Finalists of the All-Russian video essay contest "Dreams of the Future" to be awarded at the National Centre RUSSIA

The results of the All-Russian video essay contest "Dreams of the Future" and the award ceremony will take place at the National Centre RUSSIA on June 1, the International Day for Protection of Children. The winners will receive valuable prizes, and their ideas will be supported at the federal level.

The contest "Dreams of the Future" gathered nearly 4,000 participants. It was held in two age categories: 14–16 and 17–18 years old. Schoolchildren and students from all 89 regions of Russia took part. An expert jury selected 20 finalist teams — 10 in each category. The finalists include representatives of all federal districts. The works were assessed by leading authors and professionals in the field of science fiction, including writers from the Eksmo-AST publishing group.

The initiative 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 most frequently cited works in both age categories included "Amphibian Man," "Ariel" and "The Head of Professor Dowell" by Alexander Belyaev, "Andromeda Nebula" by Ivan Yefremov, "Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, and "The Settlement" by Kir Bulychev.

The list of the most frequently referenced books also featured works by Sergei Lukyanenko, Alexander and Sergei Abramov, Vasily Golovachov, Yevgeny Voyskunsky, Isai Lukodyanov, Alexander Gromov, Anatoly Dneprov, Yevgeny Gulyakovsky, Alexander Kazantsev and other authors.

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 literary partner of the contest is the publishing group Eksmo-AST, the federal bookshop chain is Chitai-Gorod, the partner for social content is "YOUF — Your Media about Reading," and the analytical partner is VCIOM.

The project was supported by popular Russian artists Erika Lundmoen, polnalyubvi, Mirele, natta, and the band Odnono. On their social media accounts, they spoke about the contest, named their favourite science fiction works, and shared their visions of the future. The contest idea was also praised by young science fiction writers — for example, scriptwriter, film director and author of the Nova Fiction series published by the Mainstream editorial team at AST publishing house, Antonina Gileva, recorded a training session for young essayists titled "Secrets of Screenwriting: From Concept to Shooting."

The winner of the special category "Reader’s Choice Award," organised jointly with the Chitai-Gorod chain and YOUF, was the channel of the animated studio "Kroshki Znaniy" ("Crumbs of Knowledge.") Viewers were choosing the best of five videos from May 1 to 19. The winning project will receive a certificate for a year's supply of books from Chitai-Gorod worth 100,000 roubles and book sets from YOUF.

As part of the contest, the National Centre RUSSIA prepared a series of practical workshops where registered participants could go through the entire process of creating a video — from developing an idea to final editing. Since May 1, these sessions have been available to everyone in a special section of the website dream.russia.ru.