The Singapore Prize Winner and His Royal Highness Prince William Visit Singapore
The singapore prize is an award administered by NUS to honour outstanding publications in Singapore history that have made a significant impact on our understanding of Singapore’s past. The Prize is open to book-length works written in English, or translated into Singaporean language, and to other creative works that have clear historical themes. It is currently awarded every three years and carries a cash prize of S$50,000.
The heir to the British throne, Prince William, is in Singapore for his annual Earthshot prize ceremony that awards 1 million pounds ($1.23 million) to green innovators who are developing solutions to environmental problems. “The light of optimism is burning bright in our Earthshot finalists,” he said at the ceremony. The winners include a Hong Kong scientist working on cleaner lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and another that tightens marine enforcement to stop illegal fishing and support ocean conservation.
During his visit, the royal will also take part in an online safety challenge and meet Singaporean homemakers who were among those who waited more than two hours to greet him at Changi Airport. He will be given a view of the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, the Rain Vortex, which was illuminated in green to welcome him. The prince last visited the city in 2012 with his wife, Princess Catherine.
NUS historian Prof Miksic, who won the prize for his book about the archaeological dig that unearthed Singapore’s earliest human remains, is looking forward to continuing his work on local history. He will be working with NUS Press to set up a website on the ancient artefacts found in Singapore, and has plans for a new book on the subject.
He and his wife, who is a Singaporean art historian, have been working on a project to make the nation’s heritage more accessible to non-specialists. They are collaborating on a series of digital tools, including a virtual museum of ancient Singapore, which is due to be completed by 2022.
The prize was established in 2014 and is a component of the Historians’ Association Singapore’s outreach programme. It is open to Singaporean authors who have published a book in English, or a translation of an existing work on Singapore history, and is published by an academic or commercial publisher. The winner will be selected by a panel of judges, and receive a cash prize of S$50,000.
In addition to the main prize, each of the finalists will be offered the chance to collaborate with NUS Press on an academic monograph or an edited volume. The publishing house will then produce the book, a major milestone for Singapore’s indigenous scholarship. The publishers will also donate copies of the winning works to schools and libraries in Singapore. The prize is funded by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Singapore, with support from the Ministry of Education.