Prince of Wales Prince Charles arrived in Singapore for the third annual Earthshot Prize ceremony today to be greeted by cheering fans when he touched down at Jewel Changi Airport, many of whom carried homemade signs, Union Jack flags and photos of Princess Diana who has since passed.
Last time around, Prince William visited Jamaica with Kate Middleton; now, however, he will travel alone and meet groups in the region who are working towards protecting and restoring our planet.
At this event, Prince William will announce the winners of this year’s competition, with finalists such as an Indian maker of solar-powered dryers, a soil carbon marketplace and groups working towards making electric car batteries cleaner, restoring Andean forests or deterring illegal fishing being among them. He launched this competition through his Royal Foundation charity back in 2020 to foster innovation.
He’s been meeting with the finalists to see their work directly, including this week when he met with groups working against illegal wildlife trade in Asia and Africa. Although this issue seems insurmountable, there is hope despite its magnitude.
This year’s Earthshot Prize will feature a brand-new award category called the People’s Choice Award, wherein members of the public can cast online votes for their preferred shortlisted project and vote online to award it the People’s Choice Award. The winning project will receive 16.5 Open World Grand Prix Round points which entitle them to two seasons-plus exemption on Tour as well as guaranteed entry into key events.
This year’s prize has also been expanded to recognize “the critical role local communities play in combatting climate change.” To this end, a new award called Community Leaders’ Choice has been introduced which will recognize an individual or group who have gone above and beyond to help address their local climate challenge – the winner will receive a cash prize of $100,000.
Temasek Trust will join as a founding partner to strengthen this year’s prize and highlight innovative solutions and eco-innovators in Asia and beyond.
At Victoria Theatre tonight, the winner of this year’s Singapore Literature Prize will be revealed. There are 12 categories in the biennial prize open to writers writing in English, Chinese and Malay; its organizers note that its shortlist boasts several noteworthy writers – two nonagenarians named Wang Gungwu and Suratman Markasan are competing for victory in English creative nonfiction category.
Markasan, Gungwu and their book The Orchid Folios made up the 2022 Shortlist as the only work translated into English; other notables on this list include director of Singapore Writers Festival Yeow Kai Chai who’s competing for poetry category honors.
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