2022 Recipients

Balakrishnan s/o Veerasamy Ramasamy

Craft and Practices Related to Karagam

Bala Image Credit: National Heritage Board

Mr Balakrishnan has been a karagam practitioner since 1989 and has designed and tied numerous karagam as a volunteer at the Sri Mariamman Temple. In his role as a karagam leader for the Theemithi festivities from 2008 to 2018, he has mentored and advised a younger generation of temple volunteers by imparting his skills and knowledge about the tying of the karagam to them and with other Hindu temples as well. He has also conducted workshops, such as with the Indian Heritage Centre in 2019, to spread greater awareness about the karagam and share the craft techniques involved with the wider public, including with Singaporeans from other racial and religious communities.

Gunong Sayang Association

Wayang Peranakan

GSA Image Credit: National Heritage Board

Gunong Sayang Association has been staging wayang peranakan productions since 1985 and has produced 29 performances on a near-annual basis. They have retained the use of the traditional Baba Malay language in their wayang peranakan performances, while adding English surtitles to promote the traditional art form to younger audiences. To reach out to contemporary viewers, their plays have also presented and engaged with contemporary themes and issues such as dementia. They also conduct classes on Baba Malay to transmit the traditional language to younger practitioners, and they have been actively involving and training youths to be part of their cast.

Singapore Wushu Dragon and Lion Dance Federation

Wushu, Lion Dance, Dragon Dance

SWDLDF Image Credit: National Heritage Board

The Singapore Wushu Dragon and Lion Dance Federation manages the national wushu team, which has achieved sporting excellence in regional and international competitions. The Federation also provides platforms for young wushu practitioners to develop their skills, including through organising the annual National School Games for wushu. It also organises major national and sporting events for wushu, dragon dance and lion dance practitioners, including the National Wushu Championships and the Ngee Ann City National Lion Dance Championship. It coordinates and works with its member groups to promote wushu, dragon dance and lion dance to the public, including through community and public performances during festive occasions such as Chinese New Year.

Syed Yusof Alsagoff

Orchid Cultivation

Yusof Image Credit: National Heritage Board

Mr Syed Yusof Alsagoff has been growing orchids since 1960 and has served on the Orchid Society of Southeast Asia (OSSEA) Committee from 1964 to 1997, including 14 years as its President. Through OSSEA’s monthly meetings, he actively shared his knowledge with other hobbyists and professional orchid growers, including younger orchid breeders. He also played a key role in the development of the National Orchid Garden by imparting his knowledge to Botanic Gardens staff. He has registered over 200 orchid hybrids, including the Aranda Zaleha Alsagoff, the first orchid hybrid to receive the OSSEA First Class Certificate. He is one of only two living Singaporean recipients of the OSSEA Fellowship, in recognition of his significant contributions to orchid cultivation locally and internationally.

Prize

Each recipient (individual or organisation) will be presented with a trophy, certificate of award, and S$5,000 cash prize.

Each recipient will also have the option to tap up to S$20,000 in project funding. This is subject to the approval of the proposed project. Please click here to find out more.

Award Categories & Eligibility

Individuals:

Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents, 18 years and above.
Must be a practitioner with minimum 10 years in vocation and a respected member of the practising community.

Note: Award will only be conferred upon individuals who are ICH practitioners - researchers, advocates, and/or managers of ICH organisations who do not themselves possess ICH knowledge and practice ICH skills are not eligible for the Award.

Groups/Organisations

Must be based in Singapore and headed by a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident
The group must have been practising for a minimum of 10 years.
The group must be a formally registered society or company.

Note: Awards will not be conferred posthumously.

Nomination Methods

Self-nomination and public nomination

Evaluation Criteria

Nominees are evaluated according to how they have demonstrated the following criteria:

Active Transmission of Skills and Knowledge

Displays outstanding and ongoing efforts to transmit skills and knowledge to the next generation
Regular engagement with the wider community to raise awareness of the practice

Mastery of Skills and Knowledge

Displays excellence in the application of both knowledge and skills

Long-Term Dedication to Transmitting Practice

Long-term commitment to sustaining knowledge and skills of the practice

Positive Impact and Influence

Serves as a positive example by encouraging cultural exchange
Displays efforts to serve the wider community through the practice

Individual and group/organisation applications will be evaluated as separate categories of applicants, although all applications will be assessed based on the above criteria.

Evaluation Panel

Nominations will be reviewed and assessed by an Evaluation Panel, which comprises ICH practitioners, academics, leaders of community organisations, and representatives from NHB.

For the 2022 Award cycle, the members of the Evaluation Panel are:

Chair	Ms Yeoh Chee Yan Chairman, National Heritage Board
Deputy Chair	Ms Chang Hwee Nee CE, National Heritage Board
Members	Dr Azhar Ibrahim Department of Malay Studies, NUS
	Mr Chan Kian Kuan Vice-President, Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations
	Ms Julia D’Silva Representative, Eurasian Association
	Dr Koh Keng We Department of History, NTU
	Mr Low Sze Wee CEO, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
	Dr Norshahril Saat Chairman, Malay Heritage Foundation
	Mr Rajakumar Chandra Chairman, Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association
	Ms Serene Lim Director (Sector Development – Performing Arts), NAC
	Mdm Som Said Artistic Director, Sri Warisan Som Said Performing Arts
	Ms Sunitha Janamohanan Lecturer, LASALLE College of the Arts
	Mr Victor Yue Exco Member, Singapore Heritage Society
	Prof Vineeta Sinha Department of Sociology and South Asian Studies, NUS

Contact

nhb_stewards@nhb.gov.sg OR 6982 1173.

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2022 Recipients

About Us

Media Centre

A Career in Heritage & Culture

Preserve Our Stories, Treasures & Places

Engage Our Community

Enrich Our Heritage Landscape

Give to Heritage

2022 Recipients