"Nature is a source of light and kindness": team MaLiVi from the Vologda Region on knowledge, ecology and steps towards the future

Why should school knowledge be taken seriously, how can an idea about the future fit into three minutes of screen time, and what needs to be done to live in harmony with nature? These questions were explored by the second-place winners in the 12-15 age category of the II Video Essay Contest "Dreams of the Future": team MaLiVi from the Vologda Region.

Taking part in the project became more than just a creative challenge for the children. Viktor Klimenkov admitted that they gained new knowledge and technical skills: "The contest helped us learn about many problems facing our country, and we also broadened our horizons in video creation, editing and the use of artificial intelligence. We tried very hard, so the victory was well deserved, and we are very happy to have taken second place in a contest of this scale."

In their video, the team members raised an urgent issue: humanity’s careless attitude towards nature. Yelizaveta Vinogradova believes that this is the result of another kind of carelessness: towards the knowledge a person receives throughout their life.

"The main task of our video is to make people think about the fact that many people can, so to speak, ignore the knowledge they are given at school, as well as the knowledge they receive throughout their lives. Yet this knowledge teaches people to be attentive to nature and to understand that the future we create depends on our decisions," Yelizaveta Vinogradova shared.

The team’s curator, Darya Vinogradova, added that nature can become the very bridge that unites people around the world and helps them find compromise.

"It seems to me that nature is precisely the source of light and kindness that can unite different peoples. And I really want to believe that after watching our video, which is only three minutes long, people will understand our main idea: that today each of us, whether a child or an adult, can make the right choice. And with these small steps and actions, every day, by delving into what school gives us — and that is actually a great deal — we will move towards the future each of us dreams of. We will not destroy nature, but exist in symbiosis with it and grow light, kindness and warmth within ourselves," Darya Vinogradova concluded.

The contest "Dreams of the Future", organised by the National Centre RUSSIA, proved that it is not only philosophers and science fiction writers who know how to design tomorrow. A total of 3,740 young participants from 89 regions of Russia and 10 neighbouring countries submitted video essays to the organising committee on the themes "Science Unites", "Technology and Nature", "The Future Is Built Today" and "Space". The best works were announced at the final ceremony on 7 June at the National Centre RUSSIA.