Rolex Awards for Enterprise announces five winners

Luiz Rocha

(Image credit: press)

last updated 21 October 2022

Rolex has announced that Felix Brooks-church, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Rinzin Phunjok Lama, Gina Moseley and Luiz Rocha are this year’s winners of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise.

The awards recognise the projects that have the potential to transform the future, as part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet initiative, which supports those aiming to bring about change. The five winners of this year’s awards, hailing from all around the globe, will receive funding for their projects.

Woman underground in cave — Gina Moseley

Man sat on a hill surrounded by rocks — Rinzin Phunjok Lama

Each of the winners has addressed differing needs for projects that propose practical solutions to pressing issues. Felix Brooks-church, from the United States, has assessed the need for critical micronutrients in staple foods to combat serious cases of malnutrition in Tanzania. His machines in rural flour mills efficiently supply them.

Chad-based Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is concerned with the prevention of climate conflicts in the Sahel – by connecting with indigenious people, she is able to use their knowledge to locate much-needed natural resources.

For Rinzin Phunjok Lama, from Nepal, local communities are also key; his work aims to protect the Trans-Himalayan ecosystems and at-risk mammals.

The United Kingdom’s Gina Moseley aims to gather information in a bid to create long-term solutions, and her plan to lead the first expedition to explore the world’s northernmost caves will unlock details of climate change in the Arctic.

For Luiz Rocha, from Brazil, mesophotic coral reefs in the Indian Ocean are the focus, his work aiming to discover and protect them.

The ten judges – technology specialist Meena Ganesh, law professor Toshiyuki Kono, palaeontologist and anthropologist Louise Leakey, astrophysicist Chris Lintott, environmentalist Wanjira Mathai, research scientist Sam Myers, physicist and Nobel Laureate Konstantin Novoselov, ecologist Jon Paul Rodríguez, humanitarian Norbu Tenzing, and professor Zhu Dajian – met virtually in November to decide on the winners.

The award is a continuation of the tradition established in 1976 by the CEO of Rolex at the time, André J Heiniger. Created to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster watch, the awards – originally intended to be a one-off – were so popular they became a regular event.

Woman holding a computer surrounded by people pointing at it — Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim

Man standing in front of a big box at a factory — Felix Brooks-church

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Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat art trends and conducted in-depth profiles, as well as writing and commissioning extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys travelling, visiting artists' studios and viewing exhibitions around the world, and has interviewed artists and designers including Maggi Hambling, William Kentridge, Jonathan Anderson, Chantal Joffe, Lubaina Himid, Tilda Swinton and Mickalene Thomas.