On June 25, 2022, at 4:00 pm, the ceremony of awarding the VIII edition of the Benedict Pole Awards took place at the Kazimierzowski Palace in Warsaw, in the Senate Room of the University of Warsaw.

The Main Prize (in the category for a Pole) went to Dr. Joanna Bocheńska, an outstanding researcher and promoter of Kurdish culture, ex aequo with Prof. Dr. Janusz T. Pawęska, a well-known virologist working in the area of South Africa. 

Meanwhile, the Grand Prize (in the category for Foreigner) went to a British astronomer of Polish origin, Prof. Dr. Jan Charles Zarnecki, working with, among others, the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The Benedict Pole Prize has been awarded annually since 2015, usually to two people (this year exceptionally to three), a Pole and a foreigner, for outstanding exploration and research achievements on the ground, in the sea, in the air, and space. The patron of the award is a Franciscan monk, Benedict Pole, who, together with his Italian confrere Giovanni da Pian del Carpine who, from 1245 to 1247, carried out an envoy mission to the Mongol Khan, who received them in the then capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum.

Upon their return from this more than a two-year expedition, during which they traveled some 20,000 kilometers on horseback, the Emissaries gave the Pope and European courts the first detailed description of Asia, 50 years before Marco Polo's famous work was written (read more about the award on the City of Leczyca website >> ).

As in previous editions, the ceremony received the Honorary Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland Dr. Andrzej Duda, the prize pool was funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, and the event was sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Science and the University of Warsaw.  Polish Radio SA provided radio patronage of the ceremony.

The ceremony at the Kazimierzowski Palace, was attended by representatives of state authorities, local governments, and the scientific and cultural world.

After the official event, a chamber concert of classical music was performed by guitarist Mateusz Kowalski, accompanied by the Veloce String Quartet, followed by a cocktail in honor of the Laureates given by the JM Rector of Warsaw University.

Photo coverage of the ceremony is available on the City of Leczyca website >>

While the full video report is made available here >>

 

HONORARY PATRONAGE

the ceremony was assumed by the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

 

Funder of the award: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

 

The event organizers

 

Media Patronage

Saturday, June 25, 2022 3:45 pm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU1VtDUF5M0

Live from Castle Museum Łańcut, Benedic the Pole Award ceremony (with ARSO Ensemble concerto)
Saturday 23 october 2021 hour 4pm CEST

On the initiative of the Polish Chapter, on May 28, 2014 at the Castle in Łęczyca, an Agreement was signed on the creation of the Award. The signatories who created the Award Chapter are representatives of the Polish Chapter of the Explorers Club, the City Hall of Łęczyca, the County of Łęczyca and the Warsaw Scientific Society. The prize is awarded annually for outstanding exploration and research achievements on earth, in the sea and in space in the following categories: 1. Grand Award for a Polish citizen, 2. Award for a foreigner distinguished in cooperation with Polish researchers. The prize aims to promote Polish exploratory achievements and to remind, through the person of the Patron, the historical significance that our country has played in the field of intercultural contacts. Special Awards are also granted for outstanding achievements in the field of exploration. The jury has 12 members; its chairman is currently prof. dr hab. Stanisław Rakusa Suszczewski. All Winners become Honorary Members of the Award Chapter. The seat of the Award Chapter is the Royal Castle in Łęczyca, where usually in February the names of the winners of subsequent editions are announced. The ceremonies of the first four editions of the Award (2015 - 2018) were held at the Archdiocese of Tum near Łęczyca (more information about the Prize on the website - link), while the fifth edition took place on May 15, 2019 at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The ceremony of the 6th edition is planned for June 3rd, 2020 in the auditorium of the Collegium Maius (15th century) of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (link)

On Saturday, October 10, 2020 at 16:00, in the Collegium Maius of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, the 6th edition of Benedict the Pole Award ceremony will be held.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aylctbAIoc&live=1[/embedyt]

The ceremony was granted the Honorary Patronage

of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda.

The prize pool was funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Piotr Gliński.

This distinction has been awarded annually since 2015 to two nominees, a Pole and a foreigner (this year, exceptionally to three winners), for outstanding exploratory and research achievements on the ground, in the sea, in the air and in space.

The patron of the Award is a friar - the Franciscan Benedict the Pole. Together with the Italian confrere Giovanni da Pian del Caprine, in the years 1245 - 1247 he made an envoy to the Mongol Khan, who received them in the then capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum. After returning from the journey that covered about 20 thousand kilometers, the messengers gave the Pope and European courts the first detailed description of visited parts of Asia. This happened 50 years before the first edition of Marco Polo's famous work "Description of the World" (more about the Award, including the photo service, at: http://leczyca.naszemiasto.pl/tag/nagroda-benedykta-polaka-leczyca.html and about the previous ceremony in 2019 at the Royal Castle in Warsaw at: http://theexplorersclubpolska.pl).

The Award Committee gathered at the Castle in Łęczyca, the official seat of the Chapter, chaired by a famous polar explorer, prof. dr hab. Stanisław Rakusa-Suszczewski, awarded the 2020 Nominations to three distinguished researchers. Two foreign winners are: prof. dr Ēriks Jēkabsons (University of Latvia, Riga),
an outstanding historian, specialist in Latvian-Polish relations, ex aequo, with prof. Dr. Gaetano Platania (Italy), researcher of the history of Poland and Italian-Polish relations. His particular emphasis is on the history of Poland in the 17th century and the artistic patronage of the royal family of Jan Sobieski. The laureate of the prize for the Polish citizen is Father prof. dr hab. Wojciech Bęben, anthropologist, outstanding researcher of the peoples of Oceania, especially of New Guinea.
The ceremony was granted the Honorary Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda. The prize pool was funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Piotr Gliński. The event's sponsors are the PZU Group, LOT Polish Airlines and NED sp. z o.o. The event is also included in the list of initiatives supported by the "Niepodległa" Program.

In the ceremony announced their presence, apart from the Laureates: representative of the President of the Republic of Poland, HE Edgars Bondars, Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia, representatives of diplomatic missions, state and local authorities as well as the scientific and cultural world.

The official part followed by a concert performed by the Wawel Musicians' group "Floripari" will commence in a cocktail in honor of the Laureates on the Collegium Maius patio.

The media patronage was granted to TVP 3 Kraków and Radio Kraków. The course of the ceremony, hosted by the well-known journalist and presenter Anna Popek, will be broadcast live on the website of the Polish Chapter of The Explorers Club (http://theexplorersclubpolska.pl).

We cordially invite you to follow the course of this ceremony!

Mariusz Ziółkowski
Vice-chairman
Chapter of the Benedict the Pole Award

This project is part of the commemoration of the centennial of the regaining of independence and rebuilding Polish statehood.

Promoters

Sponsors

The media patronage

The Fifth Ceremony of Benedict the Pole Awards took place in the Concert Hall of the Royal Castle in Warsaw on 15th of May 2019. Benedict the Pole Awards are presented annually to two recipients, for outstanding explorations and research on land, sea, and in space. The award is named after a Franciscan friar Benedict the Pole, who accompanied an Italian friar Giovanni da Pian del Carpine from 1245 to 1247, on his diplomatic mission as a papal legate to the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. Papal emissaries travelled to the empire’s capital in Karakorum and had produced the first known to Europeans detailed accounts of Asia, 50 years before the travels of Marco Polo were famously written down. The Award Committee constituted of the Polish Chapter of the Explorers Club, City Council of Łęczyca, Łęczyca Starostwo (District Authority) Office and Warsaw Scientific Society. The laureates of the Fifth Edition include professor Robert I. Frost, a prominent British historian, an author of a number of books on Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and professor Jacek Oleksyn, a dendrologist and climatologist. The Committee also gave two special mention awards to two explorers and travelers: to Anna Kufel-Dzierzgowska, a doyenne of Polish travelers (who first travelled abroad in 1964, and who in total has made 93 expeditions to more than 30 countries) and to Mateusz Waligóra, an explorer who has made the first ever solo crossing of the Gobi desert. The Ceremony was organized under the Honorary Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda and the Awards were funded by The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The event was attended by a number of high-level representatives of public authorities including the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, professor Piotr Gliński, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Mr. Piotr Ziółkowski, chef de cabinet to professor Jarosław Gowin, the Minister of Science and Higher Education, who read out a letter written by the Minister and Mr. Tadeusz Deszkiewicz, an adviser to the President of the Republic of Poland, who read out a letter written by the President. Among the attendees of the ceremony there were also representatives of the worlds of science and culture including the vice-president of the Polish Academy of Sciences prof. Romuald Zabielski, the director of the National Museum in Warsaw professor Jerzy Miziołek and the director of the Polish Royal Opera Andrzej Klimczak. Many other officials from a number of Poland’s major academic centers participated in the event. The ceremony ended with a concert of baroque music performed by the group Capella Regia Polona and a presentation of an exhibition dedicated to Benedict the Pole and four previous editions of the Award, which took place in The Collegiate Church of St. Mary and St. Alexius in Tum and Łęczyca Castle. The event was concluded with a celebratory toast offered to honor the Laureates. Hosted by Anna Popek, a tv journalist, the ceremony was sponsored by PZU, NED project and the National Freedom Institute (PROO-5 programme). DoRzeczy.pl portal, Polish Radio and Kontynenty magazine took the media patronage over the event. The ceremony was covered by Polish TV channels TVP Info, TVP Kultura and PAP Nauka news agency. More ( but only in Polish…) on: (Facebook) >> The next, VI Ceremony of Benedict the Pole Awards will take place on June 3rd, 2020  in Cracow in the Colegium Maius Hall of te Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in Central Europe (founded in 1364 AD). You are kindly invated to take part in the event. [gallery columns="6" ids="699,701,713,702,704,705,706,707,708,709,710,711,712,714,715"]

Wystawa - Exhibition - Mostra - Bиставка - Ausstellung - Yзэсгэлэн

"25 years before Marco Polo; Benedict the Pole and Giovanni da Pian del Carpine on the court of the Khan of Mongols, 1245-1247"

Wersja polska (PDF) English Version (PDF)  Versione Italiana (PDF) Українська версія (PDF) Переклад виконаний за рахунок коштів Національного інституту спадщини (NID) Deutsche Version (PDF). Deutsche Übersetzung vom National Heritage Institute of Poland (NID) Монгольская версия (PDF) VIDEO Wersja polska [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="http://theexplorersclubpolska.pl/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/UNESCO-Mapa-Benedykt-PL.mp4"][/video] English Version [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="http://theexplorersclubpolska.pl/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/UNESCO-Mapa-Benedykt-EN.mp4"][/video] Versione Italiana [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="http://theexplorersclubpolska.pl/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/UNESCO-Mapa-Benedykt-IT.mp4"][/video]