Honorary awards
Janina Bany-Kozłowska. One of the best-known artist-designers of Bolesławiec ceramics and chief designer at Zakłady Ceramiczne “Bolesławiec”. The artist has been associated with Bolesławiec for 40 years and is the creator of ceramic vessel designs distinguished by their uniqueness and exceptional style. Vessels designed by Janina Bany-Kozłowska have been found on tables around the world for many years.
Łukasz Kubot. The athlete was born in Bolesławiec and began playing tennis at the age of seven. He is considered one of Poland’s greatest tennis players. He won the 2014 Australian Open Grand Slam tournament in doubles, as well as nine ATP doubles tournaments, and was a finalist in two singles and seven doubles tournaments on the ATP World Tour. Łukasz Kubot has been a regular member of Poland’s Davis Cup team since 2001.
Młodzieżowy Dom Kultury im. Stanisława Wyspiańskiego is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. MDK enables tens of thousands of children and young people to develop their interests, gain knowledge and acquire practical skills in many fields, including painting, music, dance, literature, photography and ceramics. The operation of Teatr Stary in Bolesławiec gave the Młodzieżowy Dom Kultury a new and unique character.
Wałbrzyska Specjalna Strefa Ekonomiczna “Invest-Park” Sp. z o.o. is one of the fastest-growing industrial zones in Poland. It was established by a Council of Ministers regulation dated 15 April 1997. Five investors have already located in the Bolesławiec subzone, three of whom have decided to make further investments in Bolesławiec. Wałbrzyska Specjalna Strefa Ekonomiczna “Invest-Park” is the fourth-best economic zone in Europe.
District Court in BolesławiecThe building of the District Court in Bolesławiec has been undergoing renovation for more than a dozen years. After extensive restoration, a historic hall more than 150 years old was reopened in 2014. The work, carried out under the supervision of a heritage conservator, included the wooden ceiling, stained-glass windows, bas-reliefs and floors. The neo-Gothic District Court building in Bolesławiec is one of the city’s most recognizable historic landmarks.
Awards in the science category
Karolina Helena Filistyńska, a second-year student in the mathematics-and-physics class at I Liceum Ogólnokształcące, was awarded a “zDolny Śląsk” Scholarship Program scholarship for 2013/2014 by the Chapter of the Lower Silesian Council for Supporting Talents for outstanding educational achievements. She was a laureate of the nationwide “My Thoughts on John Paul II” Olympiad. She was among the winners of the “My Parliament” competition organized by the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation as part of the “Meetings with the European Parliament” project.
Edyta Czernigiewicz, a long-serving employee of Municipal Public Kindergarten No. 7. Since 2010, Edyta Czernigiewicz has served as the kindergarten’s deputy director. She was the first person in Bolesławiec to initiate cross-border cooperation between Polish and Czech kindergartens, while also authoring all the projects carried out by Municipal Public Kindergarten No. 7 במסגרת the Euroregion Nysa: “Music and Art Unite a Cross-Border Child” and “Kindergarten Children Play at Theatre”. She coordinates the “Optimistic Kindergarten” Program, whose aim is to develop optimism and self-esteem in children.
Izabela Kulpa, a music and English teacher at Municipal School Complex No. 2 in Bolesławiec. She received a distinction in the nationwide 2013 Innovative Teacher Competition for the educational project “Anyone Can Be a Rapper – Music Connects Generations”. She represented Poland at the European Forum of Innovative Teachers and Schools in Lisbon. Izabela Kulpa writes and implements international projects and posts publications for teachers from around the world on the “Partners in Learning” platform.
Miejskie Przedszkole Publiczne nr 2 im. Marii Konopnickiej, which received a distinction in the second edition of the Minister of National Education’s “I Am 6” competition from Minister of National Education Krystyna Szumilas, earning the title “Kindergarten Well Preparing Children for School”. Since September 2013, the kindergarten has been implementing the Polish-Czech project “Multiculturalism and Art as an Opportunity for a Cross-Border Child”. Together with MOSiR, the kindergarten co-organized the first edition of the “Bolesławiec Kindergarten Run” as part of the nationwide “Poland Runs” campaign and the 13th European Street Runs – Bolesławiec 2013. In addition, the kindergarten received several valuable certificates, including Optimistic Kindergarten, Kubuś’s Friends of Nature, Add a Language to Your Favorites and Children’s Land in Europe-bis.
Awards in the culture category
Celina Foryś, a student at MZS No. 1 in Bolesławiec, wrote a children’s story about the adventures of enchanted insects, “Insect Friends and the Mystery of Fairy Root”, while battling cancer and undergoing lengthy treatment. The story was published. The book reached Polish hospitals, becoming a therapeutic tool in treating other children. Interviews with the young and very courageous woman from Bolesławiec were presented on websites as well as on radio and television (RMF FM, Dzień Dobry TVN, “Gazeta Wyborcza”).
Agnieszka Musiał, a vocalist, composer and lyricist born in Bolesławiec, began her musical journey at the State Music School in Bolesławiec. In 2013, she graduated in jazz vocals from the Academy of Music in Katowice. In recent years, as a winner of many nationwide competitions, she has performed, among others, with SISTARS and The Black Eyed Peas. She co-founded the bands On tak chciał and Beliv, with which she took first place at the Christian Song Festival in Sopot. She has worked as a backing vocalist for performers including Krzysztof Kiljański and Gabriela Gąsior. Since 2010, she has sung alongside outstanding musicians in the band New Life’m.
Grażyna Hanaf, a journalist for the newspaper and portal “Istotne Informacje”, is the author of the social novel “Joachim”, set in Bolesławiec. The book describes the city’s three most important events: the Ceramic Festival, Gliniada and Blues na Bobrem. Grażyna Hanaf is also the author of travel guides to Morocco and Provence, as well as the reportage “Glinolud” about Bolesławiec’s Gliniada, published in the weekly “Polityka”. Since 2010, she has been a lecturer for the film education program of the New Horizons Association for Film Education and the author of reviews and articles published in the “Bolesławiec Yearbook”.
Katarzyna Tomczyk-Jakubowska. She is an instructor at the modern dance studio at BOK-MCC and a physical education teacher at the Building Schools Complex in Bolesławiec. Since 2003, she has led the groups Canon, Canon Skład and Canonki. Today, approximately one hundred people aged 6–18 belong to Canon and Canonki. In 2013, the modern dance studio’s groups took part in competitions and tournaments, achieving top places, including the “Battle of Dance” Dance Competition, the 14th Nationwide Stonoga 2013 Dance Groups Tournament, and the “Battle of Dance II” Dance Competition.
Editorial team of the publication “We Had No Childhood. Memories of Bolesławiec Siberian Exiles”: Anna Gorzkowicz, Ewa Ołenicz-Bernacka, Anna Puk. This is an exceptional publication with the value of a unique document, resulting from the confrontation of two entirely different generations. The biographies included in the book concern the lives of deportees who returned from the “inhuman land”. All the stories were collected and edited by very young people who were learning about the past in this form for the first time. The nationwide magazine “My Sybiracy” published an article by Anna Gorzkowicz promoting the publication.
Awards in the social activity category
Mariusz Lickiewicz, president of the Via Sudetica Association. He was the first person in Bolesławiec’s history to organize a visit by Radiowa Trójka, enabling Marek Niedźwiecki to host the Program III Hit List and Markomania live. These events took place during the Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival and the Glinolud parade and were held under the patronage of the Third Program of Polish Radio. At Mariusz Lickiewicz’s initiative, an exhibition of works by Bolesławiec artists was held in Prague in 2013 as part of the “Discover Poland” project organized by the Polish Institute in Prague. Lickiewicz also conceived and coordinated the visit to Bolesławiec of Russian young people selected through an international competition on knowledge of Poland.
Barbara Smoleńska, a teacher at the H. Sucharski General and Vocational Schools Complex in Bolesławiec. She co-organized the “Save Your Great-Grandfather’s Grave from Oblivion” campaign, held under the patronage of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Office in Wrocław and the Lower Silesian Education Superintendent. In 2013, as part of the campaign, a group of young people from Bolesławiec visited Sieniawa in Ukraine, where, in addition to working in the Polish cemetery, residents of Bolesławiec taught Polish to local young people. Participation in this project follows from the activities of Barbara Smoleńska and Bolesławiec’s young people in previous years, together with the Bolesławiec branch of the Association of Lovers of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands.
The Association of Re-emigrants from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends was established in 2011. The Association’s aim is to preserve the memory of the places from which its members returned to Poland and to actively cooperate with Poles and their descendants from the southern Slavic lands. In 2013, Association members took an active part in many activities both in Bolesławiec and abroad. They attended a meeting with Cardinal Vinko Pulijic and participated in the projects “Seniors in Action” and “Re-emigrants from Bosnia” (a project by doctoral students of Jagiellonian University in Kraków). They helped collect materials for the book “Galicians and Serbs” and for the second edition of “The History of Poles in Bosnia”.
Bolesławiec Amazons Club responds to the needs of all women affected by cancer. The organization brings together women who not only fight their own illness but also want to help others. The club provides women after mastectomy with emotional and practical support, helps them find motivation to return to health and supports psychophysical rehabilitation and community integration. The club actively promotes breast cancer prevention, seeking to improve public knowledge of the risk of the disease and the importance of early prevention.
Bolesławiec Amateur Radio Club – operating within the Polish Amateur Radio Union, it organized an initiative during the 2013 Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival to make contact with amateur radio operators around the world, including via satellite communication. Special cards confirming the contacts were issued as part of the initiative; their content promoted Bolesławiec and the Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival.
Bolesławiec Branch of the Association of Lovers of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands has for years carried out activities aimed at preserving Borderlands traditions and culture. It cooperates with young people from Bolesławiec on projects devoted to the history and culture of the Borderlands’ inhabitants. Its involvement in the “Save Your Great-Grandfather’s Grave from Oblivion” campaign and cooperation with school history clubs should be mentioned.
Awards in the sports category
Agata Knapik, an athlete with the Oxpress Bolesławiec Student Sports Club. In 2013, she was the only woman from Bolesławiec selected for the Lower Silesian youth swimming team. Her most important achievements include first place in the 50 m butterfly at the 3rd International FLOATING ARENA CUP Swimming Meeting in Szczecin, first place in the 200 m individual medley at the Inter-Voivodeship Team Championships for 12–13-year-old youth, and first place in the 50 m freestyle at the 5th Nationwide Sprint Swimming Competition for the Supporters’ Club Cup.
Andrzej Stefańczyk, a reporter-marathon runner and correspondent for Muzyczne Radio and TVN24. Andrzej Stefańczyk has run marathons from the beginning under the name of the club “Bolesławiec City of Ceramics”. Reports from the races can always be heard on Muzyczne Radio. Bolesławiec is also heard about during the numerous regional races in which he participates. Under the name of his one-person club “Bolesławiec City of Ceramics”, he intends to win the Polish Marathon Crown.
Edward Spraski, a teacher respected by Bolesławiec’s sports community, heads the Inter-School Sports Centre. He is also deputy director for sports at the District Centre for Education and Staff Training in Bolesławiec. As a veteran, he represented Bolesławiec at World Championships, European Championships and numerous domestic and international tournaments. He won second place in the 2013 plebiscite for the sportsman of the Jelenia Góra region, organized by “Gazeta Wojewódzka”, and received the “Meritorious for Sport in Lower Silesia” badge. He won a gold medal at the 13th Polish Veterans’ Judo Championships in the M-7 category in Sobótka.
Ryszard Tomczyk, a former national-team boxer and Olympian. His achievements include the 1971 European title, as well as silver and bronze medals at the 1973 and 1975 European Championships. He was a three-time Polish champion in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. He currently achieves considerable success as a coach at TOP Bolesławiec. In 2013, athletes trained by Ryszard Tomczyk won five medals at the Lower Silesian Championships—two silver and three bronze.
Małgorzata Markowska, an athletics coach at the “Bolesłavia” Inter-School Sports Club and coach of the Lower Silesian youth team in endurance events. For more than a dozen years, she has led a group of approximately 25 athletes. Athletes trained by Małgorzata Markowska are selected for the Lower Silesian and Polish teams, earning places at the Polish Youth Championships, Polish Under-18 Championships, Polish Junior Championships and international competitions. As a coach, in 2013 she was awarded second place in Lower Silesia in youth sports by the Lower Silesian Athletics Association.
Ewa Ochocka has trained in athletics for five years. Her main events are the 100 m and 400 m hurdles. She achieved significant sporting success in the 2013 season. She is the Polish champion in the 100 m hurdles at the Polish Rural Sports Clubs Championships in Słubice. She was selected for Poland’s team at the “Olympic Hopes” International Junior Match in the Czech Republic, where she won the 400 m. In Donetsk, at the World Youth Championships, she placed ninth in the 400 m hurdles. With a time of 59.88 seconds, she set a Lower Silesian record in the 400 m hurdles. Ewa’s coach is Małgorzata Markowska.
Dominika Kwaszcz, an athlete with the “Bolesłavia” Inter-School Sports Club. Her main athletics events are hurdles and jumps. She was a double Polish runner-up at the Polish Youth Championships in Radom, in the long jump and 100 m hurdles. She is the Macroregion Youth Champion in the long jump and 100 m hurdles. She is the Lower Silesian champion in the 100 m hurdles at the Inter-Voivodeship Lower Silesian Championships and the Lower Silesian champion in the long jump at the Indoor Lower Silesian Championships in Wałbrzych. Dominika’s coach is Bartosz Gruman.
Dawid Kopała, an athlete with the “Bolesłavia” Inter-School Sports Club. His main athletics events are the discus throw, javelin throw and hammer throw. He was Polish runner-up in the hammer throw at the Polish Under-18 Championships. He was selected for Poland’s team at the “Olympic Hopes” International Junior Match, where he placed third in the hammer throw with a result of 57.20 m. He is the Polish Rural Sports Clubs champion in the hammer throw. Dawid’s coach is Tomasz Markowski.
Jarosław Molenda, president of the Bolesławiec Bridge Club, has for years initiated the organization of bridge competitions in Bolesławiec. In 2013, the Bridge Club held another competition in the Bolesławiec Three-Day Bridge event series, which included the Polish Pairs Grand Prix. The event organized by the Bolesławiec Bridge Club brings together the elite of the country’s bridge players and has become a permanent fixture in Bolesławiec’s calendar of major sporting events.
HUSAR Bolesławiec sports club. The year 2013 belonged to Bolesławiec’s HUSAR in the Polish Rugby 7 League. The club finished first in the final standings after eight tournaments and thus received the title of Autumn Champion. HUSAR Bolesławiec players were repeatedly presented with individual awards as the best players of particular tournaments. In 2013, the team took part in Polish Rugby 7 League tournaments in Żmigród, Wilkowice near Leszno, Lubin, Częstochowa and the German Rugby 7 League of the Southeastern District in Kittlitz, among others. The club organized two International Rugby 7 Tournaments in Bolesławiec, where the total number of participating athletes exceeded 200.
Bolesławiec “Juniors” Bridge Club consisting of Norman Lippik, Rafał Molenda, Jakub Patreuha and Patryk Patreuha. In 2013, youth and junior players from the “Juniors Bolesławiec” Bridge Club took part with great success—winning two individual medals and one team medal—in all youth championship-level events held in the country. They dominated the 2012/2013 Lower Silesian School Youth Championships series, finishing on the podium in almost every competition. They attended a training camp for Poland’s broad U20 squad in Szczyrk, which selected the Polish team for the European Under-20 Junior Championships in Wrocław. The club’s players’ results and high level of competitive activity led to the creation of a Bolesławiec brand recognized in the specialist press, also as a strong and important center of youth bridge.
The “Olimpijczyk” Club in Bolesławiec, operating at the District Complex of Special Schools and Institutions in Bolesławiec. In 2013, athletes from the “Olimpijczyk” Special Olympics Club competed in nine tournaments and sporting events at Lower Silesian regional and national level. They took part, among other events, in the Nationwide Special Olympics Football Tournament in Bydgoszcz, where the “Olimpijczyk” Club represented Lower Silesia and won a silver medal; the Lower Silesian Special Olympics Swimming Meeting in Wrocław; the Lower Silesian Special Olympics Football Tournament in Lwówek Śl.; and the Lower Silesian Special Olympics Athletics Meeting in Kamienna Góra.
Bolesławiec Sports Club “Bobrzanie” Senior Juniors. The BKS “Bobrzanie” senior junior team, coached by Henryk Kusojć, was promoted to the Lower Silesian Junior League and, thanks to its commitment, managed to retain its place. Playing against the best clubs in Lower Silesia, the team earned 18 points in 14 matches. It currently occupies 11th place and has a great chance to achieve a major success by remaining in the competition for a third consecutive season.
(information: ii)