Jaguar Land Rover Announces New 'Defender Awards' Programme

Jaguar Land Rover’s Defender brand has announced the launch of the Defender Awards, a new initiative set to benefit “small non-profit conservation and humanitarian charities and organizations across the globe” – and it’s kicking things off immediately, with applications for this year’s awards open now.

The new initiative builds on a rich heritage of humanitarian efforts that began back in 1954, when the Rover Company – with its first Series Land Rovers, precursors to the Defender brand – began working with the British Red Cross. It’s a partnership that continues to this day and the inaugural Defender Awards will see seven winners announced from seven different countries – the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan and South Africa – each of whom will receive a £100,000 GBP bursary (equivalent to around $130,000 USD at the time of writing) and what the brand describes as “expert mentorship in a total commitment worth more than £1 million”.

And, naturally, each of the lucky seven Defender Awards recipients will also receive a brand new Defender vehicle.

To give its new programme some structure, the brand has split the Defender Awards into four unique – and appropriately named – categories: Defenders of the Land, Defenders of the Sea, Defenders of the Wild and Defenders of Humanity.

Once the application window for the inaugural awards has closed in June, “an international judging panel” will be tasked with shortlisting 56 entries, an initial list the brand says will include two projects from each of the four Defender Awards categories. The seven winners will be chosen from these finalists, with Defender confirming there will be “at least one winner from each participating country”.

Commenting on the initiative, Defender’s managing director, Mark Cameron, said: “Defender has a proud heritage of helping people make more of their world, spanning both humanitarian and conservation causes. Our enduring 70-year association with the Red Cross and 20 years of work with Tusk support established
organisations – but we wanted a way of engaging with smaller-scale initiatives.

“We have launched Defender Awards to recognise and support conservation and humanitarian heroes. Our new programme represents an investment of more than £1m and will assemble an international network of experts to share knowledge and help advance change. It is international in scale but has a local focus and will enrich Defender’s rich history of supporting vulnerable habitats, species and communities.”

Applications for the inaugural Defender Awards are open now through June 16, with details of how to enter and more information available through the Defender’s website.