Rolex Awards for Enterprise

Penguins — those endearing creatures with their waddling gait and disarmingly approachable faces — have captured the affection of people around the world. Yet the reality is alarming: more than half of the eighteen penguin species are currently at risk, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is this crisis that compelled a distinguished Argentine scientist, Pablo García Borboroglu, to found the Global Penguin Society (GPS), an organization wholly committed to the conservation of these species and their habitats across the world’s oceans.

The Global Penguin Society is headquartered in Puerto Madryn, Chubut, in Argentine Patagonia — a location that is both strategically and symbolically apt, a place where marine life and conservation coexist in a way that is found nowhere else on Earth. Here, García Borboroglu has devoted his life to the protection of penguins and to raising public awareness of the irreplaceable role these animals play in our ecosystem.

In parallel, in 1976, the Rolex Foundation established the Rolex Awards for Enterprise to support projects that advance human well-being and the conservation of the natural world. The program has recognized a remarkable cohort of individuals who, like García Borboroglu, have pledged their lives to science and exploration. Since its founding, the Awards have served as a platform to bring invaluable initiatives — and the people behind them — to global attention.

García Borboroglu’s story within this context is one of quiet inspiration. In 2019, he presented his project to raise awareness of the critical state of penguin populations at the Rolex Awards for Enterprise. Evaluated against more than nine hundred candidates from one hundred and eleven countries, he was recognized as one of ten finalists by an independent jury, earning the distinction of Associate Laureate — a designation that affirmed both the quality of his work and the broad public interest it had generated.

The award ceremony was held at a singular event in southern Argentina, where, with the ocean as his backdrop, García Borboroglu shared his story. To date, his efforts have directly benefited one million six hundred thousand penguins and contributed to the protection of thirteen million hectares of their habitat. His educational work has also engaged thousands of children in environmental stewardship, underscoring the imperative to eliminate plastic waste and raising awareness of its devastating consequences for marine wildlife.

Conserving penguins is far more than protecting a single species — it is a commitment to the future of our planet. In the spirit of Rolex, which from its earliest days has pursued a legacy of perpetuity, García Borboroglu and his team are working tirelessly toward a “Perpetual Planet” — giving voice to those who have none, yet whose existence is essential to the ecological balance of the Earth.

Ultimately, the work of Pablo García Borboroglu and the Global Penguin Society stands as a compelling testament to what science and compassion can achieve when united around a single purpose: the conservation of the natural world. Each of us has a role to play. From a deep affection for penguins to concrete action in defense of the environment, García Borboroglu’s story is an invitation to act — and a reminder that the beauty of nature is a legacy worth protecting. Salut!