title: Kew International Medal
text: # Kew International Medal
  
  The Kew International Medal is an award given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to science and conservation. The award was first established in 1992 by the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  
  ## Laureates
  
  Previous award winners include:
  
  * 2023: Suzanne Simard
  * 2022: Elizabeth Maruma Mrema
  * 2021: Partha Dasgupta
  * 2020: Sandra Diaz
  * 2018: Mary Robinson
  * 2017: Juan Manuel Santos
  * 2016: Sebsebe Demissew
  * 2015: Kiat Wee Tan
  * 2014: E. O. Wilson
  * 2012: Jared Diamond
  * 2009: Peter H. Raven
  * 2003: Mary Grierson
  * 2000: Margaret Stones
  * 1999: Stella Ross-Craig
  * 1996: David Attenborough
  * 1994: Robert Sainsbury and Lady Lisa Sainsbury
  
  ## Award criteria and nominations
  
  The winner is ratified by the Executive Board and Board of Trustees. Nominations are received from across the organisation and a selection panel made up of Kew Trustees and Executive Board Members decides the winner. Criteria the panel benchmark against are:
  
  * Building a world where plants and fungi are understood, valued and conserved – because our lives depend on them
  * Providing knowledge, inspiration and understanding of why plants and fungi matter to everyone;
  * Helping to solve some of the critical challenges facing humanity including (but not limited to): biodiversity loss, climate change, food security, plant pathogens, fighting disease;
  * Increasing public awareness of the threat to plant and fungal diversity.
  