On Tuesday, the Singapore Prize award winners were unveiled during a glamorous ceremony hosted by Prince William of Britain – who initiated its creation back in 2020 – at an impressive ceremony in Singapore. Prince William said the finalists demonstrated “hope does remain” while facing climate change and other global challenges such as illegal fishing. They included Indian makers of solar dryers as well as soil carbon marketplaces as well as organizations restoring Andean forests or combatting illegal fishing activities among many others.

NUS Department of History administers this prize, established in 2014 as part of Singapore’s 50th Independence Anniversary program SG50. A prize panel led by Prof Kishore Mahbubani from OVP (University and Global Relations), sought to give local philanthropists an incentive for helping tell Singapore’s history.

Publishing works about Singapore history is open to publishers worldwide who publish works covering any period, theme or field imaginable. Each work must be written or co-written and depict a key aspect of Singaporean history either directly or through narrative context.

The Singapore Literature Prize awards are decided upon by an impartial jury composed of academics and professionals from the arts, film, media and education sectors. English fiction and poetry shortlists were revealed last November while nonfiction and Chinese fiction shortlists were revealed earlier this month. Clara Chow’s The Book of Life won both English nonfiction/Chinese fiction categories; additionally she received nods for both awards from this Singapore Literature Prize award for literature as well.

At a ceremony hosted by actors Hannah Waddingham and Sterling K. Brown, winners walked what organizers termed a green carpet. Held at Media Corp theater, featuring performances by Bastille, One Republic, Bebe Rexha as well as actresses Cate Blanchett, Lana Condor Nomzamo Mbatha as well as Donnie Yen as presenters, among other performers.

Not only did five major awards take place, but several supplementary ones as well. Of note was “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” directed and produced by Alvin Lee and produced by Jeremy Wei. It won best Singapore short film award with its S$15,000 production services package from Shooting Gallery Asia/online as well as audio post and DCP packages and an overall rankings ranking of 16.5 points from OWGR.

The awards were supported by numerous partners, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Singapore FinTech Association, to recognize winners’ contributions in driving innovation and growth in the financial sector, particularly by developing innovative solutions to address money laundering, financial inclusion and virtual currency proliferation issues. They are one of MAS’ many initiatives designed to showcase Singapore as a vibrant global financial center; as well as partner with various stakeholders for driving innovation while strengthening digital capabilities across industry stakeholders.