It has become a tradition to award the Economic Forum Awards. During the ceremonial gala on the first day of the forum, the following are honored: Person of the Year, Company of the Year, Non-Governmental Organization of the Year. A Special Award is also awarded.
The first Person of the Year title, for 1999, was awarded equally to Viktor Yushchenko, then Prime Minister of Ukraine, and Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, then President of the National Bank of Poland. This was the only such situation; in subsequent years, the Program Council selected individual figures. However, there were both Poles and foreigners in this group. The Economic Forum has an international reach and is one of the largest events of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe.
Freedom relay
The Person of the Year title was awarded to, among others: Donald Tusk (for 2007), Jerzy Buzek (2008), Bronisław Komorowski (2011), Beata Szydło (2016), and was also awarded to Pope John Paul II (2001). Among the awarded figures from abroad were: the famous anti-communist activist and President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel (2006), President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso (2009), Janez Janša, Prime Minister of Slovenia (2020), President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski (2021) and the United States Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski (2023).
During the ceremony of presenting the latter award, Zygmunt Berdychowski, founder of the Economic Forum and chairman of the Program Council, emphasized that Mark Brzezinski is continuing the work of his father Zbigniew.
– It was people like Zbigniew Brzeziński on the one hand and millions of Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians on the other who broke the post-Yalta division of Europe (…). Today, in the relay of generations of people defending freedom, Zbigniew Brzeziński is being replaced by his son – Mark Brzeziński – said Zygmunt Berdychowski.
– We currently live in a time when America and Poland share the same freedom, and now – in the face of Russian aggression – we are uniting again. The response to the war in Ukraine is proving to be one of the momentous moments in the history of the unique Polish-American friendship – said the laureate (quote from PAP.pl).
Among the winners of the Special Award, alongside such figures as the architect of the Polish transformation Leszek Balcerowicz (2008) or the Belarusian oppositionist Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (2019), the Ukrainian Maidan (2013) and the Ukrainian society (2020) were also honored after Russia’s attack on that country. As emphasized in the laudation, the latter award was granted for the perseverance of people facing the tragedy. The award was received in Karpacz by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
– I would like to thank Poland for its solidarity and for supporting independent Ukraine – he said.
In the Company of the Year category, awards were given to companies that create and develop the Polish economy in a special way, and are often its pillars. This title was won by, among others: PKN Orlen (for 1999), Maspex (2008), the Warsaw Stock Exchange (2009), PKO Bank Polski (2018), KGHM Polska Miedź (2020) and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (2023).
The title of Non-Governmental Organization of the Year was awarded to, among others, the Stefan Batory Foundation (2002), the ABCXXI – All of Poland Reads to Children Foundation (2010), the Polish Humanitarian Action (2017) and Caritas (2018). Organizations focused on bilateral international activities were also awarded. This group included the Polish-Czech-Slovak Solidarity Foundation (2005) and the Polish-American Freedom Foundation (2007).
This year’s nominations
Who will receive awards this year? The XXXIII Economic Forum will be held in Karpacz on September 3–5.
– Back in June, the chairman of the Program Council asked all its members to submit their proposals for people and institutions that would be recognized this year. After completing the nomination procedure, ballots were sent to all members of the council on July 30. The voting process is ongoing and will end on August 30. In the Person of the Year category, eight people have been nominated, in the Company of the Year category we have ten proposals, Non-Governmental Organization – two, Special Award – also two. The members of the Program Council will make the selection – says Zygmunt Berdychowski.
Organizer
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