Representatives from nine countries win BRICS and SCO Young Leaders Award

The capital of Tatarstan hosted the third BRICS and SCO Young Leaders Award ceremony. This year, ten people won awards in five categories: ‘"Research & Innovation Project of the Year", "Social Solution of the Year", "Public Diplomacy Project of the Year", and "Eco-Initiative of the Year". "Young Media Influencer of the Year" awards were presented by Anna Lisina, Editor-in-Chief of the TV BRICS website.

Sofya Galieva-Mustafina, First Deputy Minister of Youth of the Republic of Tatarstan, invited foreign leaders to visit Russia as often as possible, expand their circle of acquaintances and continue to develop.

The winner of the "Eco-Initiative of the Year" award was Wu Chao from China, who is visiting Kazan for the second time. He has already visited many Russian cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sochi. In an exclusive commentary for TV BRICS, the winner said that the main discovery for him here in Russia was the people he met.

"I was most impressed by the people. I felt very comfortable here. I was greeted with hospitality. I think it is the people who are the most valuable thing; they make you smile and feel respected. [...] Kazan is a very beautiful city. There are many wonderful opportunities here for young leaders from all over the world," he said.

Kirtikumar Ramchandani from India is an expert in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and was awarded in the ‘Research and Innovation of the Year’ category.

"One of the best part of the BRICS Award is that you always first meet the connections and later talk about the plans. […] I established the connections especially with Russia and China. Russians are very welcoming for initiatives, especially for India," he said in an interview with TV BRICS.

Kirtikumar is currently working on a number of projects: AI models for the early diagnosis of breast and colon cancer; natural language processing tools for predicting clinical outcomes in oncology; and research into cyber vulnerabilities in popular browsers and operating systems.

Among the winners are representatives of countries that received BRICS partner status earlier this year.

One of the winners is Madinakhon Toshmatova from Uzbekistan, founder of the Smart Bag project, a school bag with adaptive features for children with visual impairments. The smart backpack is equipped with audible signals that warn of obstacles and a fall sensor that notifies parents and teachers. In addition, a built-in solar panel provides eco-friendly power for gadgets.

"The award made a huge impression on me. It is very motivating because I can see that the work on the project was not in vain. In the future, I dream of taking my project to the international level: first, the backpack will help children in schools in Uzbekistan, and then in other countries," she said.

In an interview with TV BRICS, Madinakhon shared details of her work on the invention: "I became interested in inclusive education last year. In December 2024, I started developing the project. That's when the idea came to me, and it was put into practice. By the beginning of May, my project was ready, and I submitted an application to participate in the competition."

The organisers of the event were the Academy of Youth Diplomacy, supported by the Ministry of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan, as well as the SCO National Centre for Public Diplomacy, the The Russia-BRICS Project Office for International Youth Cooperation, and others. TV BRICS is the international media partner of the award.

The event was held as part of the national project "Youth and Children" of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs' programme "Region for Youth."

Photo: Organising Committee of the "Sprouts" Forum