The prize was dubbed the most prestigious award for Singapore writers. It aims to promote writing that champions mindsets and values important to Singapore, such as equality, diversity, religious harmony, meritocracy, pragmatism and an emphasis on education, innovation and community.
The winning team will be presented with a cheque and a trophy, as well as mentoring support from industry leaders. They will also be invited to attend a two-day business bootcamp in Hong Kong in November 2023, where they will learn from top international executives on how to accelerate their Earthshot solutions to scale and bring them to market.
In a bid to raise awareness of the importance of the environment, this year’s competition will also include a new “Green Innovation” category that is open to all teams that use technology to solve environmental challenges. “Green innovations are essential to transforming our economy, and they can be the key to driving economic growth, social progress and global sustainability,” said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
After years of tinkering with the formula, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has now established itself as the premier event for agency talent in Singapore. As such, we take our responsibilities seriously when it comes to ensuring the highest levels of integrity and transparency for all participants. Moreover, we strive to be fair and equitable in the way we adjudicate submissions and select winners. This will ensure the integrity and value of the awards, as well as uphold the reputation of all involved.
Kishore Mahbubani, distinguished fellow at the NUS Asia Research Institute, and one of the founders of the prize, has been lauded for his vision in spearheading this project. “The famous American social scientist Benedict Anderson once said that nations are ’imagined communities’, and that a shared imagination, particularly of history, is one of the critical glues holding societies together,” he noted.
The first Singapore prize was awarded in 2014 as part of the SG50 celebrations, and was aimed at fostering greater engagement with our nation’s history and making its nuances more accessible to citizens. The prize was founded in partnership with the National University of Singapore’s Department of History, which selected the shortlist for the inaugural edition.
Professor Miksic, who started work on his book after a visit to Singapore in 1984 for an excavation of Fort Canning and has since conducted many others, including those at Empress Place and Old Parliament House, said that he did not expect to win the prize when he wrote his book. But it was a validation of his work, which has been hailed by experts for its detail and accuracy.
For more updates, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram! Good luck to all the entrants, and see you on 14 July 2023 for the results announcement.