Nizhny Novgorod Region ranked in the Top 5 for the number of winners of the special project "Always Ready!"

      A total of over 3,000 schoolchildren and students took part in the competition selection for the special project.

      Eight representatives from the Nizhny Novgorod region received the highest scores from the competition jury and became winners of the "Always Ready!" special project of the presidential platform "Russia – Land of Opportunities." This was reported by the regional administration's press service.

      In total, more than 3,000 schoolchildren and students aged 14–17 participated in the selection process, with over 1,200 advancing to the second stage, and 635 contestants successfully completing the final creative task. The winners were 200 participants who received the highest scores from the jury.

      The annual flagship special project "Always Ready!" was created for the 100th anniversary of the Pioneer movement and has been conducted by the "Other Deed" team for the fourth season in a row. Following the second stage, 200 winners will attend a week-long training intensive on creating UGC content at the Senezh Management Workshop, along with an immersive experience of a real children’s camp: team activities, creative studios, entertainment shows, intellectual games, meetings with media speakers, and more.

      In the final competition stage, the participants were required to prepare a creative publication with nine graphic images on the theme "My Sources of Inspiration." Each image was dedicated to its own topic: "Historical Hero," "Hero of Our Time," "Literature," "Films, Cartoons, and Series," "Place in My Hometown," "Musical Artists and Compositions," "Inspiring Quote," and a source of inspiration on a free theme. The work received the highest scores for consistent graphic style, balance of visual and textual components, original interpretation of the theme with an author's signature, deep personal reflections, high literacy, and compliance with technical requirements.

      Among historical figures that serve as sources of inspiration, finalists most often wrote about rulers Peter I and Catherine the Great, military leaders Mikhail Kutuzov, Alexander Suvorov, and Alexander Nevsky, the first woman professor of mathematics Sofia Kovalevskaya, scientist-experimenter Marie Curie, cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova, the first Russian academic Mikhail Lomonosov, and Soviet scientist and rocket system designer Semyon Korsakov.

      Contemporary heroes who inspired contestants through their life paths, achievements in their professional activities, values, and actions, included President Vladimir Putin, theater and film actor Konstantin Khabensky, participants of the special military operation, Russian figure skaters Roman Kostomarov, Alexandra Trusova (Ignatova), Kamil Valiyev, Russian doctor Leonid Roshchal, and, of course, parents, mentors, and teachers of the participants themselves.

      The most beloved literary works included the allegorical tale "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, novels, fairy tales, and a poetry cycle by Alexander Pushkin, as well as the touching mystic-philosophical novel "If All the Cats in the World Disappear" by Gengo Kawamura.

      In the free theme section, contestants most often wrote about travels with family, personal hobbies, teachers, volunteering, and participation in youth forums. Inspiring quotes for the participants included not only sayings of famous people but also quotes from movies, cartoons, and books that helped them find strength and move forward, along with words of support from loved ones and friends.