"We became one family": finalists of "Dreams of the Future" contest share stories of projects, victories and the National Centre RUSSIA

The First All-Russian video essay contest "Dreams of the Future," whose final took place on International Children's Day at the National Centre RUSSIA, brought together nearly 4,000 schoolchildren and students from all 89 regions of Russia. The winners of the main awards shared their impressions.

"We feel tremendous pride and responsibility for our region, because we are the only representatives of the Ural Federal District. And not only of the region, but also of our beloved Chelyabinsk. We put a great deal of effort and energy into our project and are very pleased that it was all worthwhile," noted Alena Makhalova, representative of the team "7 KADROV" from the Chelyabinsk region, winner of third place in the 17-18 age category.

The team "Dreamers of the Underwater Republic" from Dagestan took third place in the 14-16 age category. In their work, the young people explored whether it is possible to erase the boundaries between humans, nature and technology.

"Our video essay is called 'On the Border of Two Worlds' for a reason, because by erasing boundaries, one can reach such a level where technology helps nature and people. Coming together is nothing, staying together is progress, and working together is success. And our main success lies in the fact that we are all standing here together now. Thank you to our curator, our parents and, of course, the National Centre RUSSIA — not only for this competition, but also for how beautifully it represented our beloved Republic of Dagestan at the 'Journey Across Russia' exposition," noted Sabina Kazieva, representing the "Dreamers of the Underwater Republic."

The kids from "Samar-chiki +1" team (Samara region), which won first place in the 14-16 age category, created not a simple video essay, but an alternative reality, striving to show a future that does not exist in books.

"We are all from different fields, but became one big family during filming, because we lived this project, and each team member put their soul into it. In our video essay we tried to show that we don't want the future described in books, but instead attempted to create something completely different — something that's also kind, good and bright. And I think we did well," concluded Vasilisa Kunei, representative of team "Samar-chiki +1."

Young biotechnologists from the Moscow region — Media Laboratory "BioTech-Pushchino" — who received diplomas for second place in the 14-16 age group, dedicated their work to the dream of intergalactic travel.

"Our project is dedicated to a dream of the future connected to exploring other planets and their inhabitants, creating conditions for their comfortable living. During work on the project we acted as actors, cameramen, and editors — it was a very interesting experience," shared Lev Danilkovich, representative of Media Laboratory "BioTech-Pushchino."

Winners from the Belgorod region proved that studying the ocean is no less fascinating and beneficial for the future than conquering cosmic expanses.

"Many thanks to the competition organisers, it was very interesting for us to participate. Also, enormous gratitude to our curator, teachers and everyone who supported us. After all, to dream about the future and study some science more deeply or, for example, the ocean, which became the theme of our video essay — means changing life for the better. And, of course, we are very pleased that the trip to Moscow brought us even closer together," admitted Nikita Davydov from team "Shukhovtsy" (Belgorod region), winner of first prize in the senior category of competition participants.

Many participants found inspiration not only in the books of science fiction writers that formed the basis for creating their video essays, but also in the National Centre RUSSIA itself.

"Since we are all future designers, it was very interesting for us to visit the National Centre RUSSIA itself, because it has many interactive programmes, as well as an entire architectural exposition, where we were given a wonderful tour. All of this was educational, including for our future work. Moscow also amazed us with its scale and beauty, and I think this trip will be imprinted in our hearts and minds for a long time. And perhaps in the future we will delight you with some design solutions that you will be able to implement here," promised Ilya Stoykov from team "Utopian Sci-Fi Writers" (Republic of Crimea), which won second prize in the senior age group.

The "Dreams of the Future" contest aims to inspire young people to reflect on the future and to introduce them to the works of science fiction writers. The task for the participants was to create a video essay beginning with the words: "We want to create a future where..." and to include a mandatory reference to a science fiction work from a recommended list. The list was specially compiled for the contest by the Russian State Library for Young Adults and the Council on Science Fiction and Adventure Literature of the Union of Writers of Russia, with the participation of the Eksmo-AST publishing group.

The All-Russian video essay contest is held as part of the Decade of Science and Technology with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Movement of the First, the Coordinating Council for Youth Affairs in the Scientific and Educational Spheres under the Presidential Council for Science and Education of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Library for Young Adults, the Council on Science Fiction and Adventure Literature of the Union of Writers of Russia, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), the ANO "ArtMasters," the ANO "Russia – Land of Opportunity," and the All-Russian Festival "NAUKA 0+," the ANO "Innovative Centre for the Development and Upbringing of Children and Youth," the Startup Village technological conference, and the National Cyber-Physical Platform "Berloga."

The competition is a companion to the II International Symposium "Inventing the Future" which will take place on October 7-8, 2025 and aims to support interest in designing the future by involving children and young people in this process. Director General of the National Centre RUSSIA Natalia Virtuozova announced that the initiative will become annual, and the number of nominations will be increased.