UNESCO has chosen the National Parks Board of Singapore as its latest recipient of its Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation, inaugurated 25 years ago as a gift from Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said himself. The prize consists of financial compensation, diploma and medal.
The National Parks Board in Singapore oversees more than 350 parks and nature reserves, and supports teaching about biodiversity at all levels of education. Furthermore, NParks has conducted applied research that has helped identify new endemic species while working closely with global partners to promote biodiversity conservation efforts and encourage cities towards adopting more eco-friendly lifestyles.
As announced at its inaugural ceremony in London in 2021, Earthshot Prize will travel to Singapore this November for its third annual awards ceremony and will become the first global environmental award to take place there. Prizes will be distributed by Prince William who will visit many renowned heritage sites such as Istana Palace.
The NUS Singapore History Prize will be given out annually beginning 2024 for an exceptional book that makes a major contribution to our understanding of Singapore’s history, published between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2024. Publications in English or any language with clear historical themes will be eligible; an independent five-member Jury Panel comprising Professor John Miksic, Director of History at NUS; Mr Mahbubani; Prof Tan Tai Yong President of NUS School of Arts and Social Sciences and economist Dr Lam San Ling will determine its winner.
The winner will receive a cash prize of S$50,000, as well as the opportunity to speak at an awards ceremony expected to draw over 500 attendees. The winning publication will be promoted by NUS’s Centre for Public History and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth as well as made available in bookstores nationwide. NUS’s Centre for Public History has long been at the forefront of promoting and disseminating Singapore literature, art of writing and poetry through various initiatives like its Singapore Literature Prize and Poetry Festival. Since 1998, SMU has produced several documentary films on Singaporean history and culture as well as actively participating in international exhibitions and conferences, garnering many coveted accolades along the way. This achievement marks an impressive feat for an institution established only since the early 1980s. The NUS Centre for Public History was established by Professor Lim Lay Hong (deceased). As an international center of excellence for research and teaching with an interdisciplinary focus, its primary mission is to foster scholarship on Singapore’s rich and varied history, its legacy, and public discourse surrounding this important part of our nation’s narrative.