In the first ever Singapore Prestige Brand Awards (SPBA), healthcare provider StarMed Specialist Centre was named winner of the Promising Brands category. The award recognises local businesses that have been in operation for three to eight years, including those that are newer than traditional heritage brands. Construction firm Craftwork and co-living provider Coliwoo were among the other winners in their respective categories.
In addition to the main prizes, all 2023 winners will be able to use a bespoke exhibition booth at the 2023 WAFX trade show in Shanghai next year, where they can showcase their products and services to global buyers. Winners will also be provided with access to training and workshops, as well as opportunities to meet potential partners and investors.
At an extravagant ceremony at the Theatre Mediacorp campus in Singapore, the 2023 Earthshot Prize winners were announced by Prince William, whose Earthshot Foundation charity launched the prize in 2020 to promote innovative solutions for climate change. The heir to the British throne looked sharp in a dark green velour suit and dickie bow, which matched the thick green carpet that he walked down with host Hannah Waddingham.
The NUS Singapore History Prize, which was inaugurated in 2014 to support SG50 celebrations, awarded its inaugural prize to the book “Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800” by archaeologist John Miksic. The idea for the prize was mooted in an opinion column Prof Mahbubani wrote in April 2014, inviting philanthropists to donate cash prizes to reward the best writing on Singapore’s history. He said the response was overwhelming, with 29 submissions from local and international authors.
In its third edition, the award was expanded to include not only books about political events and movements in Singapore’s past, but personal histories as well. The shortlist this year included Sembawang by Jeremy Tiang, which follows the history of an extended family through leftist political movements and detentions in Singapore’s 1950s, as well as Soul Of Ink: Lim Tze Peng At 100 (2021), a biography of the country’s oldest living pioneer artist.
The five-member jury panel for the prize comprises Mahbubani; Professor John Miksic, who chaired this year’s nominating committee; Professor Tan Tai Yong, president of NUS Asia Research Institute; Dr Peter A Coclanis, director of the Global Research Institute, University of North Carolina; and economist Lam San Ling. The nominating committee also includes academics from NUS Department of History and members of the public, including historians, arts and literary figures and history teachers and curriculum developers. The winning book will be formally presented in October this year.