At a glittering ceremony at Mediacorp Theatre on Tuesday evening, this year’s winners of Singapore Prize were revealed. Started by Britain’s Prince William in 2020, this award provides winners with PS1 million each to further their ideas to help save the planet. Categories this year include creating a waste-free world, cleaning air pollution and climate issues, rejuvenating ocean life as well as protecting nature.
This year’s winners were chosen from among 15 finalists, and include ENSO from Britain which has developed an electric car tyre that sheds less dirt, and Sea Forest from Australia which creates seaweed-based livestock feed that cuts methane emissions released by cattle and sheep. Other finalists include Accion Andina from Peru, GRST from Singapore and Boomitra from Malaysia – each awardee working towards “repair the planet”, according to prize organizer Christopher William who will be visiting Singapore later this week for various events related to environmental sustainability and sustainability projects.
He will visit local agribusinesses and meet young environmentalists before attending a United for Wildlife summit hosted by his charity group to address illegal trade of animal parts that contributes to global warming and biodiversity loss. Some of the country’s iconic buildings will also be illuminated green on Monday evening before an awards ceremony is held – in keeping with sustainability goals.
At this glitzy ceremony, hosts and presenters donned sustainable attire; Mr William donned an old dark green suit by Alexander McQueen while Ms Nomzamo Mbatha donned an eco-friendly navy blue dress made by Nomzamo Mbatha. Singer Hannah Waddingham co-hosted with actor Sterling K Brown; pop bands Bastille and One Republic performed music; while actors Cate Blanchett, Lana Condor, and Donnie Yen appeared to support this important cause.
Prizes awarded under Earthshot project aim to speed solutions and make real changes that improve our planet, supported by billionaire philanthropists like Google’s Eric Schmidt as well as companies such as Temasek and GenZero. Furthermore, additional awards have been created by government to encourage people doing good deeds for the environment.
National University of Singapore History Prize has gone beyond its traditional understanding of history as the record of great leaders to include an examination of ordinary Singaporeans’ daily lives. The shortlist for 2024 prize includes historical tomes as well as novels with personal themes, like Kamaladevi Aravindan’s Sembawang (2020; available here).
National University of Singapore has also created a Singapore Literary Prize for Translation with a cash prize of S$20,000, open for submissions written in Chinese or Malay. It hopes this initiative will foster cultural exchanges while strengthening Singapore’s literary scene, which has come under pressure from regional rivals.
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