Participants in the “Tell the World About Your Homeland” Contest Honored in Moscow

On Saturday, June 7, the awards ceremony for the winners of the VII International “Tell the World About Your Homeland” contest took place at the National Centre “Russia.” More than 60 talented children and adults from over 20 regions of Russia and 21 countries around the world were named winners. The largest number of entries came from the Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, and Sverdlovsk regions, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.

An expert jury of 125 members reviewed 7.407 entries received from 54 countries and all regions of Russia. Winners were selected in age categories in two divisions: domestic and international participants. There were also three types of entries: videos, drawings, and presentation pages.

Several contest partners established their own special awards. The “Way Home” social movement, which helps our compatriots and foreign expats relocate to Russia, selected its winner in the “For a story about the Homeland that warms hearts« category. The winner was 19-year-old Nikolai Ivanovsky from Armavir, who told the story of a city memorial complex dedicated to mothers. Its inscriptions address people in different languages and say that a mother is the holiest thing on Earth.

“In our materialistic, pragmatic world, there is a great lack of warmth,” says movement leader Anatoly Bublik. “We long for genuine human feelings. We watched dozens of wonderful videos. Nikolai from Armavir managed to bring together in his work love for his mother, love for his Homeland, and the possibility of people who speak different languages and belong to different faiths living together in one country, united by one feeling: love for what is most precious.”

Ekaterina Averkieva, the contest’s originator and chair of its organizing committee, admitted that the expert jury faced the most difficult task. After all, choosing three winners in each category from thousands of entries is incredibly challenging. That is why all the experts who came to the ceremony received certificates of appreciation; they were invited onto the stage and thanked live during the broadcast.

One member of the expert group was Tatyana Chikaeva, Vice-Rector for Research at the Moscow Art and Industry Institute. For several years now, MХPI staff and students have been involved in organizing and running the “Tell the World About Your Homeland” contest. Tatyana Aleksandrovna is convinced that this contest helps people rise above the routine of everyday life and reflect on what is truly important to every person, no matter which country they live in.

Taking part in organizing such a large-scale initiative helps students at a creative university define the image of the Homeland for themselves through visualization and the contest’s branding. In the teamwork of everyone involved in the international initiative, what impresses most is the warmth and heartfelt spirit. “Ekaterina Vladimirovna Averkieva and her team do everything from the heart, with genuine care. I want to thank them very much for that,” says Tatyana Chikaeva.

“The common path to goodness, light, and joy lies in understanding each person’s uniqueness,” Tatyana Chikaeva believes. “The Homeland is, first and foremost, a spirit and a culture; it is images of nature, ancestors, and heroes. In their entries, children showed that our united Homeland has its own distinctive parts, and with their help we will get to know these parts.”

More than 60 contest winners were honored on the stage of the National Centre “Russia.” This would not have been possible without the support of sponsors and partners, whom the organizers also thanked. One of those who has helped run the event since its early years is Sergey Makoveev, CEO of the Valuable Contract Agency for Competitive Procurement. In his comment to our publication, he explained why he has supported the young participants for many years.

“I am a patriot of my country, a father of many children, and I try to pass on to my own children the patriotic spirit I have, instilling in them pride and love for the Homeland. By helping and supporting the young people taking part in the contest, I want to show that our younger generation can be relied upon,” says the entrepreneur.

Over the 7 years the contest has been held, more than 25 thousand entries have been processed from participants in 83 countries near and far. The total reach of contestants involved in the project, their creative mentors, teachers, and experts has exceeded 100 thousand specialists. The expert council and contest jury included 125 experts—schoolteachers, university faculty members, and public figures from 32 regions of Russia and 5 foreign countries.

The contest is organized by the ANO “Innovative Center for the Development and Upbringing of Children and Youth,” with support from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Rossotrudnichestvo, the RosPatriotCenter, the National Centre “Russia,” the Movement of the First, Yunarmiya, Rosdetcenter, the Russkiy Mir Foundation, the National Parents’ Association, and Moscow State Pedagogical University. The contest is held as part of the list of events of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

Alla Shelyapina, VEZDE NASHI