Published on: 2026-07-13
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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The results of the application campaign for the international award #WeAreTogether have been announced. They were presented at the press conference “#WeAreTogether Award: The Contribution of Civil Society to Supporting the Special Military Operation and Strengthening the Unity of the Peoples of Russia.” The event took place at the Hospital of St. Alexius – a first-degree award laureate of 2024. The organizers are Rosmolodezh and the social development ecosystem “Dobro.RF.”
“Over six years, the #WeAreTogether award has gained the status of the main award for all volunteers in Russia and the world. Thanks to it, a powerful community of social initiative leaders has been formed. Throughout this time, more than 250 thousand applications have been submitted for the award, about 750 participants became finalists and received support for their projects. Since last year, #WeAreTogether has been held as part of the national project ‘Youth and Children’, and from this year – the Year of the Unity of the Peoples of Russia – a special nomination ‘The Power of Unity’ was launched. It has gathered over 1 thousand applications. And the most popular category for ‘NGOs and projects’ remains ‘Heroes of Our Time’ – projects supporting participants of the special military operation, their families, and residents of border areas,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.
The #WeAreTogether Award was launched in 2021 with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is developing in both Russian and international directions. Every year, the regional stage of the award unites participants from all over the country, and starting in 2024, applications can be submitted by subjects of the Russian Federation and municipal entities. The award’s Organizing Committee is chaired by the First Deputy Chief of the Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko and Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. In terms of scale of involvement, number of participating countries, and systematic support measures, the #WeAreTogether Award remains the largest in the country and one of the most representative in the world.
“In the sixth season of the #WeAreTogether award, we received a record 60 thousand applications from volunteers and authors of social projects from 155 countries around the world. This is more than 8 thousand applications more than last season, proving that Russia firmly holds the status of the world capital of volunteering. The #WeAreTogether award allows us to recognize and support volunteers and leaders of social initiatives who demonstrate civic responsibility through constructive work, caring attitude towards others, and helpful deeds,” noted Grigory Gurov, head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and secretary of the award.
Compared to the previous season, the number of applications increased by 16%, and the number of participating countries rose by 8.
The international direction of the award continues to grow both in the number of projects and in geography. This year, 5,537 applications were submitted — 34.2% more than in 2025 (4,126 applications). Over six seasons, the number of applications on the international track has increased nearly 13 times, and since 2021, more than 14.7 thousand have been submitted in total. The most applications came from Uzbekistan (538), Nigeria (482), India (457), Pakistan (240), and Algeria (188). The activity of African countries has noticeably increased: Nigeria rose to second place in the number of applications, with Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon, and Uganda also among the leaders. This year’s international track is connected with the UN International Year of Volunteers.
“A recent UN report showed that about 2 billion people are involved in the volunteer movement, with approximately 900 million participating monthly. Volunteering has become a universal language, understood on all continents, and the award helps find leaders around the world. Many of its participants then go on international missions: the ‘Mission Good’ program, launched by order of the President, united a volunteer reserve of more than 600 specialists – about 10 missions have already taken place this year, with about 15 more planned by the end of the year. The year 2026 has been declared by the UN as the International Year of Volunteers, and Russia has become its co-organizer,” emphasized the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy, head of the “Dobro.RF” ecosystem, Artem Metelev.
Volunteers, mentors, NGO leaders, non-profit organizations, teams of individuals (including children’s teams with participants aged 14 to 17), as well as representatives of businesses, municipalities, and regions, could participate in the national direction of the award. In the sixth season, there are four main categories: “Personality,” “NGOs and Projects,” “Companies,” and “Territory,” as well as a new special nomination, “Power of Unity.”
Inside the country, the main leader among the nominations is the personal nominations in the ‘Personality’ category, where people demonstrate their willingness to take responsibility for the well-being of society.
The most popular nomination in the “NGOs and projects” category was “Heroes of Our Time.” It included projects supporting participants of the special military operation, residents of new and border regions, servicemen, and their families. Among other in-demand nominations in the category are “Country of Opportunities” (5195 applications) and “Code of Mercy” (3015). The partners of the “Heroes of Our Time” nomination are the All-Russian People’s Front and the state fund “Defenders of the Fatherland.”
“The finalists of the award do not part ways after the ceremony – we remain a community. In the federal club ‘Mayak,’ people from different parts of the country have united, and in the regions, the gathering points of the #WeAreTogether movement are the regional clubs of finalists. Most of our work today is helping the front line and border areas. We collect and deliver humanitarian cargo, participate in missions, support the families of fighters. The award gave us not only recognition but also like-minded people,” said Oksana Klementyeva, a member of the federal club of finalists of the #WeAreTogether award “Mayak.”
This year, a special thematic category “The Power of Unity” was introduced in the award – more than 1,000 applications were submitted for it. The category recognizes projects that strengthen the unity of the peoples of Russia, develop interethnic dialogue, and engage representatives of different cultures in collaborative creative work.
“Our theater speaks the language of the cultures of the peoples of Russia. In the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, it is especially important to show how strong we are together. We combine traditions and modern technologies so that cultural heritage lives on and is interesting to the youth. The #WeAreTogether award helps such a project find an audience and partners across the country,” said Alexey Rybakov, head of the immersive theater “Kalyk Shynyk.”
In the “Companies” category, 1,153 applications were received from businesses implementing social projects: 422 from large companies and 731 from representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The “Territory” category includes comprehensive support programs for the non-profit sector, volunteering, and charity in the subjects and municipal formations. In the “Subject of the Russian Federation” nomination, 26 regions are participating – their applications are signed by the highest officials, and in the “Municipal formations and monotowns” nomination – 304 municipal formations. Partners of the category are the state corporation Rosatom and the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local Self-Government (VARMSU). Among Russian regions, the most applications came from Moscow (4565), Moscow Region (2417), Krasnodar Krai (2212), Saint Petersburg (1766), and Chelyabinsk Region (1683).
Within the regional stage of the award, all applications are already undergoing expert evaluation. The final decision will be made by an honorary jury consisting of members of the award’s organizing committee and partner companies. The winners will be announced in December 2026 at the International Forum on Civic Participation #WeAreTogether.
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