The awards ceremony of the annual national program Best Social Projects in Russia was held on May 18, 2018. Gazprom-Media Holding and the television channels NTV, Match TV and TV-3 received six diplomas in five nominations.
Gazprom-Media Holding was recognized with an award in the nomination “Education and science” for the educational project Media for Future in the field of film and television. The project was carried out as part of the corporate social responsibility strategy, which aims to support talented youth and develop original educational programs in this field. There were three educational courses carried out as part of the Media for Future project: “NTV Course: production of television programs,” “Studio of Friday!” - a joint educational project between Friday! channel and the Moscow State University’s journalism faculty, and the “Introductory filmmaking course” collaboration between 2x2 TV channel and the Moscow Film School.
The holding’s other project, “God Ekologii - Zelyonaya Rossia” (Year of Ecology - Green Russia) which was launched in support of the year of ecology, won in the nomination “Environmental projects and initiatives.” The main objective of Gazprom-Media’s project was to support environmental initiatives aimed at the rational use of natural resources and to draw attention to environmental pollution. The holding carried out a full-scale informational campaign over the course of the year. The television channels NTV, Friday!, TV-3, 2x2, as well as Red Media’s special-interest channels and the radio station Avtoradio, production companies Comedy Club Production and Good Story Media were involved in the project. In total, the holding’s companies carried out 10 specialty initiatives during the year, which included the support for the Karta Svalok (Map of Dumps) project on Avtoradio, a volunteer clean up in Gorky Park, organized by 2x2 TV channel, and a flash mob in support of World Environment Day on the social networks of Friday! TV channel.
“The use of the holding’s unique media capabilities allows us to take the attitude to social responsibility in Russia to a whole new level. In 2017 the companies of the holding carried out more than 80 projects in the field of corporate social responsibility. In these projects we deliberately do not restrict ourselves to individual symbolic initiatives, but find points of contact with social development goals and the core human values,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, CEO of Gazprom-Media.
The international dance contest on NTV channel, Ty Super! Tantsy (You are Super! Dances) was recognized in the nomination “Support of gifted children.” The project is a continuation of the singing contest Ty Super!, which has transformed from a television show into a large-scale social project.
NTV’s charity features were also recognized with awards in the nomination “Socially responsible media.” NTV regularly offers informational support to charity foundations. The channel’s broadcasts show informational features about people, who need help along with a short number for donations. More than 80 such features were shown on NTV broadcasts in 2017, and the channel’s viewers raised more than 270 million rubles in response to the calls for help.
TV-3 channel also received an award in this nomination for the charity initiative Novogodnie Chyudesa (New Year Miracles). The charity marathon on the television channel raised funds for an urgent operation of 7-year-old Yulia Siza. Famous actors addressed the viewers, including Aleksandr Petrov, Sergey Burunov, Kirill Kyaro, Taisia Vilkova, Evelina Bledans and Denis Kosyakov. In total, the channel’s viewers raised approximately 19 million rubles, which were directed to the treatment of the girl and the patients of the foundation Detskie Serdtsa (Children’s Hearts).
Match TV’s project Kto Khochet Stat Legionerom (Who Wants to Become a Footballer) was recognized in the nomination “Support for sport and a healthy lifestyle.” The project gives young, talented players a chance to get into professional football. After the end of the show’s first season, there were 11 professional contracts signed with the project’s participants. Around 20,000 applications from non-professional footballers across the country have already been submitted for the second season of the show.
The program Best Social Projects in Russia aims to identify the best initiatives in the field of philanthropy and charity that are carried out in Russia. The organizer of the program is the foundation Sotsialnye Proyekty (Social Projects), whose main task is the organization and carrying out of socially significant projects.