15,000 entries, a category for the youngest creators and international status: SHUM Award winners honoured at the National Centre RUSSIA

Behind every striking image, carefully chosen word and honest story are creators who know how to observe, listen, think and feel — and, above all, turn these qualities into media content that touches thousands of hearts. These bold, talented and dedicated young media professionals gathered on 17 October at the National Centre RUSSIA for the All-Russian SHUM Award for Media and Journalism ceremony. In its third season, the project received more than 15,000 entries from every region of Russia and other countries. The final event brought together 75 finalists whose projects had been selected by the expert council.

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, sent a message of greetings to the Award's participants and organisers. The First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia, Sergei Kiriyenko, read out the message at the opening ceremony.

"This prestigious Award brings together young journalists, correspondents, editors and other media professionals from different regions of the country. It gives them a valuable opportunity to discuss pressing professional issues and their creative work with colleagues and experienced experts, and to find like-minded people. I would emphasise that the media play a major role in setting spiritual and moral standards, shaping values and influencing public opinion. This makes your firm commitment to journalistic ethics, timely and accurate coverage of key events in Russia and around the world, and careful treatment of our country's history and unique spiritual and cultural legacy so important. I am confident that the Award ceremony will be a great success and launch promising new projects and initiatives. And, of course, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate this year's laureates on their significant and well-deserved success. I wish you boundless inspiration and all the very best," the message reads.

Photo: Sergei Khakimov / Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

The First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Sergei Kiriyenko, addressed the SHUM Award participants and thanked them for their work: "Dear finalists, you are the pride of our country. You are the best of 15,000 — that is how many entries the SHUM Award received. More than half a million votes were cast for participants' projects in the public vote, demonstrating enormous public trust. This year, content creators aged 8 to 13 also took part in our 'Bright Start' category for the first time. They are exceptionally bright and talented young people. Looking at them, you realise that Russian journalism has a wonderful future," Sergei Kiriyenko noted.

Sergei Kiriyenko also presented the award in the "Land of Heroes" category, dedicated to media projects about Heroes of Russia and people who have shown courage, responsibility and compassion. The award went to Yevgeny Ageyenko from the Khabarovsk Territory, creator of "Men's Work", a series of videos about men who chose a career in the armed forces.

The Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, Grigory Gurov, highlighted the Award's scale and development: "For the third consecutive year, the SHUM Award has brought together participants from across the country. This year, we received entries from every region of Russia, from Kaliningrad to Chukotka. For the first time, international media professionals creating content about our country, its culture and its people also took part. They came from the UK, Vietnam, India, Cameroon, France and other countries. The Award recognises those who create useful content that promotes values among young people, are unafraid to tackle difficult subjects and tell the stories of the heroes of our time. They also cover the support measures being introduced in our country for young people under the national project 'Youth and Children', helping them take their first steps in the profession and make their mark," said Grigory Gurov.

"The Power of Unity" is a separate Award category dedicated to the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. The winner was Darya Kokhanova from the Stavropol Territory. Her documentary web series "Cities of Three Religions" explores the people, traditions and friendships connecting members of different faiths in Russia. The award was presented by the Deputy Chief of the Presidential Directorate for Social Projects, Alexei Zharich, and television presenter Alexandra Perfilyeva.

"I congratulate you wholeheartedly on your award. Thanks to the SHUM platform and the work of the year-round educational complex, the Academy of Strategic Communications, young people have the opportunity to learn from leading specialists, journalists and media personalities. I am delighted to say that today's Award winners will be able to study at the Academy without going through the competitive selection process," Alexei Zharich emphasised.

Winners in the main categories also included young people from the Donetsk People's Republic, the Krasnodar Territory, the Ivanovo, Moscow and Samara Regions, and Moscow. Creators from the Belgorod, Moscow and Chelyabinsk Regions took the prize-winning places in the "Bright Start" category. For the first time in the Award's history, international creators producing content about Russia, its culture, history and people joined Russian media professionals. Special awards recognised Bright Achankeng Fondendeng from Cameroon, Nick Luka Darlison from the UK and Gwendoline Gryuye from France. On their social media accounts, they discuss the Russian language, help their audiences get to know contemporary Russia and challenge stereotypes about the country and its people. Winners and runners-up in the main categories received cash prizes, with the Award's total prize fund amounting to 10 million roubles.

Presenting awards in the "Home Region" category, the Governor of the Kaliningrad Region, Alexei Besprozvannykh, emphasised that regional media projects help reveal the distinctive character of their regions and support the development of young people who find opportunities to use their talents close to home.

"Every year, the Award's popularity grows, along with the professionalism and substance of the entries and projects. This makes choosing the best exceptionally difficult for the jury. But today, I want to thank absolutely everyone who submitted an entry. That is already a major step towards making your mark, taking an active part in the life of our country and showing by example how important it is to be active, love your Motherland and inspire everyone else to do the same," said Alexei Besprozvannykh.

In turn, the Head of the SHUM Centre for Youth Media Development, Tatyana Mandrykina, thanked the National Centre for supporting the Award. She noted that, alongside the year-round venue in the Kaliningrad Region, young media professionals from across the country now have another home: the National Centre RUSSIA. Graduates of the first season of the National Centre RUSSIA's Young Journalists School also helped cover the National Media Congress and the SHUM Award ceremony. Working as a professional team, they told the stories of the country's leading media professionals through articles, reports and interviews. Two graduates of the project, Safiya Yakhina and Darya Abramova, also reached the Award final. Their achievement will inspire other Young Journalists School students to create their own projects and develop a more confident voice in the media.

The SHUM Award is a flagship project of the SHUM Centre for Youth Media Development. Its main aim is to identify and recognise talented young media professionals who create content that promotes values and addresses issues of social importance. The Award's categories support media projects dedicated to family values, volunteering, stronger intercultural ties, the country's economic, technological and social achievements, and the heroes of our time: servicemen taking part in the special military operation, war correspondents, public figures and people working for the good of Russia.

The project is implemented by ANO "SHUM Youth Centre" with support from the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and the Government of the Kaliningrad Region under the national project "Youth and Children". VK is the strategic partner, and Rambler&Co media holding is the general media partner. Media partners include TASS, Argumenty i Fakty, Tricolor, RG Media and Gazprom-Media Holding. The Award's partners are RT School, the "Your Move" project, the Internet Development Institute (IRI), ArtMasters, ANO "Dialogue" and ANO "Dialogue Regions". The Movement of the First is the partner of the "Bright Start" category, while Dzen is the special partner of the categories. A recording of the ceremony is available on the russia.ru website.