The heir to the British throne was greeted like a rock star by hundreds of adoring fans as he arrived in Singapore for the third annual Earthshot Prize. He was seen laughing and blushing as he chatted with children and took selfies with fans who lined up to meet the royal at Jewel Changi Airport. Many held up homemade signs, Union Jack flags and photos of the late Princess Diana. The prince was visiting Singapore for the awards ceremony, where five green innovators were presented with a prize of 1 million pounds each to scale up their environmental ideas. The prince was greeted by people cheering and singing to the tune of his favourite song, ‘You Can’t Do That,’ as he made his way through the crowds at the airport.
The winners of the NUS Singapore History Prize 2021 were announced today by the Department of History at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The prize, which comes with a cash award, seeks to widen definitions of what constitutes history and attracts writing on a variety of subjects with a historical theme.
Prof Miksic’s book, Leluhur: Singapore Kampong Gelam, won the prize in the non-fiction category. He spent more than a decade researching and compiling the book, which draws on archival material as well as primary sources. “It’s a book which shows that you don’t have to be a professional historian to write about the past,” he said. “Anyone who’s lived through a proportion of their lives in Singapore has the potential to write a history book.”
The judges in the non-fiction category were novelist Meira Chand; economics professor Lam San Ling; historian Peter Coclanis; and archaeologist John Miksic from the NUS Department of History. They commended Ms Chand’s memoir, The Girl with No Name, for its “fearless and uncompromising look at Singapore’s dark underbelly”.
All five of the winners in the English categories are first-time recipients of the prize. They are all from different backgrounds, but have all contributed to the wider discourse on Singapore’s history in their own distinctive way.
This year’s prize ceremony will be held on October 29, at the Marina Bay Sands. It will be streamed live on YouTube and a special edition of the podcast, This is Singapore, will air that same day at 5pm. In addition, all winning entries will be displayed at WAFX 2023 – the world’s largest interior design exhibition held alongside Inside World Festival of Interiors. The winning works will be on display until November 30. For more information, visit WAFX’s website.