Day: January 28, 2025

The inaugural Singapore Prize aims to spark greater engagement with the nation’s history. The prize was created in 2014, inspired by American social scientist Benedict Anderson’s view that nations are ‘imagined communities’. A shared imagination of the past is a critical glue holding societies together today, he said.

The award is a collaboration between the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Press Holdings. It is a $100,000 cash prize awarded to the best book on Singapore’s history, with the intention of fostering deeper understanding among Singaporeans about the country’s unique heritage and identity. The prize is open to both books published and unpublished in Singapore, as well as translations into the country’s four official languages.

For the first time, a special commendation without a cash prize will also be given to one of the shortlisted works. The judges’ quality assessment led them to confer the commendations on Reviving Qixi: Singapore’s Forgotten Seven Sisters Festival by Lynn Wong and Lee Kok Leong, as well as Theatres of Memory: Industrial Heritage of 20th Century Singapore by Loh Kah Seng, Alex Tan, Koh Keng We, and Tan Teng Phee.

The winner will be announced in October. A total of 26 works have been nominated for the prize this year, up from 19 in 2016. The finalists include works by established authors such as Marylyn Tan, Wang Gungwu, Wong Koi Tet and Sithuraj Ponraj, as well as newer names like Clarissa Oon for English creative non-fiction and KTM Iqbal for Tamil poetry. There are also debut works in all the four official languages, as well as a category for comics and graphic novels.

The winners of the Singapore Prize will join global leaders, companies and investors in a series of special events this November as part of an event series called Earthshot Week, which will be held at the same venue where the awards ceremony took place. This initiative will aim to accelerate the winners’ solutions and bring about concrete actions that repair the planet, organisers said. This will include a series of ‘local activations’ that will allow members of the public to engage directly with the winners.

If you’re a slot fan, there are plenty of online gambling sites to choose from. However, not all of them are created equal, and the choice you make can impact your gaming experience and potential winnings. Here are a few things to keep in mind when selecting an online slot machine:

A variety of payment gateways: Most reputable online slots offer multiple options for depositing funds and cashing out your winnings. This means you can choose the method that best suits your needs, without having to worry about additional fees or delays.

Bonuses: Most slot sites offer lucrative welcome bonuses to new players. These often have a playthrough requirement, but they also contribute highly towards your wagering requirements. This makes them an excellent way to start off on the right foot with your slot playing experience.

Game selection: While you’re free to play any slot machine that catches your fancy, it’s best to stick with games that have a high RTP rate. This will ensure that you’ll win more than you lose over time. Another factor to consider is the game’s variance, which measures how often it pays out and the size of those wins.

Theme: A slot machine’s theme can affect its payouts and winning odds. Generally, slot games feature a specific style, location, or character and have symbols that correspond to those themes. Some slots even feature mini-stories and interactive elements that complement the theme. Some popular slot themes include fairy tales, movies, and video games.

Symbols: Various slot symbols can trigger different bonus rounds, and some can even multiply your winnings. These include wild symbols, scatters, and multipliers. Depending on the game, you can also find progressive jackpots and free spins. Some slot machines also have a special “bonus reel” that increases your chances of winning.

Rules of playing: In order to play a slot machine, you must insert either cash or, in ticket-in, ticket-out machines, a paper ticket with a barcode into a designated slot. Then, you activate the machine by pressing a lever or button (physical or on a touchscreen). The reels then spin and stop to display matching symbols that earn credits based on the paytable.

You can also find slot online that are designed in partnership with popular brands, including TV shows, sports teams, and music bands. These slot games are modeled after the characters, locations, and storylines from these brands and feature their logos and other trademarks. Many of them also have special features that are aligned with the brand’s image, including cascading reels, cascading symbols, and wild symbols. Some even feature an auto-spin feature that lets you set the number of spins and automatically stops after a certain amount of time. In addition, some slot machines feature a jackpot that can be won by hitting certain combinations of symbols. Some machines even have a “max bet” that increases your chances of winning by a large margin. This feature is especially useful for high rollers.