The Singapore Prize is one of the region’s most renowned honors and was initiated by a private donor to encourage people to make an impactful difference through their work. Awarded annually since 2023, its inaugural winner received both a certificate and trophy for winning this prestigious honor.
This prize was established through a donation from Confucian scholar Alan Chan and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). Its purpose is to encourage writing that champions mindsets and values integral to Singapore, such as equality, diversity, religious harmony, meritocracy, pragmatism as well as emphasis on education, innovation and community building.
Since its creation, this award has been given annually to individuals or organisations that have significantly contributed to the country’s development. Winners are selected by an esteemed panel of judges that includes academics, educators and literary luminaries – they strive to keep this prize relevant and meaningful for future generations.
As part of its mission, the prize also seeks to encourage new ideas and perspectives about Singapore’s past and present. To this end, its judging criteria has been altered to focus on “remarkable new works that explore themes related to Singapore’s past and present”.
Additionally to its annual prize award, the Foundation also hosts the Singapore International Violin Competition every year. Three violinists vie for USD $110,000 in prizes that include concert engagements with Joshua Kangming Tan’s Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Qian Zhou (Chair), Martin Beaver, Mihaela Martin, Martin T:son Engstroem and Lee Kyung Sun as judges; Dmytro Udovychenko, Anna Agafia Egholm and Angela Sin Ying Chan were named top prize winners this year.
Singapore’s philanthropic sector has experienced substantial expansion. According to the 2024 edition of The Giving Report, donations totaling S$431 Million from individuals, corporations, and government agencies reached an all-time record high.
An important driver of this increase is the expansion of impact-focused philanthropy. Numerous new initiatives focus on social innovation using data analytics to identify promising solutions that may address important social problems more rapidly, while some include technical assistance from consultants that allow these efforts to scale faster and achieve their intended impacts faster.
