Various prizes, medals and awards including cups, trophies, bowls, badges and state decorations have been awarded in Singapore. The list is dynamic and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. This is an attempt to list major awards and honours that have been awarded in the country.
A host of celebrities joined Britain’s Prince William for a green carpet ceremony at the third Earthshot Prize awards in Singapore on Tuesday night. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham and actors Donnie Yen and Nomzano Mbatha were among those to attend the event, held at the base of the world-famous Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay. The award ceremony recognises winners whose solutions are solving five key environmental challenges: nature protection, clean air, ocean revival, waste elimination and climate change. The prince congratulated the winners on their efforts, and said “hope does remain” as the world faces the effects of climate change.
The NUS Singapore History Prize seeks to broaden the definition of what constitutes history by promoting writing that explores multiple perspectives and themes about Singapore’s past. This year’s shortlist includes a novel, poetry and non-fiction work with a personal slant – such as Leluhur: Singapore’s Kampong Glam (2019, available here), by Hidayah Amin, who was born in Gedung Kuning, a heritage royal building at the heart of the old Kampong Glam area.
Another submission this year was a graphic novel titled The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, which has won three Eisner Awards – the Oscars for comic books – and received widespread praise from literary critics for its historical research. Its detailed depictions of the life of the late cartoonist and his life in Singapore have also drawn comparisons to works by world-famous illustrators.
The NUS Singapore Prize was launched in 2014 to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary and to mark the launch of NUS’ East Asian Institute, led by distinguished professor Kishore Mahbubani. The prize is open to all book-length publications in English, written or translated, and published between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2024. Nominations can be made in a single category or across several categories and are assessed by a panel of judges. The final decision will be announced in October. The winner will receive a cash prize of S$50,000. The winning entry will be selected on the basis of a jury’s assessment of its significance, quality and impact. In addition, a Readers’ Favorite award will be chosen by the public for one of the shortlisted titles. This will be based on online votes in each of the four languages in which the books have been entered.