The Singapore Prize is the country’s oldest ongoing literary award in all four official languages: Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. It honours outstanding published works in Singapore that contribute to our understanding of the nation’s history and culture. Nominations for the prize can be based on any topic or period in Singapore’s history, including aspects of Singapore’s past that are not generally well known, and the prize comes with a cash prize of S$50,000.
A total of 20 shortlisted entries were selected by a panel of judges, and the winner for each category is now announced. The judging process was rigorous and involved an evaluation of the submissions by a team of experts, and the final list was curated by the judges in consultation with the panelists. Each shortlisted entry was assessed on a range of criteria, including creativity, innovation, impact and relevance to the theme.
In partnership with Temasek Trust, GenZero and Conservation International, The Earthshot Prize held a star-studded awards ceremony in Singapore to announce the 2023 winners. The event marked a celebration of innovation and impact, and brought together a community of climate action leaders from around the world to highlight the scale and urgency of the challenge we face.
The event took place at the MediaCorp Theatre, with William and other presenters walking a “green carpet” to mark the sustainability theme of this year’s ceremony. The Prince wore a dark green 10-year-old suit by Alexander McQueen, while actor Mbatha wore a dress from the eco-friendly fashion label Stella McCartney. Musicians One Republic and Bastille and the singer Bebe Rexha performed for the audience at the glitzy event.
This year’s winners include a book about the life of Christopher Bathurst, Viscount Bledisloe, which won the non-fiction prize, and film maker Ning Cai’s drama Mongrel, which won the best feature movie and a special mention for lead actress Li Rongkun. The jury said that Mongrel “composes a dense, shadowy and violent world by sculpting elements of stillness and movement, light and darkness, sound and silence into a viscerally pulsating film body.”
The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize honours individuals or organisations that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and achievement in the development, implementation or management of innovative technologies, policies and programmes to address global water challenges. It was founded in honour of the late Singapore founder and first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, in recognition of his visionary leadership and foresight.
The Royal visit was aimed at building bridges to strengthen Singapore-UK ties, and also to deepen the two countries’ economic, cultural and sporting engagements. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also called on the President of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam, met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loon at The Istana palace and attended a United for Wildlife summit, featuring representatives of law enforcement agencies and conservation groups working to combat the global trade in illegal wildlife products, which is estimated to be worth $20 billion annually. The pair also participated in dragon boating, a popular sport in Singapore, and visited the Gardens by the Bay to learn about conservation efforts there.