The NUS Singapore History Prize is the inaugural book prize dedicated solely to national history. Established as part of Singapore 50 celebrations, this annual book award was first launched in 2014 by former diplomat Kishore Mahbubani and an anonymous donor. At a media conference this week, Mahbubani spoke of how important it is for Singaporeans to develop a strong sense of shared history so as to develop their identity through it. He served on this year’s four-member jury which chose Professor Miksic’s book Singapore and the Silk Road of Sea 1300-1800 as this year’s winner.
The winners of the 2022 biennial Singapore Literature Prize have been revealed. This year’s edition featured 12 categories across four languages on Singapore Island; Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil were all eligible. Clara Chow has made history by being shortlisted in three categories and two languages at once; she received special commendations awards in English creative nonfiction and Chinese poetry poetry respectively.
She became the first Singaporean ever to win a top award in creative nonfiction since its creation, receiving praise from judges for telling stories that were both captivating and emotional.
Leo Burnett Singapore took home Gold in Advertising category for their work for McDonald’s. Judges lauded its strategic execution and how it connected viewers to its mission.
The President’s Science and Technology Awards, also known as the Singapore Science and Technology Awards (SSTA), is an esteemed awards program in Singapore that recognises individuals in science and technology fields. Finalists were chosen by an independent panel of experts and winners were revealed during a ceremony held on Tuesday night.
Prince William of Britain, who launched the 10-year awards programme in 2020, noted that this year’s finalists demonstrated that “hope does remain” when facing global environmental issues. These solutions included solar-powered dryers made in India; soil carbon markets; groups working to clean electric car batteries more effectively; and those helping restore Andean forests.
Dr. Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind was awarded one of this year’s Nobel prizes. His mother hails from Singapore and it was his childhood spent there that helped spark his interest in tech and science. He credits Singapore as being an “enchanting futuristic world”.
Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Hannah Waddingham hosted an awards ceremony with guests like Cate Blanchett, Lana Condor and three-time Emmy-winner Sterling K Brown present to celebrate this year’s 15 finalists’ achievements – which was streamed live online and televised worldwide – celebrating them. All 15 finalists will be traveling around to share their innovative environmental solutions while Singapore Pools outlets allow voters to vote on them – the winners will be revealed November 6. More information can be found here.