Aleksander Gieysztor Award has been issued annualy by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation for fifteen years. Its aim is to promote and support of those (people and institutions) who undertake activities to protect Polish cultural heritage both in Poland and abroad. The Award is considered to be the most prestigious distinction in this field, both by society as a whole and by the media and state administration. Each year the Award giving Gala hosts representatives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. This year, the jubilee edition of the Award was held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski.
The winner of the jubilee 15th edition of the Aleksander Gieysztor Award was the Social Committee for Care of Old Rossa, the oldest Polish necropolis in Vilnius. The award giving took place in the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Thursday, 6 February.
The Gala was attended by over 400 people - politicians, diplomats, outstanding cultural figures, heads of the largest non-government organisations in Poland and representatives of business, including Citi Handlowy's clients.
Participants at the ceremony included Jacek Michałowski, Head of the Chancellery of the Polish President, who read out a letter from President Bronisław Komorowski, and Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, government spokesperson, who read out a special congratulatory letter from Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Małgorzata Omilanowska, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage also delivered a speech. Appearing on behalf of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Bogdan Zdrojewski, she not only stressed the merit of the Prof. Aleksander Gieysztor Award in supporting those most deserving credit for protecting Polish heritage, but also pointed out the increasing role and involvement of business in this field.
The ceremony was hosted by Witold Zieliński, Vice President of the Management Board of Citi Handlowy, and Andrzej Rottermund, Director of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, who expressed his praise for the laureate of the Award. Presenting the Award to the Chairwoman of the Social Committee for Care of Old Rossa, Witold Zieliński reminded the assembled guests that cultural heritage could not be a secondary or incidental matter in any country, but should be one of the basic values treated with special care.
Among those invited to the Gala were Iwona Śledzińska - Katarasińska, Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Culture and Media Commission, who personally proffered her congratulations to Alicja Klimaszewska, Chairwoman of the Social Committee for Care of Old Rossa. Bogusław Winid, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, used his Twitter account to congratulate the recipient of the award, and also stress the eminent achievements of The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation in the field of protection of Poland's cultural heritage.
