The annual Singapore Prize awards were presented to a total of five winners this evening at the Mediacorp Theatre in Singapore. The glitzy event was hosted by Emmy Award winner Hannah Waddingham and three-time Emmy winning actor Sterling K. Brown and featured performances from Bastille, One Republic, and Bebe Rexha. Actors Cate Blanchett, Lana Condor, Nomzamo Mbatha, and Donnie Yen, as well as actress and environmental activist Rachel Weisz, were among those in attendance. The Prize is administered by the Department of History of the National University of Singapore (NUS).
This year, there were more entrants than ever before, with 43 writers of books in Chinese, Malay, and Tamil competing for the top prize of $50,000. The shortlist has a strong scholarly feel, with works by historians and geographers vying against novels that have more of a personal slant. For example, Kamaladevi Aravindan’s novel Sembawang focuses on the lives of residents in an estate in the city over five decades.
Another interesting trend this year is the number of finalists who are women. This is in contrast to previous years, when the majority of finalists were men. This is likely due to a number of factors, including greater awareness of the issue, and more young female authors emerging in the field of sustainability.
In addition to the Singapore Prize, a range of other awards were presented at the ceremony. The President’s Science and Technology Awards, for example, were presented by the government of Singapore to scientists who have made significant contributions in their fields.
There were also a number of awards for businesses that had a positive impact on their communities. One of these was the Singapore Prestige Brand Award, which was awarded to local companies that have made a mark in branding, with suicide-prevention agency Samaritans of Singapore picking up the accolade this year.
Lastly, NUS professor Kishore Mahbubani, who chairs the committee that chooses the winners for the Singapore Prize, hinted at the possibility of expanding the prize in the future to include writings that are not necessarily textbooks but still address a historical theme. For example, he suggested that the prize could eventually extend to movies and other creative works with clear historical themes. Prof Miksic, meanwhile, plans to expand on his work by setting up a website that highlights the ancient artefacts discovered in Singapore. More information on the prize can be found here.