There have been five major extinction events in Earth's history, the fifth being the obliteration of the dinosaurs by an asteroid some 65 million years ago. For many plant and animal species today, humans are now the greatest threat to their survival. This is known as the sixth extinction, and its grim ledger is the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The unrestrained destruction of animal habitats for our cities and food production is the equivalent of a slow-motion asteroid. And yet, it is only the human who has the capacity to prevent a real asteroid hitting Earth.
The challenge of this ideas competition is to create a physical memorial to the Sixth Extinction—a global event that has happened, is happening, and is also yet to happen—one that doesn't remember or edify the human subject as most memorials do but rather questions the human as nature's self-appointed executioner. Your memorial design can be any size and can be sited anywhere. There is a $15,000 AUD prize pool up for grabs and the competition is open and free to enter for students and professionals in any design-related discipline. The deadline for submissions is 1 November 2026. See www.audrc.org/competitions for details.
