The Uralians ought to win: the clever and wise kids of the Sverdlovsk region have been named in Ekaterinburg

27.04.2024 — News

SVERDLOVSK REGION

The regional finals of the Clever and Wise TV Olympiad were held in Ekaterinburg on April 27. The competition took place at the Sevastyanov's House, with Yuri Vyazemsky, the creator and longstanding host of the nationwide televised Olympiad, in attendance.

The contestants' knowledge was evaluated by an expert jury known as the Areopagus. It was composed of Irina Simonova, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor, Director of the Department of Philosophy at the Ural Humanitarian Institute of the UrFU named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Mikhail Kiselev, PhD in History, Associate Professor of the Department of Russian History at the UrFU, and Tatiana Titova, Associate Professor of the Department of International Law at the Yakovlev Ural State Law University.

Milana Afanasyeva (Fomin village, Irbit district), Maria Maltseva (Pervouralsk), and Olga Lukyanova (Kamensk-Uralsky) made it to the finals. The girls gave worthy answers to the questions posed by the question master and, by the decision of the Areopagus, were recognized as the winners of the regional selection.

Yuri Vyazemsky awarded the prize named after Tatiana Smirnova, editor-in-chief of the Clever and Wise TV Olympiad and his personal prize to Anastasia Yaroslavtseva (Ekaterinburg) and Nikita Sorokin (Bulanash settlement, Artyomovsky district).

"The kids are wonderful, the level of preparation is very good. But the competition scenario was tough. During the rounds focusing on Ural-related topics, I couldn't answer a single question. Except for Ernst Neizvestny, who authored the TEFI figure. I had my favorites, but they changed over the course of the game. I've been searching all this time, and I've found two guys whom I'm really counting on. The Uralians ought to win," Yuri Vyazemsky told RusBusinessNews.

The winners and runners-up of the regional selection have received a monetary reward from the Empathy Foundation in the amount of 100,000 and 50,000 rubles respectively. In the fall, they will have the opportunity to attend the shooting of the All-Russian TV Olympiad in Moscow for free, without any additional tests, and will also have the chance to enroll in MGIMO.

"On our part, the Empathy Foundation is keen to bolster children's aspirations. This year, the foundation's founder, Mikhail Shelkov, has agreed to enhance the program. Now, Empathy scholarships will be awarded not only to children who enroll in the Moscow university, MGIMO, but also to the winners and runners-up of the regional selection who choose Sverdlovsk universities too. During the first academic year the winners will be paid 30 thousand rubles a month, and the prize-winners – 20 thousand rubles," – said Yulia Uvarova, the director of the Mikhail Shelkov's Empathy Charitable Foundation.

"I still can't believe that I've become the winner of the final and will go to Moscow. That's fantastic. I really enjoyed the questions because there was a lot to ponder, a lot to think about. Overall I'm happy with the final, but it would have been even better if I had answered the second question. I dream of entering a reputable Moscow university, in particular MGIMO, to ensure a decent education for myself. I believe that education is the basis of all the basics in life," Olga Lukyanova shared.

"Our clever and wise schoolchildren are distinguished by quality general education, high culture, and erudition. To answer all the questions posed by the Areopagus and Yuri Pavlovich, they had to go far beyond the school program.  "It is crucial to support these children, who are now shaping the intellectual potential of our country, in their pursuit of learning and success," says Mikhail Shelkov, the founder of the Empathy Foundation.

Nina Zhuravleva, First Deputy Minister of Education and Youth Policy of the Sverdlovsk Region, emphasized that the participation of Sverdlovsk schoolchildren in such a vibrant intellectual competition as the Clever and Wise TV Olympiad offers an opportunity to showcase the quality of education they receive in schools and supplementary educational institutions.

"It is an honor and responsibility for the Golden Section Foundation to partner with the TV Olympiad. This intellectual challenge is a conduit to dreams for talented high school students. The very essence of the game, with the paths chosen by the participants of the Olympiad, serves as a metaphor for life's journey, where each individual selects their own approach to pursuing a dream: to proceed cautiously along the green path, or to race towards the red, with no room for error," emphasized Inna Denyush, the director of the Golden Section Foundation.