The fifth season of the #WEARETOGETHER International Award was launched at the National Centre RUSSIA

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The fifth anniversary #WEARETOGETHER International Award was launched on April 12 during the "Key to Start" forum organised by the Russian society Znanie and the Roscosmos State Corporation, held as part of the presentation of the national project "Youth and Children" at the National Centre RUSSIA.

As part of the #WEARETOGETHER International Award, recognition and support are given to leaders of socially significant initiatives aimed at helping people and improving the quality of life in Russia and around the world. The mission of the Prize is to strengthen the values of mutual assistance and compassion as a way of life.

"The #WEARETOGETHER International Award creates new opportunities for the implementation and promotion of socially significant initiatives in our country. The most successful projects receive support from the state and business. Interest in the Prize is constantly growing: over the past years, more than 145,000 applications from 142 countries have been submitted — this is an important indicator that Russia has become a global centre of volunteerism. This year, special attention is given to supporting participants in the special military operation and their families, and the 'Heroes of Our Time' category has been expanded — it now includes projects focused on preserving the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and supporting veterans. Within the framework of the national project 'Youth and Children', launched on the initiative of the President of Russia, we aim to involve up to 45% of young Russians in volunteer activities, and we are confident that these goals will be achieved," emphasised the head of Rosmolodezh, Grigory Gurov.

The fifth season of the Award includes four categories within the national track: "Individual," "NGOs and Projects," "Companies," and "Territory" — and 12 nominations in total. Among the new nominations in 2025 are "Sustainable Future," which recognises contributions to environmental protection and preservation, and "Generation of Kindness," designed to support social projects implemented by young volunteers aged 14 to 17. Another innovation this year is the introduction of the special nomination "Stronger Together," which will be awarded for the implementation of joint social projects between the state, NGOs, businesses, and media.

The international track of the Award this year is dedicated to social partnership for global development. Foreign legal entities and individuals will take part as participants.

"The fifth season of the Award opens up new opportunities. We are building and developing a global community: the Federal Club of #WEARETOGETHER finalists and winners 'Mayak', the regional club of Award participants and international ambassadors, we share best practices and provide the most effective tools for education and training. We do everything to ensure that volunteers, mentors, leaders and teams of social projects, and non-profit organisations can enhance their skills, scale their projects, and increase their social impact," emphasised Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy and head of Dobro.rf Artem Metelev.

The anniversary season of the Award also introduces a number of innovations compared to previous years: tools for project promotion have been enhanced, educational opportunities for participants have been expanded, and special emphasis has been placed on digitalisation — artificial intelligence will now be involved in evaluating applications. A neural network model will be able to provide recommendations for improving socially oriented initiatives, based on data analysis.

The Award allows participants to gain recognition for their work, find a community of like-minded people and co-creators, receive support in developing their project and team, and find partners. For example, the 2024 finalists will receive, among other benefits, the opportunity to take part in the Youth Day of SPIEF-2025 thanks to a partnership with the Roscongress Foundation, the status of lecturers of the Russian society Znanie, and invitations to attend specialised sessions of the Movement of the First. In 2025, the Prize will continue its cooperation with ASI, VARMSU, RSPP, Rosatom, the Presidential Academy, and other leading organisations across various spheres of public and political life.

"The #WEARETOGETHER International Award helps shape a positive image of volunteerism as an essential part of our national character. Today, the Movement of the First includes over 20,500 volunteer teams, bringing together more than 1.5 million school and university students. Many volunteers look up to the prize laureates. They become a true example of service to society and a genuine moral compass. And this is a truly important result of the prize's work," noted Hero of Russia, participant of the "Time of Heroes" program, Chairman of the Board of the Movement of the First and member of the Organizing Committee of the #WEARETOGETHER International Award, Artur Orlov.

Applications for participation in the award can be submitted on the website премиямывместе.рф until June 23. The award ceremony will be held from 2 to 5 December 2025 in Moscow at the #WEARETOGETHER International Forum of Civic Engagement at the National Centre RUSSIA.

The #WEARETOGETHER International Award is the flagship project of the global community of social change leaders. Its main goal is to recognize and support the leaders of socially significant initiatives aimed at helping people and improving the quality of life in Russia and around the world. The idea of this international project was proposed by the volunteers of the All-Russian mutual aid project #WEARETOGETHER during a meeting with President of Russia Vladimir Putin in 2020. The Head of State supported the initiative. Since then, the prize has been developing along two tracks: the national one (#WEARETOGETHER) and the international one (We are together). Participants of the prize include volunteers, representatives of businesses, non-profit organizations, teams of like-minded people implementing joint projects, and, starting from 2024, also regions of Russia and municipalities.

Over the past 5 years, 145,701 applications have been submitted for the national track and 5,093 applications from 142 countries for the international track. A total of 654 applications reached the finals of the national track, with 288 becoming prize-winners. Thirty-nine participants have been awarded the status of laureates in the international track.

The founder of the Award is the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh). The organizer is the social development ecosystem Dobro.rf. The Organizing Committee of the Prize is headed by the First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia Sergei Kiriyenko and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Tatyana Golikova. The Chairman of the International Directorate of the Prize is Leonid Roshal, President of the National Medical Chamber.

The forum "Key to Start," organized by the Russian society Znanie and the Roscosmos State Corporation, during which the Award was launched, was one of the key events of the presentation of the national project "Youth and Children," held on 12 April at the National Centre RUSSIA. More than one thousand alumni of Rosmolodezh forums from previous years, representatives of regional organizations responsible for implementing the national project, winners of the Rosmolodezh grant competition, and young participants of the Movement of the First took part in the presentation. The purpose of the event was to present the core ideas of the national project "Youth and Children", the innovations of upcoming forums, and to highlight the nationwide values that form the foundation of Russia’s cultural code.

The event is organized by Rosmolodezh in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of Russia, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia, the Roscosmos State Corporation, the Russian society Znanie, the ANO "National Priorities of Russia," the presidential platform "Russia – Land of Opportunity," the Movement of the First, the National Centre RUSSIA, and Dobro.rf.

Partners of the outreach program include: Gazprom-Media Holding, the Food Bank Rus charitable foundation, the Krutitskoye Patriarchal Compound of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Mosvolunteer Resource Centre, and the interactive museum "In Silence."