The winner of the singapore prize will be selected by a panel of five judges including representatives from the public, academia and industry. The prize aims to encourage engagement with Singapore history broadly understood and make the complexities of our city-state’s place in the world more accessible. It also aims to cast a wide net for consideration of works that deal with history, regardless of their period or subject matter. The NUS Singapore History Prize is administered by the Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore. The prize is made possible by the generous endowment of Dr Alan HJ Chan, a former CEO and entrepreneur, who had always been passionate about education.
The prize consists of a cash award and a certificate. The winners will receive their awards at a ceremony in May 2023. The event will feature performances by globally renowned artists and musicians, though more details on these are yet to be confirmed. The venue will be announced soon.
In addition to this, the winning entries will be published in book form by NUS Press. The publisher will also be awarded a special plaque for submitting the entry. The shortlisted books will be displayed in the NUS Library and will be promoted through various channels, including online and at book fairs. The prizes are open to authors of all nationalities who have written about Singapore history. The winning entry will be a work that has been published in the previous three years and that has been reviewed by a minimum of two independent reviewers.
Besides that, the winners will be offered assistance to take their ideas further. They will also be given the opportunity to showcase their projects and get feedback from others. They will also have the chance to win an additional grant of up to $40,000 for a year to help them continue with their work. The winning project will be chosen from the five finalists by an expert panel, which includes a senior academic from the NUS School of Arts and Social Sciences and representatives from NUS Press.
The awards ceremony will be held in Singapore, which will serve as the global hub for this new prize. It will be a part of a new Earthshot Week, starting on November 6, that will see global leaders, businesses and investors convene in Singapore to find new opportunities with the Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists to accelerate their plans and bring about visible effects on the planet. Members of the public will also be invited to experience local activations centered on the 2023 cohort of Earthshot solutions. This will be a first for the award.