The Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal

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Nominations for 2022 Hillary Medal Now Being Accepted

Deadline: to be announced

Due to the uncertainties of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we have not yet fixed the date of the next presentation. Meanwhile nominations are being accepted.

At present we are accepting nominations (including self-nominations) for a Hillary Medal to be presented in Kathmandu on 29 May 2022.

The deadline for nominations for the 2022 Medal the deadline is 15 February 2022. Unsuccessful nominations for the 2021 Hillary Medal can be reconsidered for 2022.

The Medal presentation event is an essential part of the mission of the SEHMLM project, and the successful candidates must commit to in-person participation. If COVID-19 should resurge in upstate New York, we will modify plans as necessary.

Candidates should specify which Medal presentation they prefer to attend; unsuccessful candidates for the 2022 edition may be reconsidered for later iterations.

Selection Procedure

The selection procedure entails three phases.

Preliminary Statement and Screening: Either the candidate or another person submits a concise statement of the work in question. This should include affiliation and/or collaborator(s), chronological summary of work, sites and beneficiaries, objectives, and results to date. This is important not only for the selection procedure but for the composition of an accurate press release.

Vetting: If the preliminary statement indicates a record that appears to be worthy of the SEHMLM, the candidate will be notified and asked for further information. Ordinarily this will include a more detailed narrative, documentation of claims, and, if possible, a short video describing the project(s) and showing the context and results of the work.

Selection: The SEHMLM Selection Committee will review the complete dossiers of current candidates, evaluate them independently, discuss their findings by email, and select the Medalist.

Candidates not successful in one round may be reconsidered in a subsequent year; they may also be selected for commendation in a list of Honorable Mentions cited at the presentation event. Being cited for Honorable Mention does not affect an individual's likelihood of subsequent selection as SEHML Medalist.

Eligibility Criteria

The Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal is awarded for remarkable service in the conservation of culture and nature in mountainous regions.

Nominees working in impoverished or ecologically fragile mountainous regions anywhere in the world are eligible.
As the award is for both cultural and environmental conservation, nominees should be working in inhabited mountainous regions.
One purpose of this award is to draw attention to efforts that are in need of broader support; therefore nominees should be currently engaged in such a project.
Self-nominations as well as nominations of third parties will be accepted.
Members of the Selection Committee may conduct their own searches for candidates. They will accept suggestions, in the form of name and contact information, from colleagues and others, and they may follow up on these suggestions at their discretion.
Recipients of the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal recipients cannot be re-nominated for another SEHMLM; however, unsuccessful candidates may be re-nominated without prejudice.
Exceptionally, two or more individuals may share a joint nomination if equal credit is due for the same project(s); however, in such a case only one medal will be awarded.
Consideration for the Hillary Medal is contingent upon the nominee's commitment to participate at the pertinent medal-presentation event.
The identities of nominators and of unsuccessful nominees shall remain confidential, except as necessary to obtain documentation pertinent to the selection process.

Explanatory Notes

Inhabited refers to permanent and/or seasonal settlement by indigenous peoples. It does not refer to transient outsiders such as tourists or researchers.
Organizations as such are not eligible to receive this Medal. However, individuals working within an organization are eligible.
Nominators should present the nominee's achievements in an accurate and persuasive fashion. In theory Sir Edmund Hillary's work established the model of development and conservation work for which the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal is awarded, although there is considerable flexibility due to the variable nature of Hillary's own projects as well as the changing circumstances in mountainous regions. Key elements of the Hillary Model are community buy-in, sustained involvement, and an appreciation of the opportunities for recreational adventure and development adventure in mountains. Nominators should make the case that the work in question is consistent with the Hillary Model.
As a matter of due diligence, the Selection Committee will make every effort to verify submitted information and seek out additional corroborating evidence.
Preliminary nominations for the 2021 Medal must be received by 31 July 2021.
The successful nominee will be notified of the 2021 award by 31 August 2021.
The Hillary Medal Selection Committee is not obliged to award the Medal in any given year if the Selection Committee deems that no candidate meets the eligibility criteria and/or that sufficient supporting or verifiable evidence of a nominee's achievements have not been made available.

Inquiries and nominations should submitted by email to Dr. Seth Sicroff, SEHMLM Project Director, at sicroff@hillarymedal.com.