The full prize money payout for the LIV Golf Singapore Prize event has been revealed. Here’s the complete breakdown of how much the winners will get in cash and merchandise.
A prize is a reward given to people or groups who accomplish something, usually for their good behaviour or achievements. It can also be a means of encouraging people to pursue a particular goal. For example, a contestant in a beauty pageant may be awarded a crown and sash for winning. Another example is the Nobel Prize, which is given for outstanding contributions in physics, literature and peace.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian violinist Dmytro Udovychenko won the grand final of the 2022 Singapore International Violin Competition and took home the grand prize of $50,000. Danish violinist Anna Agafia Egholm and Hong Kong/Chinese violinist Angela Sin Ying Chan tied for second place and received $25,000 each.
A new prize that recognises publications about Singapore’s history has been launched, and it’s the first of its kind here. The prize was created in 2014 as part of the SG50 programmes to celebrate Singapore’s 50th anniversary, and is administered by NUS’ department of history. It will be awarded triennially.
Historian and NUS Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow Kishore Mahbubani was among those who came up with the idea for the prize. “It’s important to get more people engaged in understanding our past,” he said, adding that a prize could encourage readers to go deeper into the subject and also help them understand the nuances of Singapore’s historical events.
He cited the example of American social scientist Benedict Anderson, who once wrote that nations are “imagined communities”, and that a shared imagination of history is a critical glue holding societies together. “An understanding of our past helps us to make sense of the present and future,” he added.
NUS historian and former head of the department of history Wang Gungwu, who was on the panel that decided on the inaugural winner, agreed. He said that Prof Miksic’s book laid the foundations for a “fundamental reinterpretation of Singapore’s history” and its place in the Asian context. “It confirms, through concrete archaeological evidence, that Singapore’s history goes back more than 700 years,” he said.
In addition to books, the prize will eventually be opened up to other media formats such as movies and television shows, Mahbubani said. He added that such creative formats often communicate complex and sensitive issues better than scholarly texts. He cited the movie 12 Years A Slave as an example. NUS also hopes the prize will encourage more writers to tackle the difficult subject of Singapore’s past. The next award will be presented in October 2021. Six works have been shortlisted for the prize, which will have a monetary value of S$50,000. The winning work will be chosen by a jury of five historians. The deadline for submissions is May 30. For more information on the prize, visit its official website. You can also subscribe to its Facebook, Twitter and Telegram channels for the latest updates.