The Prince of Wales walked the “green carpet” along with actresses Cate Blanchett, Donnie Yen, and Nomzano Mbatha at a ceremony honoring five winners for their innovative solutions to help protect biodiversity. He said they proved that hope still exists even as climate change wreaks havoc around the world. The awards ceremony for the third Earthshot Prize, held in Singapore, honored innovations ranging from solar-powered dryers to combating food waste and making electric car batteries cleaner. William said the solutions showed that science was not only for scientists but could be used to “amplify the voices of people bringing solutions and transforming lives.”
A total of 17 writers, translators, and comic artists won prizes in the singapore prize 2022 for works published in Chinese, English, Malay, and Tamil at a ceremony this month. The organisers of the prize said it was the most diverse list to date, with works tackling a variety of themes and issues.
Winners were given awards of up to $10,000 each for works in each of the four languages. One of the highlights was the award for the inaugural English comic or graphic novel category, which went to Kenfoo’s Cockman (2022), a story of a chicken from another dimension that is stranded on Earth in human form. It was lauded for its “over-the-top audacity and absurdity”.
A prize of up to $10,000 is awarded each year for the best nonfiction work written in either English or Malay by a Singaporean citizen. It was originally known as the National Science and Technology Awards before being elevated to Presidential status in 2009 and renamed in 2023 as the President’s Science and Technology Awards. It is currently the highest award in Singapore for scientific achievements.
In addition to the cash prizes, winners of the Singapore Prize also receive certificates and recognition for their contributions to society. They are also eligible to be nominated for the prestigious Lee Foundation-Singapore Pools Scientific Prize, which is considered a national science award in Singapore. The nomination form is available at all Singapore Pools outlets.
The Singapore Prize has been around for more than 50 years. It started out as a game with a single premium prize and evolved into today’s multi-tiered game structure. A special snowballing feature was introduced in 1981, allowing the jackpot to grow if no winner was found. It was subsequently replaced with the System Entry option, which allowed players to enter multiple numbers in one draw. The prize structure was again tweaked in 1998, when the premium prize was raised to a guaranteed sum of $200,000.
Prize promotions are not subject to gambling regulations in Singapore, as long as participants do not pay to participate. However, there may be tax implications for the promoters or the participants. The promotional materials must clearly state that no payment is required to win a prize, and the prize is not intended to generate in the participant any psychological pressure to buy products or services.