The awards ceremony for the annual national program Best Social Projects of Russia was held on April 28, 2017. Gazprom-Media Holding and the projects of the television channels NTV, Match TV, Friday! as well as the radio stations Ekho Moskvy and Radio Romantika received diplomas in six categories.
Gazprom-Media Holding was recognized with an award in the nomination “Medical-social projects” for the informational campaign #STOPVICHSPID (Stop HIV and AIDS). The holding carried out a full-scale educational campaign in a 360 degree format on World AIDS Day across all resources of the holding - television channels, radio stations and online resources, which allowed the message to reach the widest possible audience. Special reports and features about preventing the illness were created as part of the initiative, as well as video materials with the participation of television stars, targeted at a young audience. The television campaign covered more than 22 million viewers.
In the nomination “Support of gifted children” the diploma was awarded to NTV channel’s international musical contest Ty Super! (You are Super!). The project gives children, who were left without parental care, a chance to express themselves. Another initiative of NTV channel, Puteshestvie Deda Moroza s NTV (The Journey of Santa Claus with NTV), was also recognized in the nomination “Projects in support of socially unprotected strata of the population.” In 48 days the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, Ded Moroz, together with the TV channel’s team, visited 100 social institutions in 20 cities, fulfilled the wishes of 5,000 children living in orphanages and boarding schools, delivered a holiday greeting to 160 children from large families as well as to their parents.
In the “Education” category, the Friday! channel’s educational project, Studio of Friday!, created together with the Moscow State University, was recognized as the best. Friday! channel also won in the nomination “Socially-responsible Media” for the charity reality show Sekretny Millioner (The Secret Millionaire). The main characters of the project are Russian businessmen and entrepreneurs. Each of them provides financial support to charity foundations and those in need. The program brings to light the needs of each organization, so that the viewers also have an opportunity to offer their help.
Awards in this nomination also went to the radio stations Ekho Moskvy for the program Chuvstvitelno (Sensitive) and Radio Romantika for its charity marathon Den Detstva (Day of Childhood).
Match TV’s project Inspector ZOZH (Healthy Lifestyle Inspector) was recognized in the nomination “Support for sport and a healthy lifestyle.” In the show, the popular blogger Sergey Dolya traveled around the country and evaluated how the principles of a healthy lifestyle are gaining root in the different cities of Russia.
“Recognizing the cultural and social influence that the holding renders on a multi-million audience, we are shifting the focus from one-time charitable initiatives to complex support and promotion of socially significant topics. Our uniqueness lies in the fact that the Gazprom-Media brands, covering various audiences, can talk about social problems in an understandable and accessible language, and engage the audience in solving them,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding.
The event Best Social Projects in Russia is designed to identify the best projects in the field of charity and philanthropy that are carried out on Russian territory. The program’s organizer is the Social Projects Foundation, whose main activity is the organization and delivery of socially significant projects. The initiative is supported by Russia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Development.