An Earthshot Prize Winner and a Winner of the NUS Singapore History Prize

At a lavish event in Singapore, British Prince William presented a prize to an innovator who is working on a low-carbon future. William’s Earthshot Prize, launched by his Royal Foundation charity in 2020, honors people and organizations advancing sustainable solutions to climate change. The prize ceremony was hosted by actor Hannah Waddingham and co-hosted by Sterling K. Brown and U.S. singer Bebe Rexha, with performances by the bands One Republic and Bastille. Other guests included Singapore ministers and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who serves on the Earthshot board.

This year’s prize winners include an American archaeologist who has written the first book to win the award, which is a part of the NUS Singapore History Prize administered by the university’s department of history. Prof John Miksic won the Singapore History Prize with his book, “Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800.” The 71-year-old was invited to dig at Fort Canning in 1984 and eventually moved to Singapore to work for NUS’ department of Southeast Asian studies. Miksic wrote his book to share the discoveries he made and to thank the volunteers who had helped him in excavations.

The book is also the first to be published in Mandarin. Miksic, who was born in the Philippines and has a doctorate from Columbia University, said his next plans are to help NUS Press set up a website on ancient artefacts found in Singapore and to write another book. He will also continue research on Singapore’s early maritime trade.

NUS’ Singapore History Prize was introduced in 2014 as part of the SG50 programme to celebrate the nation’s fifth anniversary of independence. It is the country’s first prize devoted to its history. The winning work must have an impact on the way Singaporeans understand their country’s past. The award is supported by an endowment from a private donor.

Another winner at the prize ceremony was a French cooperative that sells apples to consumers under its Blue Whale brand. The apple brand was named Voted Product of the Year Singapore-Malaysia in a competition that is based on consumer-tested ratings. It beat more than a hundred products in the competition, which was organized by Treetz and conducted by Deloitte.

There were 224 submissions this year, a 30 per cent increase over last year. Besides the main prizes, a Readers’ Favourite category was awarded to four works. The judges included Esplanade communications and content head Clarissa Oon for English creative non-fiction, Cultural Medallion recipient KTM Iqbal for Tamil poetry and Dr Sa’eda Buang of the Asian Languages and Cultures Academic Group for Malay literature. The judging was live-streamed on organiser Singapore Book Council’s Facebook and YouTube pages. The public also voted for their favourites, with 3,000 people casting their votes. This year, a total of $220,000 was awarded to the winners in all categories. The prizes were presented at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.