The prize includes a trip for two to Singapore, including roundtrip airfare from the US and airport transfers. The winner and a guest will explore the dynamic city’s vibrant culture, striking architecture, and rich heritage with sightseeing tour passes. They will also have the opportunity to enjoy on-circuit live entertainment throughout the Grand Prix weekend.
Besides the main prize, there are also special awards for young people who have demonstrated great care and compassion for their fellow citizens. One of the winners this year was Muhammad Dinie from the Institute of Technical Education, College Central (ITE), who led a team that gave appreciation to Town Council cleaners during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The most important thing is that we are not doing this for the money,” he said. “We do it because we want to show our gratitude for the hard work that they have done.”
Other winners include the makers of solar-powered dryers and a soil carbon marketplace, which won this year’s Earthshot prize. The award, which was launched by Britain’s Prince William, honours individuals and organisations whose solutions demonstrate that “hope does remain” as climate change exacerbates global challenges. The 15 finalists, which also include groups that make electric car batteries cleaner and restore Andean forests, received $1 million each to scale up their efforts.
Meanwhile, the winning project for the prestigious World Architecture Festival (WAF) top prize went to Kampung Admiralty, a community and public space in Singapore that was built after an earthquake in China’s Yunnan province in 2014. It is the first building designed by a Singaporean firm to claim the title, after the Interlace and a stacked apartment complex in Germany.
A book about the lives of ordinary Singaporeans took centre stage in this year’s National University of Singapore (NUS) History Prize shortlist. Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore (2019, available here) by Kwa Chong Guan, Tan Tai Yong, Peter Borschberg and Derek Heng was among the titles that forgoed the traditional view of history as a record of big movers and shakers. Other entries include Kamaladevi Aravindan’s novel Sembawang and Timothy P. Barnard’s Imperial Creatures, which examines the relationship between humans and animals in colonial Singapore.
The literary prize, which was first awarded in 1992 and operates in four languages, also includes a consumer-voted category that recognises works of fiction and creative nonfiction with a Singapore connection. The authors of this year’s shortlisted books included Clara Chow, who is the first writer in the program’s 30 years to be shortlisted in three categories and two languages. Other finalists include Jeremy Tiang for his English translation of Zhang Yueran’s Cocoon, a story about two childhood friends who uncover dark secrets from their family histories. All six winners receive a cash prize and a trophy, along with the chance to showcase their works in a book fair next month. More than 4,000 people voted for their favourite works in this round of reader-chosen awards.