Nominations for the 2025 Diane Skinner Award for the Unsung Hero in Conservation are open.

There are many individuals across Africa who work tirelessly to conserve the Continent’s incredible wild landscapes. Like Diane, many do this selflessly for what they love, without ego and a need for recognition. The Diane Skinner Award seeks to recognise those individuals and give the world the opportunity to say thank you.

This is an annual award to honour Diane’s memory as she exemplified this type of conservationist. It is sponsored jointly by the Painted Wolf Foundation and the African Leadership University School of Wildlife Conservation.

A candidate is nominated by a colleague online, one nomination per organisation or person. 

All are reviewed by SOWC, Painted Wolf Foundation and Di’s family and closest friends. A shortlist is created and all applicants are informed and thanked. 

The winning candidate will be selected from the shortlist of ten and invited to attend BCC 2026 to be held in March this year in Nairobi, Kenya.

Nomination submissions close 31 January 2026.

Nominate your Unsung Hero for 2025 using the button below:.

Submission Form

Nomination criteria:

  • The award is open to anyone in conservation.
  • The nominee cannot be a major award winner, previously recognized or have a highly visible profile.
  • The nominee must be nominated by someone else, such as a colleague, employer, or funder.
  • The proposer must answer: “What have they done to advance conservation and what impact is it making?”
  • A person can be renominated again this year.
  • Nominations must be submitted by 31 January 2026.