A healthy civil society requires people to care for their communities and to put the common good above their own interests. For this reason, the Harvard Prize Book (Singapore) honours individuals who have demonstrated altruism and have made a contribution to Singapore in terms of public service, community building or charitable work. It is the highest honour that can be bestowed on a person in Singapore, and it is a tribute to those who have given their lives for the betterment of others.

The winners of the 2023 Earthshot Prize were announced on Tuesday night at a star-studded awards ceremony in Singapore. The prize, which was founded by Prince William in 2020 to help solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, is named after President John F Kennedy’s “moonshot” speech of 1962 that challenged Americans to send a man to the moon within a decade.

At the glitzy awards event, the prince met with local environmental entrepreneurs who have developed innovative solutions to protect and restore our planet. Among them were the winning companies, which included Accion Andina, GRST, WildAid Marine Program and S4S Technologies.

During the ceremony, the winner of this year’s Readers’ Favourite award was also announced. It was Ms Hidayah, who penned Leluhur: Singapore Kampong Gelam, an account of her family’s journey from the Gedung Kuning neighbourhood to Kampong Glam. The judges said Ms Hidayah’s book was both a synthesis of history and a primary source, thanks to her personal inputs. They added that the book was both elegantly crafted and well-researched.

The Singapore prize is the second richest literary award in Singapore after the Epigram Books Fiction Prize, with a cash prize of $3,000 and an engraved trophy. It is sponsored by the National Book Development Council of Singapore and is a biennial award open to authors who publish their works in English or Chinese. The judges are drawn from the university, media and industry.

Each of the 12 categories has a winner and runner-up. The winners will receive a cash prize of S$3,000, a hand-crafted trophy and a 12-month subscription to audiobook platform StoryTel. They will also be featured in a series of curated exhibitions.

In addition, the finalists will also be given a chance to present their work to a panel of judges in a one-on-one conversation. This will help them to further refine their ideas and concepts for their prototype products, and possibly secure funding for their projects from angel investors or venture capitalists.