The Singapore prize is an award that recognises outstanding projects in interior design. The winners receive a trophy and cash prize. Past winners include a post-earthquake reconstruction in Indonesia, stacked apartment buildings by OMA and Ole Scheeren, and a public park designed by local architects Budi Prajot and Tito Supriatna. The prize was founded by Harvard professor Kishore Mahbubani, who mooted the idea for a Singapore book prize in a Straits Times column.
The first prize was awarded to archaeologist John Miksic for his work Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800. It was chosen by a four-member jury led by chairman of the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute Wang Gungwu. Miksic, 71, was among 29 submissions by local and international scholars to the prize, administered by NUS’ history department. The other shortlisted works included Nature’s Colony: Empire, Nation and Environment in the Botanic Gardens, by Timothy P Barnard; Squatters into Citizens: The 1961 Bukit Ho Swee Fire and the Making of Modern Singapore, by Loh Kah Seng; and The Last Strawberries: A Brief History of the Nanyang Polytechnic and Its People, by Yong Siew Toh.
Britain’s Prince William unveiled the five winners of his Earthshot prize – which offers PS1 million to green innovators – at a ceremony in Singapore on Tuesday. He praised the 15 finalists, ranging from Indian manufacturers of solar-powered dryers to the global non-profit WildAid Marine Programme, for demonstrating that “hope does remain” as the world grapples with climate change. Celebrities including Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, actors Donnie Yen and Lana Condor, and Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin presented the awards at the Mediacorp Theatre. Pop bands Bastille and OneRepublic performed at the event, which was broadcast live from Singapore’s SM Mall.
The NUS Singapore History Prize is the country’s first prize dedicated to its history. It was launched in 2014 in support of SG50 programmes marking the Republic’s five decades of independence and is administered by NUS’ history department. The prize will be awarded every three years. The winning author will receive S$50,000 and a trophy. The prize was conceived by NUS Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow Kishore Mahbubani, who has a keen interest in Singapore’s history. He hopes that the prize would encourage a greater number of people to write, research and publish on Singapore’s past. Mahbubani will chair the five-member jury of 2024, which also includes historian and NUS Asia Research Institute emeritus professor John Miksic, economist Lam San Ling, academic Peter Coclanis, and writer Meira Chand. The award will be formally presented in November this year.