The heir to the British throne, Prince William, walked a green carpet at the awards ceremony for the Singapore prize for sustainability and social innovation. William was attending the awards as the global host of Earthshot Week, which is running from November 6 to 11, when leaders and innovators will gather in Singapore to share solutions to climate change and address environmental challenges.
The Singapore prize was founded in 2014 as part of the SG50 program to commemorate Singapore’s 50th anniversary of independence. The prize is awarded to a work of non-fiction published in English, Mandarin or Tamil that contributes to Singapore’s history and culture. The prize’s goal is to make Singapore’s complexities and nuances more accessible to the wider public.
This year’s shortlist for the prize includes six works, with a mix of both fiction and non-fiction. The books range from a biography of an iconic poet to histories about Malaysian migrants in Singapore and one that looks at life in an estate over five decades.
One work, by Kamaladevi Aravindan and her co-researcher Anitha Pillai, eschews the notion of history as a record of big movers and shakers and tells the story of ordinary people in Singapore. Another book, by Foo Hai Fellow and Associate Professor Joey Long, explores the interplay between politics and religion in Singapore’s early years.
Other shortlisted titles include the debut novel by Myle Yan Tay, Catskull, and a memoir by Cultural Medallion recipient Suchen Christine Lim, Dearest Intimate. The prize has a reader-chosen category where the public votes for their favorite shortlisted book in both English and Mandarin, with the winner receiving $1,000 Singapore dollars (about US$720).
The event is co-sponsored by the Royal Foundation and state-owned Media Corp of Singapore. It’s a new way to highlight the work of winners of the United Nations International Solar Alliance Innovation Award, which will be presented on Thursday, as well as the work of the finalists for the Breakthrough Energy Prize. The winners of both will receive prizes worth about $1.3 billion to accelerate their clean energy solutions, which are aimed at cutting carbon emissions and boosting renewable power worldwide.
In line with the sustainability theme of the HOFS awards, organizers encouraged attendees to participate in the “green” fashion challenge by wearing sustainable clothing or jewelry. For example, the men’s winner wore a 10-year-old dark green suit by Alexander McQueen. Actors Yen and Mbatha also opted for sustainable attire. Several of the performers, including the bands One Republic and Bastille, wore green as well. And the stage was covered with recycled material, and the performers were asked to use environmentally friendly lighting and electricity. Guests were also given water bottles that were recycled after the show. In addition, the venue, the theater at the Media Corp center, was powered by LEDs. And attendees could donate their used paper to recycling stations, which was recycled after the show as well.