125 entrees were submitted to the 5th Youth Essay · Art Contest which was held by the NEAR Secretariat. After a thorough evaluation process by the panel of judges, the recipients of the awards were announced. The Grand Award for the essay section was awarded to Shavarin Danil from Krasnoyarsk Territory, Russia, and for the art and poster section, to Myachin Evelina from Tomsk region, Russia.

The award ceremony was held on December 18(Mon.) for the Korean award receivers of the 5th NEAR Youth Essay · Art Contest. NEAR Secretary-General Hong Jong-kyoung presented the Special Recognition Award to Kim Dong-jun for the essay section of the contest.

This year marks the 5thNEAR Youth Contest since it began in 2013 to promote World Citizenship among the young people aged 14 to 18 from NEAR member regions.