The Gieysztor Award Committee chaired by Prof. Andrzej Rottermund awarded Prof. Norman Davies in recognition of his lifetime contribution to promoting Polish cultural heritage abroad, for his profound and critical studies showing links between the cultural heritage of Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe with the rest of the continent.
The award-giving gala was held on 9 February in The Grand Hall of Warsaw Royal Castle. Professor Davies accepted the award from Sławomir S. Sikora, President of Board of Citi Handlowy.
"I am happy to be handing this award to Professor Norman Davies, an outstanding historian and ambassador of Polish heritage. His literary work has strengthened in Poles the awareness of our history and has done a lot for popularizing our cultural heritage abroad, turning it into a part of common European cultural heritage" said Sławomir S. Sikora, President of Board of Citi Handlowy.
Aleksander Gieysztor Award has been issued annually since 1999 by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation to institutions or individuals, in recognition of their achievements in the area of protection of the Polish cultural heritage: museum, restoration, archiving and library projects; preservation and protection of Polish cultural heritage abroad; self-governmental projects for the protection of cultural heritage; individual and collective efforts leading to preserving traces and tokens of Polish cultural heritage; disseminating knowledge about the necessity and methods for preserving cultural heritage in Poland.
