The winners of the Singapore Prize have been announced and will join finalists from around the globe – including some of sustainability investing’s most esteemed investors – for an intense week of thought leadership, innovation, and impactful collaborations in Singapore. Throughout this experience they will meet some of their biggest investors to further amplify solutions to protect our planet.
At a glittering ceremony held by state-owned Media Corp theater, 2024 Singapore Prize Winners were announced. Presenter William donned a 10-year-old green Alexander McQueen blazer while other presenters donned outfits made from recycled materials to walk the “green carpet.” One Republic and Bastille played, as well as singer Bebe Rexha; several ministers from Singapore as well as former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who sits on Earthshot’s board were in attendance as were present at Earthshot.
National University of Singapore Professor Emeritus Peter Ellinger, at 91 years old, won the Singapore Literature Prize best debut prize with Down Memory Lane: The Memoirs of a Singaporean, his collection of essays about Singapore. Ellinger became its oldest winner ever; The Singapore Literature Prize recognizes works written in all four official languages of Singapore: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil – with judges commending his memoir for its “total lack of compromise and over-the-top audacity”. The judges commended Ellinger’s memoir for “total lack of compromise and over-the-top audacity”.
Khir Johari’s book The Food of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels Through the Archipelago was awarded with the Merit Prize. This exhaustive tome took 14 years from conception to publication and weighs in at an impressive 3.2kg; making it one of the most comprehensive texts available about Singapore’s multicultural cuisine. Marshall Cavendish published it.
Student artists from Nanyang Girls’ High School won both of the top prizes in art categories: Joey Chua from Nanyang Girls’ High School won Judges’ Prize with her piece Sink while Chloe Chua Yu Xuan from School of Arts Singapore took away Public Vote Prize with Past/Present Tense. The Singapore Art Prize is an biennial competition designed to recognize young artists while encouraging them to develop their talents further.
As part of its inaugural ceremony, Enterprise 50 Awards for Singapore’s most successful privately held companies were also announced during this gala evening. Winners will receive a trophy designed by sculptor Ang Liang Hwee.
On November 6, the winners of the 2023 Singapore Prize will be honored during an award ceremony. Conservation International will draw upon its extensive network and expertise in biodiversity to guide the selection of winners and introduce them to potential partners committed to finding sustainable, scalable solutions to save the planet. This will mark the inaugural time that a non-governmental organisation has joined as a partner of the Singapore Prize, fulfilling its aim of honoring Singapore’s best ideas, research, innovation and creativity. Other partners of this annual prize are CSIR, Ministry of Education and The Business Times; among the list will be companies which have grown revenue at least fivefold with proven growth and sustainability records.