanently store it underground.
 
I thought the Eartshot prize was about finding the best solution that had the potential of having the greatest impact, so I am a bit surprised that 'inclusiveness' played a role in deciding the winners.

I hope all winners will not only receive money but also other support to help them make most use of the money awarded.
 
I thought the Eartshot prize was about finding the best solution that had the potential of having the greatest impact, so I am a bit surprised that 'inclusiveness' played a role in deciding the winners.

I hope all winners will not only receive money but also other support to help them make most use of the money awarded.

I don't think "inclusive" in this use here is meant in the same way as DEI initiatives. Notice that the Earthshot description used three words that all begin with the letter "i" - inspirational, impactful and inclusive. It seems to me they were going for alliteration and "inclusive" is really meant in a more neutrally "all-inclusive" way.
 
I thought the Eartshot prize was about finding the best solution that had the potential of having the greatest impact, so I am a bit surprised that 'inclusiveness' played a role in deciding the winners.

I hope all winners will not only receive money but also other support to help them make most use of the money awarded.

My big question -- where were the finalists? This whole Boston trip was to highlight the Earthshot Prize and yet that really didn't happen. We get this big glitzy awards and none of the finalist were in attendance. Odd, no? You would think if anyone would be there it would be them.

Why not have had them there these few days talking to experts at Harvard or MIT and networking. Even on their social media you barely saw anything about them. I don't really understand why it was held in a place that wasn't easily accessible for the ones you are suppose to be highlighting.

Having celebs and whatnot all there and not the actually finalists rubs me wrong.
 
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I think this trip was very successful- despite a few unfortunate distractions.

I’m not surprised that they got an enthusiastic welcome from the people of Boston- despite rain and cold temperatures. As usual- they both interacted with the crowds beautifully.

I really enjoyed the footage of William getting a personal tour of the JFK Library, specifically focusing on his challenge to go to the moon, by Caroline Kennedy. It has a “wow” factor, for lack of any other way of putting it. There’s a lot of prestige, gravitas in this.

Visiting the JFK Library is something I have very fond memories of. I walked out inspired.

Also- if a picture is worth a thousand words than what else needs to be said of the photos of Biden and William meeting at the Library?

The awards ceremony seemed to go off very well too.
 
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My big question -- where were the finalists? This whole Boston trip was to highlight the Earthshot Prize and yet that really didn't happen. We get this big glitzy awards and none of the finalist were in attendance. Odd, no? You would think if anyone would be there it would be them.

Why not have had them there these few days talking to experts at Harvard or MIT and networking. Even on their social media you barely saw anything about them. I don't really understand why it was held in a place that wasn't easily accessible for the ones you are suppose to be highlighting.

Having celebs and whatnot all there and not the actually finalists rubs me wrong.
It's indeed a pity if none of them were present. In the Dutch press I read that two of the nominees (who didn't win) decided to make the more 'ecological choice' and therefore didn't attend the ceremony. I wonder if the winners would have attended had they known in advance that they would win. Not sure how many finalists they had for each category. So, I don't think it was about accessibility of the location - the finalists and winners were from all areas of the world, so it isn't that they could easily have picked a different location that would have been easy to attend for all of them.

I can see why they picked Boston as William was inspired by JF Kennedy's moonshot when creating this award. Doing even more 'other engagements' would not have helped to highlight the Earthshot Prize in any way imho. I thought they already made most of their trip with lots of different activities.
 
The ceremony is going to be screened on the BBC and in America Sunday / Monday I think, so it does seem a bit of an anti climax that they've left but we've not seen the ceremony but by next week we will have.
 
Both of my children participated in studies here at the Center at Harvard. My daughter was part of an infant perceptual study from 3 months to 2 years. My son was in a study evaluating perception and behavior from 4 years to 6 years. They were there every three months.
The studies were very interesting and creative. The faculty and assistants were competent and “good with children”, as you would expect. Parents were given a report of the overall findings of the study.
I am sure that Catherine would have found it to be interesting. They had some fun equipment.

Thanks for sharing your family's experience at the Center. As an educator, I do find these programs to be fascinating.
 
It's indeed a pity if none of them were present. In the Dutch press I read that two of the nominees (who didn't win) decided to make the more 'ecological choice' and therefore didn't attend the ceremony. I wonder if the winners would have attended had they known in advance that they would win. Not sure how many finalists they had for each category. So, I don't think it was about accessibility of the location - the finalists and winners were from all areas of the world, so it isn't that they could easily have picked a different location that would have been easy to attend for all of them.

I can see why they picked Boston as William was inspired by JF Kennedy's moonshot when creating this award. Doing even more 'other engagements' would not have helped to highlight the Earthshot Prize in any way imho. I thought they already made most of their trip with lots of different activities.

I have to guess that the winners did have some advance notice, because in many remote parts of the world traveling might require some hours or days before you even arrive at the airport. Also not everyone is keen on traveling overseas for a number of reasons from health concerns to ecological views.

I have heard that Brazil might be a possible location for the next award ceremony, so I believe that the might be going to a different continent each year. Though Antarctica might see fewer guests attending in person. ;)
 
I have to guess that the winners did have some advance notice, because in many remote parts of the world traveling might require some hours or days before you even arrive at the airport. Also not everyone is keen on traveling overseas for a number of reasons from health concerns to ecological views.

I have heard that Brazil might be a possible location for the next award ceremony, so I believe that the might be going to a different continent each year. Though Antarctica might see fewer guests attending in person. ;)

ACO indicated that no finalists (including the winners I suppose) were present... The finalists were announced in time - but at least some of them decided not to attend citing ecological (footprint) reasons.
 
Yay, indigenous women rangers on the Great Barrier Reef won their category.
From ABC News Australia

The Queensland Indigenous Women Ranger Network, which manages and protects the Great Barrier Reef, has won 1 million pounds ($1.8 million AUS) in the Prince of Wales's Earthshot Prize.

Key points:

The network combines 60,000 years of Indigenous knowledge with new technology for care of the Great Barrier Reef
It aims to encourage more Indigenous women to get into land and sea management
The program was among five winners in the environmental initiative set up by Prince William
Established in 2018, the network was designed to provide a forum for female rangers to share their experiences, ideas and information and has since trained more than 60 women.

Queensland Indigenous Women Ranger Network managing director Larissa Hale said the network came together because there weren't enough Indigenous women in land and sea management.

"[It] was created to show other women that we can do this," she said.

"It is not just for the men, it is for all of us."

The network combines 60,000 years of Indigenous knowledge with new technology in their work, using drones to gather data.

Using this data, the network educates people about coral bleaching and dieback and works with the government and reef organisations to implement coral sanctuaries and regrowth projects.

The ground-breaking program won the Earthshot Prize award for the Revive Our Oceans category and was chosen from more than 1,000 nominations.
 
Yay, indigenous women rangers on the Great Barrier Reef won their category.
From ABC News Australia

The Queensland Indigenous Women Ranger Network, which manages and protects the Great Barrier Reef, has won 1 million pounds ($1.8 million AUS) in the Prince of Wales's Earthshot Prize.

Key points:

The network combines 60,000 years of Indigenous knowledge with new technology for care of the Great Barrier Reef
It aims to encourage more Indigenous women to get into land and sea management
The program was among five winners in the environmental initiative set up by Prince William
Established in 2018, the network was designed to provide a forum for female rangers to share their experiences, ideas and information and has since trained more than 60 women.

Queensland Indigenous Women Ranger Network managing director Larissa Hale said the network came together because there weren't enough Indigenous women in land and sea management.

"[It] was created to show other women that we can do this," she said.

"It is not just for the men, it is for all of us."

The network combines 60,000 years of Indigenous knowledge with new technology in their work, using drones to gather data.

Using this data, the network educates people about coral bleaching and dieback and works with the government and reef organisations to implement coral sanctuaries and regrowth projects.

The ground-breaking program won the Earthshot Prize award for the Revive Our Oceans category and was chosen from more than 1,000 nominations.



That is just so cool. What an incredible program! I have really enjoyed learning about all of these projects.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but last year most (if not all) of the finalists and winners also weren't in attendance, right? After last year ceremony, I had a thought whether the ceremony itself is necessary since it's possible to do it remotely, so why not each of them record video footage and someone edit it together then upload it on YouTube, as the president and founder William could just make zoom call from London. But then again, the foundation needs money to give to the winners so the spectacle may be necessary to attract donors/potential investors (since coaching/networking is also part of the prize, not just award money) and also wine-and-dine the established donors. Thus, the celebrities' attendance (as well as William's) is part of that "spectacle" to bring money because the money comes from donation, unlike Nobel Prize. I honestly thought maybe William doesn't need to attend every year, the council members are from all around the world so they can take turn to "host" it in their own country to reduce the carbon footprint, but in can be argued that William's status as royal adds more sparkle to this "spectacle".

Why Boston?
They posted it few days ago:
Twitter

Would it be better if they make it London-centred, just like Stockholm and Nobel Prize?
If the purpose is just to announce and award the winners, then maybe it's a good idea.
Majority of this year's guests are members of local charities and organisations. It's invitation only, they didn't sell tickets so it's clearly not a fundraising. In a way it can be said the ceremony itself is also sort of a reception to thank/appreciate them for what they've been doing which the royals often doing in the UK. In this case, it's easier to bring the "intertainment" (which include the royals) to them than to fly them to London. And I like it because it would mean the ceremony is not only about the finalists and winners, but also celebrating other small players who were not nominated. Maybe next year will be Brazil (and it'll be people who's involved in Amazon) or Japan (there's many "green" project in Japan) or Tanzania (and Serengeti rangers).
 
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