The announcement will be made at Abu Dhabi’s International Water Summit 2013, where the Singapore water industry is making a strong presence with one of the largest pavilions at the event.
15 Jan 2013 – Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), the global platform for the sharing and co-creation of innovative water solutions, officially opened its Call for Nominations for the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize 2014.
This will be announced today by the Singapore Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan at the 1st International Water Summit (IWS) 2013 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), held jointly with the 6th World Future Energy Summit (WFES) as part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize
The highlight of SIWW, the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize honours outstanding contributions by individuals or organisations towards solving the world's water challenges by applying innovative technologies or implementing policies and programmes which benefit humanity. This prestigious international award is named after Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, whose foresight and leadership has enabled Singapore to attain sustainable water supply.
In a world where more than half of the population already live in cities and another 2.5 billion people are expected to move to cities by 2050, the future is undoubtedly urban. The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize stands out from other international water prizes with its focus on innovative solutions and policies for the urban environment.
The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize 2014 laureate will receive S$300,000, a certificate, and a gold medallion at the award ceremony to be held during SIWW 2014.
The 2012 Laureate of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize
Into its sixth edition now, the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize has seen a range of recipients with illustrious achievements in the area of groundbreaking water technology and innovative water policy and management.
The latest recipient of the award in 2012, Professor Mark van Loosdrecht was honoured for
his breakthrough, Anammox — an innovative biological process that provides a cost-effective, robust and sustainable way to remove unwanted pollutants from used water.
With the discovery of a unique group of bacteria that removes the pollutant ammonia in used water using less oxygen and no added organic carbon, Anammox greatly reduces the overall energy consumption, chemical usage, and carbon emissions of conventional used water treatment plants. By pioneering this innovative biological process, Prof van Loosdrecht changed the established understanding of the used water treatment process. His ground-breaking work in marrying nature and engineering has formed the basis for many used water treatments today, and continues to gain worldwide adoption.
The Sponsor —Singapore Millennium Foundation
The Singapore Millennium Foundation (SMF), a philanthropic body supported by Temasek Holdings, is the sponsor of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize.
With a primary aim to promote research and development of human capital, and enhance Singapore as a centre for research, the SMF partners universities in Singapore as well as research institutes such as Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Mental Health, and Singapore General Hospital. It has supported research into liver cancer, Parkinson’s disease, neuromuscular disease, mental health, and biofuel. SMF has future plans to expand into research areas including pedagogy and learning, special needs education, ageing and palliative care, and non-medical bioscience.
Call for Nominations
Singapore International Water Week calls for nominations for the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize 2014. Qualified parties, such as leaders of international water companies and water utilities, top academics in water research, policy and management, heads of international organisations, members of government, or distinguished individuals in the water field are welcome to submit nominations.
All nominations will undergo two rounds of rigorous selection. The Nominating Committee will thoroughly evaluate all submitted nominations and make their recommendations to the Water Prize Council, which will then decide on the prize winner. Nominations close on 31 May 2013.
For more information, visit www.siww.com.sg or email leekuanyewwaterprize@siww.com.sg
Singapore’s participation at IWS 2013
Singapore’s participation at the inaugural IWS underscores its strong mutual ties with the Middle East in the area of sustainable water solutions on both government and business levels, with the arid region being a key target market for Singapore-based water companies to expand their operations.
Leading the Singapore delegation, Minister Balakrishnan will speak at IWS – WFES’ joint Ministerial Panel on the Water-Energy Nexus, the topic in focus with IWS 2013 also themed “Bringing the water-energy nexus to life”. Chew Men Leong, Chief Executive of PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, will also speak at an IWS Interactive Panel Discussion on 16 Jan on Understanding How an Arid Region May Continue Sustainable Growth and Economic Development. This discussion will focus on how water scarce regions may take a strategic economic approach in order to achieve water supply security for the increasing demands of population and industry.
Singapore’s strong presence at the event was also highlighted by the 126sqm Singapore Pavilion – one of the largest Pavilions at IWS’ Exhibition Centre, representing Singapore’s water industry with a cluster of booths from Singapore water companies such as Sembcorp and Hyflux as well as SIWW and Singapore Water Association.
The Middle East has also been a strong supporter of SIWW since its inception – reinforced by IWS joining as a supporting organisation of SIWW 2012, and Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company selecting SIWW 2012 as a platform to announce an S$11bn investment in water infrastructure, the event’s largest dollar-value announcement to date.
Activities leading up to SIWW 2014
The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize 2014 Call for Nominations is the first in a slew of activities that will be held in 2013, in the lead up to SIWW 2014. Other key activities include the Water Convention 2014 Call for Papers that will commence in February, and the inaugural SIWW Water Utilities Leaders Forum – “Mapping Challenges and Solutions” which will be held in September. The Forum is a by-invitation, high-level event that will bring together water utilities leaders in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East to share challenges and co-create solutions. The discussion outcomes from the Forum will also be showcased at SIWW 2014.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Nawwar Syahirah
Executive
Communications
Tel: +65 6731 3986
Nawwar_syahirah@pub.gov.sg
Sally Toh
Senior Assistant Director
Communications
Tel: +65 6731 3108
Sally_toh@pub.gov.sg
About Singapore International Water Week
The Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) is the global platform for the sharing and co-creation of innovative water solutions. Comprising the Water Leaders Summit, Water Convention, Water Expo and Business Forums, it culminates in the presentation of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, a prestigious international water award to recognize outstanding contributions towards solving global water problems.
The 6th Singapore International Water Week will be held in conjunction with the 4th World Cities Summit and the 2nd CleanEnviro Summit Singapore, from 1 to 5 June 2014 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore.
For more information, visit www.siww.com.sg