An annual award in Singapore recognizes interior design that advances society. Each winner is honored with a cash prize and featured at Media Corp’s WAFX show to showcase their project.
Interior designers and architects comprised a panel of judges that selects winning projects, then highlight them on an online platform to spread word of their creative works and find new clients.
This contest has consistently received entries spanning hotels, restaurants, commercial properties and residential units. Now with an expanded prize category – green innovation – companies working on energy efficient appliances, waste-to-energy solutions or even seaweed farms have submitted entries.
Prince William awarded five green innovators at this week’s third Earthshot awards ceremony in Singapore, honoring them for projects like building cleaner lithium-ion batteries and ocean conservation. He lauded them for their achievements.
At this event, he made several remarks advocating for more environmental support, such as renewable energy use and improved recycling systems. Furthermore, climate change is costing trillions already.
He noted his happiness at seeing more people joining in to fight climate change, calling for increased collaboration among countries and organizations in order to reduce carbon emissions. The awards ceremony took place at a theater at the company headquarters and over 1,000 guests including Cate Blanchett, Sterling K Brown, One Republic and Bastille were present at its theatre seating room.
Four authors — Ali bin Salim, Daryl Qilin Yam, Pan Zheng Lei and Jeremy Tiang — were recognized with cash prizes and trophies, in addition to free 12-month subscriptions to audiobook platform StoryTel.
This prize is open to nonfiction works written in English that were published between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2024, and administered by NUS’ Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Department of History with a goal to broaden definitions of what constitutes history. This is its inaugural year being awarded.
Professor Miksic’s book on Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea from 1300-1800 received praise from the jury as it provides “fundamental reinterpretations of our nation’s heritage” and its place within Southeast Asia. His research brought him to over 100 sites within Singapore and Malaysia, using literary sources that mentioned such locations as Temasek and Longyamen as research guides.
Ms Hidayah of Kampong Gelam’s own book represents both history and her personal experiences; thus it serves both purposes simultaneously. Furthermore, winning this prize serves as a confirmation that ordinary Singaporeans can write history books – perhaps inspiring more individuals to accept the challenge.