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
