The 16th Republican Recitation Competition «In Harmony of Hearts and Words» was held at the Poetry Theater. Students from various Dagestani universities and colleges participated in the competition. Among them were Dagestan State Medical University, Dagestan State Agrarian University named after M.M. Dzhambulatov, Dagestan State University of National Economy, North Caucasus Institute of VSUYU (RPA of the Ministry of Justice of Russia), Dagestan State Pedagogical University, R.N. Ashuraliyev Technical College, and Bashlarov Medical College. DSMU was represented by students Kamila Gadzhieva, Patimat Sadulaeva, and Sevil Balakerimova, under the guidance of Natalia Zalieva, Director of the Cultural Center.

The contestants were judged by Marina Akhmedova, Chairperson of the Board of the Writers’ Union of the Republic of Dagestan; Khamis Shamilova, Editor-in-Chief of the Republican Magazine «Woman of Dagestan»; Zumrud Salimgereeva, Honored Artist of the Republic of Dagestan, Uruz; Aliyeva, Senior Lecturer in Acting at the Bariyat Muradova Dagestan College of Culture and Arts; Irina Khaybulaeva, Acting Head of the Department for Work with Libraries and Educational Institutions of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Dagestan; and Timurlan Temirov, Deputy Head of the Regional Branch of the All-Russian Public Organization «Volunteers of Culture.»

The Poetry Theater hall featured poems by poets of various nationalities—those who celebrated the beauty of their land, the courage of their ancestors, and their boundless love for their homeland.

Following the competition, Kamila Gadzhieva, who recited Fazu Aliyeva’s poem «To the Health of the Mountain Girls!», received a first-place diploma. The third-place winners were Patimat Sadulaeva with Rasul Gamzatov’s poem «Native Language» and Sevil Balakerimova with Rasul Gamzatov’s poem «My Dagestan.»

The winners received diplomas from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Dagestan and cash prizes. All contestants received participation certificates.