Znanie.Award: Best Enlightening Projects from 89 Regions and 40 Countries Worldwide
Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Russian society Znanie, addressed the Honorary Jury of the country's major enlightening prize, Znanie.Award. The prize is a flagship project of the Russian society Znanie. The meeting took place on 25 November at the National Centre RUSSIA in Moscow. Prominent state and public figures evaluated projects presented by 112 contestants.
Opening the Honorary Jury meeting, Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Russian society Znanie, expressed gratitude to the members of the Honorary Jury and nominees for the Znanie.Award enlightening prize: "I see many senior officers in the hall, and first of all I want to thank you profoundly for putting aside all your concerns and taking on such an important task. Great thanks and deep respect to each of the educators who will take this stage today. They face the difficult task of presenting their project. Not all of them will become winners, but every one of them deserves immense respect."
He noted that this time the Znanie.Award had united educators and projects not only from Russia but from 40 countries worldwide, with 15 countries participating for the first time.
"In the first place we have enlightening projects dedicated to preserving historical memory, the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Many projects are dedicated to the heroes of the Special Military Operation. It is very important and wonderful that among the nominees, among the educators, there are heroes of the Special Military Operation themselves, who have a particular moral right to tell the younger generation about what true patriotism is, and what true readiness to defend one's country means. When these lads with the Hero's Stars and combat orders on their chests speak about this, they command a different level of trust," emphasised Sergei Kiriyenko.
He also noted that this year, for the first time, the best regional educator and the best regional enlightening project will be awarded in each of the country's 89 federal subjects. They will receive the first-ever regional Znanie.Award prizes.
The Honorary Jury assessed presentations from 112 contestants and selected laureates in 16 categories. Their names will be announced in 2026 at the official award ceremony in Moscow.
The jury included: Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Victoria Abramchenko, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation; Vladimir Medinsky, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Russian Military-Historical Society; Sergei Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation; Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation; Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation; Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation; Ella Pamfilova, Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation; Valery Fadeyev, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights; Kirill Dmitriev, Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries and Director General of the Russian Direct Investment Fund; Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and Head of the LDPR faction in the State Duma of the Russian Federation, and others.
After the Honorary Jury meeting, an online voting on the MAX platform will be launched for the first time in the contest’s history, and Russian citizens will be able to cast their votes for the contestants in the "People's Choice" category. The results of the vote will determine the winners. Votes for the favourites in each category can be cast until February 2026.
The anniversary season of Znanie.Award is held with the support of general information partners – the Russian news agency TASS and the "Komsomolskaya Pravda" media group; strategic information partner is the Rambler&Co media holding; multimedia information partner is the "Argumenty i Fakty" publishing house; information partners are the "Izvestia", the "Zvezda" television and radio company, and the "FederalPress" media holding.
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The application period is open until 5 December.
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