1. General Terms
1.1. The Honest View Media Award for Foreign Journalists (hereinafter referred to as the Competition or the Award) is one of the initiatives of the Russian Federation in the field of building a friendly open dialogue with the international community by identifying, popularizing and promoting the best journalistic experience in covering the foreign humanitarian activities of the Russian Federation. The award is held within the framework of the implementation of the Concept of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the field of international development assistance, approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, and is an information support tool for the state policy of the Russian Federation in the field of international development assistance.
1.2. This Terms regulates the purpose, objectives and procedure for conducting, the list of nominations, requirements for participants, competitive materials, the procedure for their provision, selection and evaluation criteria and the timing of the International Competition of information Projects for foreign media.
1.3. The official name of the Competition for public promotion: The Honest View Media Award.
1.4. The official Internet resource of the Contest (hereinafter referred to as the Website): https://honest-view.press.
1.5. The competition is a tool for identifying and encouraging authors of the best information materials with an independent point of view on Russia's foreign humanitarian, cultural and economic mission.

2. The language of the competition
2.1 Russian is the main language of the competition. The competition documentation, procedures, information, educational and festive events are conducted in Russian.
2.2 The organizer of the competition provides translation of the main documents of the competition (Regulations on the competition, information materials, news and press releases, event programs) into English and/or Arabic, and/or Spanish and/or French, and also provides simultaneous or sequential translation for the participants of the competition during the event.
2.3 The competition has no limit on the languages in which the competition materials (publications, information materials) of the participants of the competition are prepared.

3. The subject of the competition
3.1 Within the framework of this competition, for the award can apply materials in one form telling about the implementation of Russian Federation's international initiatives in the following areas:
3.1.1 Poverty eradication and promotion of sustainable socio-economic development of partner States, including post-conflict States.
3.1.2 Influence on global processes in order to form a stable and just world order based on generally recognized norms of international law and partnerships between States.
3.1.3 Overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, man-made disasters and other emergencies.
3.1.4 Support for international efforts and initiatives to increase transparency, quality and effectiveness of international development assistance, active participation in the development of common approaches to the implementation of agreed solutions in this area.
3.1.5 Strengthening the positive perception of the Russian Federation, its cultural and humanitarian influence in the world.
3.1.6 The formation of good-neighborly relations with neighboring States, assistance in eliminating existing potential hotbeds of tension and conflict, sources of drug trafficking, international terrorism and organized crime, primarily in the regions adjacent to the Russian Federation, and prevention of their occurrence.
3.1.7 Assistance to integration processes in the space of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
3.1.8 Promotion of effective public administration based on the principles of the rule of law and respect for human rights in recipient States, encouraging independent solutions to emerging problems by the Governments of such States while respecting the international legal principle of State responsibility to their citizens and the international community for their domestic and foreign policies.
3.1.9 Promotion of trade and economic cooperation.

4. Terms of the Competition
4.1. Competition material is a publication containing information about a project/projects with Russian participation aimed at expanding economic, social and cultural cooperation, contributing to strengthening Russia's influence in the world and strengthening its position in the international space.
4.2. The Competition application is information submitted electronically through a special section on the Competition Website about the Participant of the Competition / Applicant, the author (the author's team) together with text, graphic and other materials representing the content of the competition project.
4.3. The Participant of the Competition / Applicant is an individual who has filled out the electronic application form on the official website of the Competition in accordance with the stated requirements.
4.4. The reporting period of the competition is the period of the competition materials' publication. The reporting period of the 2024 competition is from November 01, 2023 to September 25, 2024.

5. Organizer and operator of the Contest
5.1. The organizer of the Competition is the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), (hereinafter referred to as the Organizer).
5.2. The Operator of the Competition is the AGT Communication Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Operator).

6. The mission, goals and objectives of the Competition
6.1 The mission of the Contest is to express public recognition of the professional activities of foreign media, journalists and authors aimed at bringing countries and nations closer together.
6.2 Objectives of the Competition:
6.2.1 Stimulating, collecting and disseminating the best practices of foreign media representatives and individual authors in covering international humanitarian projects with Russian participation aimed at expanding economic, social and cultural cooperation.
6.2.2 Raising awareness of foreign citizens about the role and participation of the Russian Federation in joint economic, social and cultural projects aimed at improving the quality of life of the population.
6.2.3 Assistance in the development of international cooperation and the implementation of joint humanitarian projects.
6.3 Objectives of the Competition:
6.3.1 Formation of a pool of information projects in the mass media, social networks and open Internet information resources that contribute to the international development of relations between Russia and foreign countries.
6.3.2 Informing representatives of foreign media in order to cover global, interregional, interstate and local humanitarian, cultural, social and economic projects of Russia abroad.
6.3.3 Increasing motivation and interest of young journalists to participate in the coverage and popularization of international projects of Russia.
6.3.4 Methodological and educational support for young journalists and authors based on the best practices of modern media technologies.

7. The order of the Competition
7.1 Participation in the competition is declarative in nature.
7.2 Applications are accepted through the form on the Contest Website.
7.3 To participate in the Competition, the Participant must fill out an electronic questionnaire on the official website of the Competition and attach the materials of the competition project.
7.4 The Expert Council has the right to submit a nominee for the Award based on information and projects available from open sources.
7.5 The Organizing Committee of the Competition conducts the selection procedure for Competitive applications. The procedures for evaluating the submitted materials and determining the winners of the Competition are carried out by the Expert Council and the Jury of the Competition, which includes reputable experts in the field of media, economic, social, and cultural areas of international cooperation.

8. Stages and formats of the Competition
01.08.2024 – 25.09.2024
Acceptance of applications on the Website
09/25/2024 – 30.09.2024
Technical processing of received applications
30.09.2024 – 11/15/2024
Evaluation of applications by the Expert Council
11/15/2024 – 11/20/2024
Determination of the winners by the Award Jury
November – December 2024
Information and educational event (media school) for young journalists and authors participating in the Competition that will take place in Moscow
December 2024
The solemn award ceremony for the winners that will take place in Moscow

9. Requirements for the participants of the Competition
9.1 The following are allowed to participate in the Competition:
9.1.1 Legal entities registered in the territory of the countries in which the Competition is taking place (editorial offices of mass media, including television, radio, Internet publications, print media).
9.1.2 Individual authors, including bloggers living in the countries where the competition is taking place, who have reached the age of 18.
9.1.3 The Applicant acquires the status of a Participant in the Competition after filling out the application form on the official website of the competition.
9.1.4 The declared format of the Participant's activity must not be closed or suspended before the start of the preliminary selection of the Competition.
9.1.5 The contact information of the Participant (or his official representative) must be up-to-date (valid) until the end of the Competition.

10. Requirements for the competition materials
10.1. Information and educational projects published during the Reporting period of the competition are allowed to participate in the Competition. The reporting period of the 2024 competition is from November 01, 2023 to September 25, 2024.
10.2. The Applicant's competition project must correspond to the subject and nominations of the Competition.
10.3. Applicants from print media provide scanned copies of materials in electronic form, stored in chronological order.
10.4. Applicants from TV companies provide video materials presented as separate files in .avi, .mov, .mp4 format, or as a link on a website or video hosting, the timing is at least 150 seconds. Each video clip is submitted as a separate file (blocks are not accepted). When using musical accompaniment, it is necessary to specify the music and text authors and to respect copyrights.
10.5. Applicants from radio companies provide audio materials of radio programs and radio reports in the form of separate audio files or links to materials published on editorial websites or representative offices on social networks, lasting at least 150 seconds, on-air references, as well as text transcripts of audio materials.
10.6. Applicants from online media provide links to the Internet pages of publications, projects and materials, as well as screenshots of Internet pages.
10.7. Applicants of photo projects provide photographs in the amount of at least 10 copyrighted works in electronic formats .tiff, .jpg, .png with a resolution of at least 300 dpi, image size of at least 3000 pixels on the wide side.
10.8. Applicants for social media projects (blogs, communities and groups, YouTube channels) provide links and screenshots of pages posted on the Internet.
10.9. All submitted Competition projects must be the Author's works of the Participants of the Competition. It is not allowed to submit Competitive projects burdened with the rights of third parties.
10.10. The competition projects must not contain texts, videos and images of a sexual nature, violence, discrimination, vandalism reflecting the bodily suffering of people and animals; information in any form humiliating the dignity of a person or a separate national group of people.
10.11. The competition projects submitted for the Competition, their content, plot, action of stage persons and characters must not contradict the current legislation of the Russian Federation. Excluded are: information about sponsors; names of political figures and parties; religious figures and movements; advertising, scenes of vandalism, violence against people and animals; humiliation of the dignity of an individual or a separate national group; obscene and offensive expressions.

11. The nominations of the Competition
11.1. During the Winner’s determining procedure, experts assess the significance of the Applicants' achievements in the following main nominations:

The Grand Prix
The Grand Prix is the main award of the year, awarded to an individual author or editorial team who has left the most noticeable mark in covering the foreign humanitarian activities of the Russian Federation

The best material on social and humanitarian issues
The award goes to the material in any genre published in any media or on any social media channel dedicated to the social or humanitarian activities of the Russian Federation abroad.

The best material on international cultural partnership with Russia
The award goes to the material in any genre published in any type of media or channel on social networks, dedicated to the international cultural partnership of the Russian Federation abroad

The best material in the genre of journalism and documentaries
The award goes to the material (project, reportage, film or series of publications) dedicated to topical socio-political issues of international partnership and interaction with the Russian Federation

The best material of young journalists about the Russian Federation
The award goes to the material on international initiatives of the Russian Federation prepared by young or novice journalists (under 25 years old).

Special nomination from the partner of the competition
The award goes to the material covering co-operation within the framework of the EAEU, BRICS and other international projects and initiatives, selected by the Jury together with the Competition partner

Cock and bull story
The award goes to the material containing the most odious fictions, distortions of facts, false stereotypes, distorted ideas, nonsense and ridiculous inventions about Russia

11.2  Based on the proposals of the Organizing Committee on special incentives and additional nominations of the Competition, the Expert Council and the Jury of the Competition have the right to introduce a number of additional nominations to highlight journalists, authors and media covering certain aspects of Russia's activities abroad.

12. Criteria for competitive materials' evaluation
12.1 The selection and evaluation of competitive projects are carried out taking into account the following criteria:
12.1.1 Compliance of the project with the subject of the Competition.
12.1.2 Disclosure of the nomination topic in which the project is presented.
12.1.3 Relevance and significance of the material.
12.1.4 The clarity of the problem statement in the project and the depth of its study.
12.1.5 The skill of presenting the material, the degree of argumentation and working with facts.

13. Summation of the Competition results
13.1 The evaluation of competitive projects is carried out by the Jury members individually and independently, by awarding points according to the listed criteria.
13.2 Based on the points awarded, the arithmetic mean for each application is calculated, after which the rating of applications for each nomination is formed.
13.3 The protocol of the results of the Competition with the full list of Award-winners and Prize-Winners of the Competition is posted on the official Website of the Competition.

14. Awarding the winners of the Competition
14.1 The Prize fund is set by the Organizer of the Competition in the form of cash prizes and awards.
14.2 The total prize fund of the contest, including cash and other prizes, is 6,200,000 (Six million two hundred thousand) rubles.
14.3 The awarding of the Award-winners and Prize-winners of the Competition is held in the format of a solemn ceremony in Moscow.
14.4 The Organizer of the Competition is not responsible for the additional costs of the Participants of the Competition, which may arise in the process of receiving cash prizes and other prizes.
14.5 Prizes are awarded personally to the winners of the Competition or its representative, in case of delegation of authority and documentary confirmation by the winning participant.
14.6 All prizes are awarded subject to availability, and may be changed during the Competition to equivalent values.
14.7 Prizes, with the exception of cash prizes, may be sent to the Participants of the Competition by mail through a transport company or any other courier service or handed over personally to the Winners as part of a Solemn Ceremony.

15. Copyright and exclusive rights
15.1 The Organizer of the Competition does not claim ownership or copyright to the competition projects provided by the Participants of the Competition.
15.2 The Organizer has the right to use all competitive projects of the Competition in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes like publications, exhibitions, advertising of the Competition in the media, social advertising, printed publications, while the copyright remains with the Participant of the Competition.
15.3 The responsibility for the observance of copyrights to the materials of the competition project participating in the Competition is borne by the Participant of the Competition who sent this competition project to the Competition.
15.4 By submitting a competition project to the Competition, the author/ copyright holder confirms his consent to use the materials sent by him as part of the competition project without paying royalties in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
15.5 In case of claims by third parties related to the placement of materials in the content of the competition project on the official Website of the Competition, as well as with the subsequent use of materials of such a competition project, the Participant of the Competition undertakes to settle these claims with third parties on his own and at his own expense.

16. The Organizing Committee of the Competition
16.1 The Organizing Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Organizing Committee) is the executive body of the Competition.
16.2 The composition of the Organizing Committee is approved by the Organizer and posted on the official website of the Competition.
16.3 The function of the Organizing Committee is to coordinate and provide organizational and methodological support for the Competition, as well as organizational and technical support for the preparation and conduct of competitive procedures and the conduct of the Competition, including:
−      legal, informational and financial support of the Competition;
−      development and approval of the Competition Regulations;
−      formation of the composition and organization of the activities of the Expert Council;
−      collection of the applications from Participants, formation lists of nominees from them (hereinafter referred to as Nominees) and submission of them to the Expert Council, calculation of the overall results and formation of the list of laureates of the Competition (hereinafter referred to as Laureates);
−      administration of the Contest Website;
−      organization and holding of the award ceremony of the Laureates;
−      perform of the other functions necessary for the Competition.
16.4 In the course of their activities, members of the Organizing Committee should not disclose information related to the composition of Nominees' applications and the selection of Laureates.

17. Expert Council
17.1 The Expert Council is the expert and analytical body of the Competition who evaluates applications submitted for the Competition in all nominations. The Expert Council includes representatives of the scientific community, educational authorities, the media, and educational organizations.
17.2 The composition of the Expert Council is approved by the Organizing Committee and posted on the Competition website.
17.3 The selection of the members of the Expert Council (hereinafter referred to as Experts) is carried out by the Organizing Committee.
17.4 The functions of the Expert Council are:
−      independent examination and evaluation of Nominees' applications.
−      voting for the Nominees' applications.

18. The Competition Jury
18.1 The Jury of the Competition is formed by the Organizing Committee and the Organizer of the Competition. The Jury of the Competition includes representatives of the expert and journalistic communities, heads and editors-in-chief of the media, experts on the subject of international cooperation.
18.2 The competence of the Competition Jury includes:
−      consideration of competitive projects;
−      professional, objective and independent evaluation of competitive applications;
−      determination of winners and laureates in the nominations of the Competition;
−      summing up the results of the Competition.
18.3 The composition of the Competition Jury is published on the official Website of the Competition.

19. Other conditions
19.1 The Organizer of the Competition reserves the right not to accept for publication or delete any materials in the composition of the competition project or the Participant of the Competition for any reasonable reason.
19.2 The Organizer of the Competition is not responsible for the materials in the Application that were not received due to any technical problems. The Organizer of the Competition is not responsible for the inaccuracy or unreliability of information due to the actions of the Participants of the Competition or the actions of any other persons or as a result of the failure of any equipment or program related to or used in the Competition.
19.3 If this Competition cannot be held in accordance with the plans for any reason as a result of infection with a computer virus, software or hardware errors, forgery of software and documents, unauthorized interference, fraud, technical problems or for other reasons beyond the control of the Organizer of the Competition, violating or distorting management, security, fairness, honesty or the proper conduct of this Competition, the Organizer of the Competition reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any person who has forged an application, or cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest.
19.4 The provision of materials as part of the Competition Application is the consent of the Participant of the Competition with all the conditions of the Competition set out in this Regulation.

20. Final provisions
20.1 The Organizer of the Competition reserves the right to unilaterally make any changes to these Regulations without prior notification to the Participants of the Competition. At the same time, the Organizer of the Competition publishes a new Regulation on the official website of the Competition.
20.2 The changes made to these Regulations come into force from the moment they are published on the official Website of the Competition in the relevant sections.

21. Contact information
21.1 Contact information is published in the relevant section on the Official Website of the competition.