The Lake Baikal Foundation announces an all-Russian competition for journalists

Photo: Ilya Sakulin

On World Water Day, the Lake Baikal Foundation for Support of Applied Environmental Research and Development announces the start of accepting applications for the All-Russian Grant Competition for Journalists “Baikal: Instruction for Conservation”. The theme for World Water Day 2021 is the value of water. The UN is calling for a global dialogue about the value of water in different contexts so that we can find solutions to preserve the "cornerstone of life". In order to make a qualitative contribution to this discussion, the Foundation invites the Russian journalistic community to a conversation about Lake Baikal, the world-famous reservoir of fresh water.

The purpose of the Contest is to attract media attention to the problems of preserving Lake Baikal through the development of environmental journalism. The competition sets the task of identifying and supporting authors who are ready to highlight aspects of the management of the Baikal natural territory and the scientific potential of Lake Baikal.

From 22 March to 22 April 2021, applications for the preparation of materials in the following thematic areas are accepted:

• Management of the Baikal natural territory (problems of legal regulation; prospects for the implementation of the national project "Ecology" on Baikal; development of responsible tourism; implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, etc.);

• Treatment facilities in the Baikal natural territory (requirements for wastewater treatment; reconstruction and modernization of existing treatment facilities; challenges in the construction and commissioning of new treatment facilities, etc.);

• Research and development in the Baikal natural territory (research in the field of biotechnology, medicine, hydrology, hydrobiology; introduction of artificial intelligence and other high technologies for sustainable development of the Baikal natural territory; study of biodiversity conservation, etc.).

The Contest Winners will be determined by the Expert Council. The size of each grant will be from 90 to 120 thousand rubles. The total grant fund of the Competition will be over 500 thousand rubles. The winners will receive grants in two stages in equal shares: immediately after the announcement of the results of the application campaign by 10 June 2021 and after the publication of the material, which should be released by 1 December 2021.

Participation in the Competition is open to full-time journalists of federal and regional print media, online media, news agencies, as well as freelance authors, subject to the provision of a free-form letter of support from the editorial office of the media that will publish the material.

As part of the Expert Council chaired by Andrey Palamarchuk, editor-in-chief of National Geographic, confirmed their participation:

• Angelina Davydova, Director of the Russian-German Bureau of Environmental Information;

• Sergey Ivashko, press secretary of the Faculty of Chemistry, Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov;

• Zorigto Namsaraev, acting Head of the Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Kurchatov Genomic Center, National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute";

• Natalya Paramonova, director of the "Ekochashka" film festival;

• Alexey Sivukhin, Chairman of the Council of Young Scientists, Ivanovo State University, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Biology, Secretary of the Scientific and Technical Council of the University;

• Maxim Timofeev, Director of the Research Institute of Biology, Irkutsk State University;

• Ilya Ferapontov, editor-in-chief of the popular science Internet publication N+1;

• Yana Khlyustova, deputy editor-in-chief of the information and service portal Indicator.Ru;

• Georgy Shahgildyan, head of the scientific communications department, member of the Council of Young Scientists of the Russian Chemical Technology University named after Mendeleev.

We support the idea of the competition, as we see that today there is not enough coverage of the real problems of preserving Lake Baikal. We hope that through joint efforts with the Fund and the involved expert community, we will be able to contribute to relevant and reliable knowledge about the state of the lake's ecosystem, the formation of a strategic position on the development priorities of the Baikal region”.

Ruslan Kokovin, General Director of BAIKALSEA Company

The organizer of the Competition is the Lake Baikal Foundation. The general partner of the Competition is BAIKALSEA Company. The media partner of the Competition is the Association of Communicators in the Sphere of Education and Science (AKSON), which ensures the transparency of the procedure for holding the event and its substantive support.

More detailed information on the conditions of participation in the Contest can be found on the Contest website, which also accepts applications from applicants.

https://baikalfoundation.ru/fond-ozero-baikal-obieiavliaet-vserossiiskii-konkurs-dlia-zhurnalistov/