Worldwide Vets Golden Star Award 2023 nominations open

WorldWide Vets has opened nominations for its 2023 Golden Star Award, which honors individuals who have made a positive impact on animal welfare or conservation in the last year. “It is unique in that anyone can be nominated, you don't have to be a vet or [technician],” Gemma Campling, BVetMed Sci (Hons), BVM BVS, MRCVS, MCVSZ, CEO and founder of WorldWide Vets, said in an email to dvm360^®.

Photo courtesy of WorldWide Vets.

The winner receives £250 (~300 USD), plus £500 (~600 USD) to a charity of their choice. Each nominee is given public recognition through WorldWide Vets’ multimedia channels and will receive a certificate of appreciation for their outstanding work.

"When I founded the award, the goal was to highlight the amazing work being done by people in all 4 corners of the globe," Campling shared. "Like our work, this is an international award, and that adds to the richness of it. When the nominations roll in, you can feel the gratitude, support, and awe from those who nominate their colleagues and friends. Being appreciated is one of the most powerful driving tools, and these people deserve such recognition."

Nominations can be made through November 15, 2023, and voting will begin November 15, 2023, and run through November 30, 2023. The public can cast their votes on WorldWide Vets’ website¹ or Facebook and Instagram pages. The public vote will put one person to the final while the other 2 finalists will be chosen by WorldWide Vets’ ethics committee. The final winner will be publicized on December 1, 2023.

The 2022 Worldwide Vets Golden Star Award winner was Louise Hastings, a graduating veterinary student working in Bulgaria, who stood out to the ethics committee because she “puts animal welfare at the core of everything she does, as she strives to develop sustainable and reliable projects to help animals in need.”¹ She has facilitated hundreds of dog and cat rescues and stray animal sterilizations and treatments and according to colleagues, is driven, compassionate, and a pleasure to work with.

"Every year I have been blown away by the amazing things people are doing. It ranges from those committing their careers to large NGOs to volunteers doing their bit locally with minimal external support, and everything in between. It gives me such hope for the world, that among the hard times and suffering there are so many striving forward," said Campling.

"In this award vets, [technicians], conservationists, fundraisers, and animal lovers who work in shelters, war zones, at home, and abroad, stand shoulder to shoulder because without each piece of the puzzle, we never see the whole beautiful picture. It is this diversity that allows us to continue striving for a better life for animals and the world they inhabit," she added.

Nominations can be made by filling out the form here: https://www.worldwidevets.com/goldenstaraward

Reference

Worldwide Vets Golden Star Award 2023. WorldWide Vets. Accessed October 25, 2023. https://www.worldwidevets.com/goldenstaraward