The heir to the British throne has arrived in Singapore, where he will help unveil a prize that encourages innovation to combat climate change. Britain’s Prince William walked the “green carpet” at a glittering ceremony where the five winners of this year’s Earthshot Prize were unveiled. He praised the finalists for showing “hope does remain” as the planet faces an urgent environmental crisis. The awards night is hosted by the state-owned Media Corp and co-hosted by celebrities including actors Donnie Yen, Lana Condor and Nomzano Mbatha. The bands One Republic and Bastille, as well as Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin, perform. The prince, who is a trustee of the prize-giving foundation, also called on Asian businesses to make investments in these cleantech solutions.
He commended the work of the finalists, whose projects range from solar-powered dryers to boosting algae growth to making electric car batteries cleaner. The prizes, named after US president John F Kennedy’s 1962 challenge to reach the moon, are supported by his Royal Foundation charity. The finalists were selected from a pool of 15 nominated ideas.
The prize is being managed by NUS, which will manage a donation of $500,000 — matched dollar for dollar by the Government — in an endowment fund that will generate income to fund future awards. The university will also host the annual prize-giving ceremony, which is expected to be held in late 2023.
A record-breaking jackpot of $19.4 million was won on a single ticket in the Group 1 Toto draw on Feb 11, a Singapore Pools spokesman said. This is the largest amount ever won in a Toto draw, beating the previous mark of $13 million that was shared by eight winning tickets in the Group 1 category on Oct 2, 2022. The winning ticket was bought at the Giant supermarket in Pioneer Mall and FairPrice in The Woodleigh Mall, as well as a Singapore Pools outlet at Chinatown Point.
NUS Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow Kishore Mahbubani, who mooted the prize in a Straits Times column, said: “The famous American social scientist Benedict Anderson said that nations are ‘imagined communities’, and a shared imagination, especially in history, is a critical glue holding societies today.” The nominating committee, which reviewed 31 books publishers submitted to the contest, comprised Prof Ian Gordon, former head of NUS Department of History; Associate Professor Seng Guo Quan; Foo Hai Fellow in Buddhist Studies Jack Meng-Tat Chia; educator Beatrice Chong; and curator Suhaili Osman. A jury, chaired by Mahbubani, will announce the winner of the prize in October.
The NUS Singapore History Prize was launched in 2014 as part of the national SG50 programme to mark 50 years of Singapore’s independence. The competition is open to non-fiction works in any of the country’s official languages — Chinese, English or Malay, and can touch on any aspect of Singapore’s history. A total of 12 prizes are offered, including four merit winners and one for translations.