16/10/2025
Winners of the IV International Contest "Leader of Public Diplomacy" were announced on the sidelines of the World Public Assembly
On the sidelines of the First World Public Assembly, the final competitions and the award ceremony for the winners of the IV Competition "Leader of Public Diplomacy — 2025" were held.
In total, the competition received more than 150 applications from 42 countries. During the educational track, the competition committee evaluated the participants' project defenses, essays, and test assignments.
A key feature of 2025: for the first time, past laureates from different countries acted as mentors, along with members of the International Organizing Committee. They helped the contestants finalize their projects, unlock their potential and prove themselves in the finals. Such interaction with mentors was especially productive during the game stage of determining the winners, when the finalists, divided into teams, built virtual cities of the future and learned the tools of public diplomacy.
On the sidelines of the World Public Assembly, the mentors of the project were represented by 10 countries: Belarus, Germany, Spain, Pakistan, Portugal, Transnistria, Russia, Tunisia, Finland, France.
The finalists were representatives of 15 countries: India, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, France, South Africa, Japan.
The representatives from Indonesia, Lebanon, Russia, France, and Japan diplomas became the First Degree Laureates.
Evgeniya Olegovna Kapusta (Russia), Deputy Chairman of the Commission for the Establishment and Operation of Regional Branches of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society, member of the Central Board of the ORKD.
Koreeda Elena (Japan, Tokyo) Founder and President of KOREEDA ENTERPRISES Co., Ltd., Founder & CEO of the Women's Business Forum in Japan "Synergy of Opportunities" & "Leading Ladies Business Alliance in Japan", an expert in international trade, business management and development, and intercultural communications in Japan.
Moshalkova Valentina Viktorovna (Indonesia), social entrepreneur. Founder of AVATAR Project Lab and Avatar Camps (Indonesia), Kaluga International School, a network of kindergartens, an expert in international education, the author of the educational model of bilingual schools and programs for future leaders, a graduate of Skolkovo and a "Female Leader. International stream"
Safa Svetlana Dmitrievna (Lebanon), Representative of the CSRC in Africa and the Middle East.
Churkina Larisa Sergeevna (France), teacher of foreign languages + RCT, Ambassador of the Russian language in the world.
Shcherbinina Irina Vladimirovna (Russia), founder of the international volunteer movement for firefighters of the DPR "Together we are Power", volunteer of the Federation of Sports and Health Clubs “Voskhod”, delegate of the international Russophile movement.
Diplomas of the Second degree laureates were awarded to representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, and South Africa.
Abdennour Haj-Farhat Marwa (Tunis), Press Secretary of the Tunisian-Russian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.
Zelenskaya Nina Anatolyevna (South Africa), Director of the Russian Children's Center in Cape Town, Deputy Chairman of the CSRC of South Africa
Ketova Galina Sergeevna (Kyrgyzstan), Honored Artist of Kyrgyzstan, Director, President of the public Foundation "Union of Compatriots", member of the CSRC of Kyrgyzstan, Vice-president of the Union of Theatrical Figures of Kyrgyzstan, board member of the World Federation of Russian–speaking Women, creator of the GALA THEATER youth theater studio.
Mirnaya Galina Alexandrovna (Russia), teacher of the highest category, Head of the club "Young Diplomats of Kuban", holder of the badge "Honorary Mentor".
Souan Ayub (Morocco), captain of a ship of the III rank, student, recipient of the medal of the President of the Russian Federation for his contribution to the development of youth policy and culture, winner of the Student of the Year nomination Foreign Student of the Year.
Tkachev Evgeny Leonidovich (Poland), Ambassador and project manager for the preservation of historical memory of the Russian Society "ZNANIE" in Poland.
Shilman (Tulina) Nadezhda Nikolaevna (Kazakhstan), journalist, editor-in-chief of the Atyrau socio-political newspaper "Caspian Commune", deputy of the regional maslikhat.
Shirinov Olimbek Makhmadbekovich (Tajikistan), member of the Council of ANO “Eurasia”, political commentator.
Diplomas of the Third degree laureates were awarded from India, Spain, Italy, Cameroon, and Russia:
Alexandrova Elena Alexandrovna (Spain), Head of the Russia-Spain Historical Memory Preservation Project and “The North - USSR Children of the War” Association.
Barilo Elizaveta Alekseevna (Russia), Master's Degree in the Russian RESOURCE Program at the Presidential Academy, Head of the BRICS Project Lab Development Department.
Bhardwaj Tatiana Victorovna (India), General Secretary of the Russian House Foundation, Delhi, India.
Gorina Natalia Nikolaevna (Italy), founder of the Russian World Educational Center in Rome, co-author of textbooks for bilingual children.
Kvartnikov Pavel Vyacheslavovich (Russia), Head of the Department for International Affairs, S.A. Yesenin Ryazan State University.
Mben II Elena Taimurazovna (Cameroon), lecturer at the Russian Theatre Institute and Head of the Russian Theater Studio TEREMOK, at the International Russian School of the Republic of Cameroon
Nigmatullin Ramil Marsovich (Russia), Head of the Molodaya Gvardiya School Museum, member of the Russian Union of Journalists.
Along with the laureates, the honorary badge "People's Diplomat" of the SCO Center for People's Diplomacy in Uzbekistan was awarded to Natalia Zabolotskikh, Program Director of the World Public Assembly, head of the Information Directorate of the WPA, coordinator of the "Leader of Public Diplomacy" competition. The expert was excited by the surprise and, accepting the award, noted: "Being a leader is a huge responsibility for your words, actions, and the people around you." The badge of honor was personally presented by Sabirov Kabuljon, Director of the SCO Center for Public Diplomacy in Uzbekistan.
After the award ceremony, the finalists of the "Leader of Public Diplomacy" competition had the opportunity to participate in venues, discussions, round tables and panel sessions of the World Public Assembly. And, sharing their impressions, they noted that everything that happened on the sidelines of the unprecedented forum helps raise the bar for their projects.
Valentina Moshalkova (Indonesia): "Platforms of this level are very iconic for people like us - people who are about ideas. Here we are shown the value of what we are doing. It's not about money. We must understand the importance of our work, and I am grateful that such contests exist and allow us to make our work visible."
Bhardwaj Tatiana (India): "We know that the world is changing and there is a huge problem in understanding who we are as people. Who will we be in 5 years in terms of integrating artificial intelligence? I realized that the World Peoples Assembly is about what distinguishes us as people? Since I am involved in the education of children, the main task of this forum for me is to understand what I need to put into education in order for children to preserve humanity. What makes a person human? We need to talk about values, identity, friendship of peoples, unification, cooperation – and this is the high bar that we must keep in education."
After the awards ceremony, the experts of the "Leader of Public Diplomacy" competition organized a small but very significant event on the sidelines of the Assembly. Yevgeny Skvortsov, a retired military man and a public figure from Belarus, handed over capsules containing the soil of the Brest Hero Fortress to his expert colleagues Yuri Karra (Transnistria) and Kristina Romanenko (Tunisia). The Certificate says: "The sacred land was taken from the places of fierce battles and immortal exploits performed by the defenders of the Brest fortress in June-July 1941 in the fight against the N**i invaders." Colleagues noted that memory, historical truth and unity in the fight against any manifestations of neo-fascism are in the hearts of people, regardless of which country they live in.
Here, on the sites of the World Public Assembly, the finalists of the competition, mentors, and experts exchanged ideas and signed a number of cooperation agreements with each other. 24 signed documents will determine the vectors of international cooperation between the Leaders of public diplomacy in 15 countries for a long time.