Singapore Prize 2019 Finalists Announced

The prize is administered by NUS’ history department and was launched in 2014 to celebrate Singapore’s 50th anniversary. It is the first prize devoted to the country’s history. The winning author gets a cash award of S$50,000. The competition has seen many submissions from a wide range of authors, from academic historians to those with a more personal slant.

For instance, a book on the history of the Kampong Gelam estate written by Hidayah Amin uses archival records to illuminate the lives of those who lived there over the years, and breaks away from the traditional view of history as merely a record of the big movers and shakers. The finalists were chosen by a panel of five judges drawn from academia, the arts and the civil service.

Prince William will visit Singapore this month to host a series of events spotlighting the third annual Earthshot Prize finalists. He will meet with citizens and see how local organisations are working to address climate change, and host a global summit based on the work of United for Wildlife, a conservation organisation that he helped found in 2014.

Last year’s winner was an Indian maker of solar-powered clothes dryers. Other finalists included groups that are working to make electric car batteries cleaner and restore Andean forests. William’s office said that during his trip to Singapore, he would also try his hand at dragon boating and see how the city’s innovation is helping to tackle the global trade in illegal wildlife products, which is estimated to be worth US$20 billion a year.

The winners of the singapore prize were announced at a gala dinner at the Ritz Carlton Millenia, attended by more than 700 guests, including top business leaders from South East Asia and Thailand. The winners showcased their world-class companies and highlighted the importance of diversity in the workplace.

This year’s competition was open to all works in English that were published between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2024, and addressed any period, theme or field of Singaporean history. In addition, non-fiction and fiction works that include a substantial historical aspect were also eligible.

The prize is endorsed by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it is supported by the National Research Foundation. It is the only national prize to recognise the contributions of a team rather than an individual researcher. Applicants had to be nominated by an academic or civil servant, and a shortlist of six was selected by the judges. The winner was announced in October 2021. In addition to the grand prize, five finalists received awards of up to S$10,000. Other categories of prizes were awarded in Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. The finalists were all congratulated by the organising committee. The committee also extended its appreciation to the National Library Board, Nanyang Girls High School and Hwa Chong Institute for their support of the competition, as well as the SG50 Celebration Fund. The organisers will present the winners with mementos later this week.