Tatler+
While only five individuals were selected to be the 2019 Rolex Awards For Enterprise laureates, the remaining finalists known as associate laureates will still receive support from the watchmaker to continue their inspiring projects to improve life on planet Earth as part of the Perpetual Planet campaign
Rolex, a firm supporter of explorers and individuals to discover more about planet Earth and to find ways to preserve the natural world, has launched the Perpetual Planet campaign this year to further its commitment to maintaining the well-being of the earth.
One of the three key pillars of the campaign is the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, an awards to foster entrepreneurship, advance human knowledge and protect our cultural heritage and the environment. (The other two are marine conservationist Sylvia Earle's Mission Blue initiative and Rolex's deepened partnership with the National Geographic Society.)
“Now, more than ever we need people to show us how to tackle the problems that face mankind with enterprise and determination,” said Arnaud Boetsch, Rolex's director of communication and image. After a few rounds of presentations and selection by an independent jury, five laureates were unveiled in a ceremony in Washington in June, snagging Rolex's funding to advance their projects, a Rolex timepiece and worldwide publicity. The remaining five were not forgotten as they also received funding from the watchmaker to further their ideas—it's Rolex's small way of supporting each and every good initiative to preserve the world around us.
Here are the five associate laureates and their inspiring projects that will go a long way to making the earth a perpetual planet.