Know someone who has made a difference to the community and made headlines this year? Here is your opportunity to give them the recognition they deserve.
Nominations are open for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2018, which seeks to honour an individual or group of people whose extraordinary acts of goodwill have improved their community and the lives of others.
Organised by The Straits Times and supported by UBS Singapore, the award honours Singaporeans who have put the country on the world map, persevered through incredible adversity or made the community a better place through selfless acts.
The public can nominate people for the award from now until Dec 31. The award will be given out early next year. Nominees must be Singapore citizens who made the news this year.
The Straits Times editor Warren Fernandez said: "The search is on once again for Singaporeans who inspire us all and make us proud to have people like them among us. We have had some outstanding nominees in the past three years, so the bar has been raised quite high."
The newspaper is especially thankful to President Halimah Yacob for accepting its invitation to be the patron of the award, said Mr Fernandez, who is also editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings' English/Malay/Tamil Media Group.
As patron, the President has agreed to present the award at a ceremony to be held in February next year, he said.
"We are also very grateful for the strong support from UBS Singapore, which has been a firm believer in this award right from the start," he added.
Of the award, President Halimah said: "The Singaporean of the Year award celebrates ordinary people doing extraordinary deeds. The exceptional acts of goodwill of past recipients have improved their community and the lives of others, and are shining examples of what we can achieve together as a society.
"The award is a call for action to Singaporeans to create a positive impact to the community. I look forward to hearing the in-spiring stories of next year's outstanding individuals."
Mr Edmund Koh, UBS Singapore's country head, said: "This special award acknowledges individuals who have gone above and beyond to make a difference in Singapore."
Last year, general practitioner Goh Wei Leong and HealthServe, which provides migrant workers with affordable healthcare, won the award.
Dr Goh said: "To be nominated last year was a great honour but a humbling experience. There are so many unsung heroes in Singapore who are equally deserving out there."
The Straits Times will unveil the 10 shortlisted candidates in batches between August and December. This will be followed by two weeks of public voting, and the outcome will be used as a reference by the judges when making their final decision.
The judging panel consists of editors from the ST newsroom and external parties with diverse backgrounds, such as social entrepreneur and activist for children and women Saleemah Ismail.
The Singaporean of the Year will receive $20,000, while the other nine finalists will each get $5,000. The prize monies are sponsored by UBS. The call for nominations are now open, and the public can nominate people who they think are inspiring via the nomination website http://str.sg/soty18nominate
