The application deadline for the award for authors and content creators, which will be held at the National Centre RUSSIA, is extended until 24 August

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The All-Russian Youth SHUM Award in the field of media and journalism, which will be held at the National Centre RUSSIA, extends the application deadline until 24 August. Until then, young media professionals from all over the country have an opportunity to present their projects, and compete for financial encouragement and support from the professional media community. The total prize fund of the award amounts to 12 million rubles, which will be distributed among the winners and prize-winners in 12 categories. The first place winners will receive 600 thousand rubles, and the second and third place winners will receive 300 and 100 thousand rubles, respectively. You can apply on the premiyashum.ru website. The award is the flagship project of the SHUM Youth Media Development Centre, which is located in the Kaliningrad region, and is held as part of the national project "Youth and Children".

"This year, we have once again seen the tremendous interest of young people in the SHUM Award. During the first month of the application campaign, we collected applications from all regions of Russia, which once again confirms that our country is rich in talented specialists, journalists, bloggers and authors of projects who are changing the world for the better. We are very glad that we managed to learn about these projects, because they really deserve special attention and support. Now our task is to support them and bring them to the federal level," said Anna Musevich, Minister of Youth Policy of the Kaliningrad region.

This year, the award is being held for the second time. In 2024, there were 15 media specialists who won the award, and for whom it was a career boost. The participants scaled their projects, expanded their audience and team, and managed to purchase professional content creation equipment. In addition, the winners of the "Our People" and "Connecting Link" categories, Natalia Shirokova and Victoria Melnikova, have improved their status within the award this year, and joined its expert council.

"I have significantly increased the numbers of my project, and even the Head of the Donetsk People's Republic gave a recommendation and a link to subscribe to my telegram channel. And since I am not only a blogger, but also a journalist in the republican media, in my interviews, I do not miss the opportunity to address some of the questions that subscribers ask me to representatives of ministries and departments. Thus, a lively dialogue takes place. During the time that has passed since the SHUM Award, my colleagues and I have also helped our fellow countrymen more than once with their requests. We also worked on the requests sent to my personal Telegram channel, and to the platforms of our media," Victoria Melnikova shared.  

During the new season's application campaign, one of three blog tours took place -- media specialists and journalists of the award visited North Ossetia — Alania, where they filmed content about the culture of the region and the development of domestic tourism in the country. Two more blog tours will take place before the end of August, their destination points will be the Moscow and Chelyabinsk regions, where participants will get acquainted with innovative agricultural facilities and the largest industrial enterprises in the country.

The award has already been supported by well-known journalists who are acting as ambassadors of the project. Among them: Dmitry Guberniev, Honored Journalist of the Russian Federation, TV host, showman, Adviser to the Minister of Sports, adviser to the Director General of the "RUSSIA" TV channel, commentator on Match TV channel; Yana Churikova, journalist, TV host, producer and public figure; Maxim Iksanov, Director General of News Media Holding; Ernest Matskevicius, host of the "Vesti" news programme on the "Russia 1"  TV channel, Director of the Institute of Media of the National Research University "Higher School of Economics", Director of the Institute "First Academy of Media" of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics; Roman Karmanov, Director General of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives;  Alexander Malkevich, journalist, military correspondent, cavalier of the Order of Courage, member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (CHR); Svetlana Zeynalova, host of the TV programme "Good Morning"; Sergey Malozyomov, author and host of popular science programmes "Miracle of Technics" and "Live Food" on the NTV TV channel; Alexander Kotz, military correspondent of the "Komsomolskaya Pravda" Media Group; Maria Yankovskaya, singer, blogger, performer of the hit song "Sigma Boy"; Roman Kagramanov, blogger.

"I am very glad that for the second year in a row I have been supporting the SHUM Award. There is a great need for good popular science content in our country right now: a wide audience needs not only information about the achievements of science, it also needs to be involved in the study of biology, mathematics, and physics. The SHUM Award is a great way to support the production of good content in our country. I am delighted that young media professionals are becoming more involved in this. You can apply for the award, so why not get support for the important work you are doing?", Sergey Malozyomov addressed the participants.

The ward covers both experienced media professionals and those who are just starting their career in the industry: one of the 12 categories, namely, the "Bright Start", is established for media debutants between the ages of 14 and 17.

"I am very pleased to support the SHUM Award, because this is the way I can support all the young media professionals in the country who are just starting to take their first steps in the media. I would like everyone who creates kind and useful content not to be afraid to present it. I believe that nowadays it is necessary to raise important topics and talk about them with children and adolescents," said Maria Yankovskaya, the youngest ambassador of the award.

Besides, during the application campaign, the SHUM Award held 4 online educational events for everyone. During the live broadcast, young media professionals could ask industry experts different questions, learn about a career in media, as well as about legal security and copyright, and about opportunities for young professionals in Russia.

After the registration is completed, all applications will be sent for evaluation by the expert council, which includes 62 media and journalism professionals. Among them are heads of major media projects, editors-in-chief of TV channels and news outlets, press secretaries, TV hosts, and other industry specialists. The expert council will select seven finalists in each category, who will be admitted to the next stage — the popular vote. And on 24 October, the finalists will meet in person in Moscow, to pass the final stage of the competition. There, they will have to defend their projects in front of the experts.

The winners will be awarded on 25 October at the National Centre RUSSIA. The award ceremony will be attended by finalists, ambassadors and experts of the award, as well as honored guests and invited artists. Everyone will be able to attend the ceremony. For this, a prior registration is necessary. It will be announced on the award's social networks.

The strategic partner of the award is VK technology company. The official partners are: the Russian news agency TASS; Rambler&Co Media Holding; News Media Holding; Gazprom-Media Holding. The multimedia partner is "Argumenty & Fakty" Publishing House. The information partners of the award are: Lenta.ru"; "Gazeta.Ru"; "LIFE" news website; "Komsomolskaya Pravda" newspaper; "Komsomolskaya Pravda" radio; "Dobro.Media". The partners are: "Tricolor", Regional Community Network No. 1, Presidential Platform "Russia — Land of Opportunity", "National Priorities" autonomous non-profit organization, "Institute for Internet Development" autonomous non-profit organization  (ANO "IRI"), "ArtMasters" National Open Championship of Creative Competencies. The partners of the categories are: for the "Bright Start" — " Movement of the First", and the "NEWM TASS" project; for the "Connecting link" and "Our People" — "Workshop of New Media"; for the "Mediaqueez" — the All-Russian Student Project "Your Move", and the aggregator of student media "NOS: science, education, students"; for the "Regional voice" -- the Tavrida Art Cluster, and the All-Russian TopBLOG project.