A Singapore prize is an award given to an individual or organization who has shown remarkable acts of kindness and caring. The winner receives a trophy and a cash prize of up to $50,000. The award is administered by the National Book Development Council of Singapore, a government agency. The prize is open to individuals, groups, companies and organisations. It is awarded annually to one work of non-fiction, fiction or poetry written in any of the four official languages of Singapore (Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil).
Britain’s Prince William walked a green carpet with celebrities at a glittering ceremony at Media Corp theater in Singapore on Tuesday for the third Earthshot awards — a global competition to find innovative solutions to climate change. Hollywood stars Cate Blanchett, Donnie Yen and Nomzano Mbatha as well as Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin presented awards to winners ranging from solar-powered dryers that combat food waste to more efficient electric car batteries.
The prizes were announced during a ceremony hosted by Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. The event was also marked by performances by the band One Republic and the pop singer Bastille. Other dignitaries present were film director Sammo Hung and Singapore ministers. The winners were selected from a shortlist of 49 titles, down from 192 submissions in 2020.
Among the winners was 91-year-old University of Singapore professor emeritus Peter Ellinger for his memoir Down Memory Lane: An Autobiography (2023). He is the oldest winner to date, and won the Best English Language Debut prize. His book weaves together many aspects of Singapore history.
Another book, a novel called Sembawang by Cyril Wong, received the Singapore Literature Prize 2024, which is worth $35,000 (US$21,900). The story follows an extended family in post-World War II Singapore and Malaysia. The work explores how historical events affect ordinary people. It is a finalist for the British Society for the History of Science Hughes Prize and the NUS Singapore History Prize.
The NUS Singapore History Prize was created in 2014 to mark Singapore’s 50th anniversary, and rewards works on the nation’s history. It is the first of its kind in Asia. Last year’s winner was archaeologist John Miksic for his work Singapore And The Silk Road Of The Sea, 1300-1800.
Other finalists included the book Home Is Where We Are, which looks at a family’s experience of leftist political movements and mass detentions in Singapore and Malaysia; and Imperial Creatures, by Timothy P. Barnard, about the relationship between humans and animals in colonial Singapore. NUS East Asian Institute senior lecturer Wang Gungwu was a member of the jury.
The NUS Singapore History Prize is supported by Temasek Trust and the Singapore Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Its name is inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 “moonshot” speech, in which he challenged Americans to aim higher in their pursuit of scientific achievements. The prize was presented in partnership with Temasek and GenZero, a venture capital firm that backs start-ups working to reduce the world’s carbon footprint.