The Singapore prize, administered by the National University of Singapore’s Department of History, was established in 2014 to celebrate the nation’s 50th anniversary and to promote writing that champions mindsets and values important to Singapore such as equality, diversity, religious harmony and pragmatism. The inaugural prize, which saw six works shortlisted, awarded a total of S$30,000.
This is the first time that the award has been given to a book that explores Singapore’s place in an Asian context, and Prof Miksic was delighted to receive the honour. “The book has made a fundamental contribution to our understanding of how Singapore developed,” he said. It shed light on bits of information in literary records, such as references to Temasek and Longyamen, that had been interpreted as Singapore. It also reveals the extent to which Singapore’s history has been influenced by other parts of Asia.
The winner will be eligible for the standard Tour event-winning benefits, including a two-plus season exemption on the world tour and berths in key events. In addition, the winner will also receive 16.5 OWGR points, based on field strength. It is worth mentioning that only a small percentage of competitive athletes can make it to the podium at the Olympics, which require an enormous financial investment over many years of training and dedication. This is why the Singapore Olympic Council in the 1990s devised an incentive scheme to reward medal-winning athletes, by giving them cash payouts for their success.
A global environmental prize founded by Prince William will hold its awards ceremony in Singapore this month. The five winners of the Earthshot Prize will receive PS1 million (S$1.7 million) to help scale their environmental solutions. They will also be given a platform to explore new opportunities with business, investors and other key players in the region during a series of events dubbed Earthshot Week. The event organisers say that Southeast Asia is one of the regions hardest hit by climate change, but it also hosts a wealth of innovators, entrepreneurs and community leaders who are committed to reversing damage done to the planet.
The event will include performances by world-renowned musicians and artists, although the organisers have yet to reveal the names of those who will be performing at the event. Previous editions of the Earthshot Prize have featured performers such as Ed Sheeran and Coldplay. The prize show will be held on Nov 6, the start of a series of events that will form the first-ever Earthshot Week. This will see global leaders, businesses and investors convene in Singapore to explore opportunities to accelerate the winning solutions and bring about tangible action to repair the planet. The strategic partners of the prize are Temasek Trust, Temasek, GenZero and Conservation International.