This year’s award ceremony was held virtually. Bolesławiec Mayor Piotr Roman announced the presentation of 20 awards: 3 awards in science, 5 in culture, 1 in social activity, 8 in sport and 3 in the “other” category. In addition, 2 honorary awards and 4 distinctions were presented.
Awards in the fields of science, culture, social activity, sport and other areas are presented by the Mayor of Bolesławiec at the request of authorized entities, after consultation with the Education, Culture and Sport Committee of the Bolesławiec City Council. The awards are confirmed by a statuette, and recipients also receive a financial grant.
Since 2004, the Mayor of Bolesławiec has also presented honorary awards. They are granted for particularly valuable social initiatives that contribute to promoting the city. An honorary award is confirmed by a statuette. In recognition of achievements in promoting Bolesławiec, distinctions were first presented in 2006.
Recipients of the award for promoting Bolesławiec in 2019
HONORARY AWARDS
- “Ceramika Tyrcz” Alina and Bogusław Tyrcz
The “Ceramika Tyrcz” company was established in 1999. Initially a small family business, over the years it developed as interest in its ceramic products grew, while its production line was expanded and modernized. The company currently employs several dozen people.
“Ceramika Tyrcz” offers several hundred types of products, including dozens of decorations ranging from traditional designs to unique ones. The company also makes custom-made dishes. The business belongs to the Bolesławiec Ceramic Brotherhood. It presents its products during the Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival and organizes various events and attractions at that time. The company’s products are exported to many countries, including the USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, Russia, Germany, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. The company also takes part in trade fairs, including in many Polish cities as well as Berlin and Bochum. “Ceramika Tyrcz” products have also been presented at exhibitions in Bolesławiec and in Italy: Vietri sul Mare, Rome, Ancona and Faenza. - II Community Self-Help Home
The II Community Self-Help Home has existed since September 1, 2004. In 2019, it celebrated its 15th anniversary. The Home is managed by Agnieszka Pisarek-Grzesiak. The Community Self-Help Home is a support center for adults with disabilities who have completed or do not continue their education at special schools and are not employed. Over the years, it has helped hundreds of adults. The center’s most important task is to provide supportive and rehabilitative care, that is, to maintain and develop the skills of people participating in therapeutic activities, which are necessary for living as independently and with as much dignity as possible. Participants have the opportunity to develop their interests and creative potential in specially adapted workshops: art, carpentry, music, household management, cooking, rehabilitation and remedial education. As Agnieszka Pisarek-Grzesiak said about the Home: “It would not exist if not for human weaknesses, a lack of certain skills, helplessness, loneliness and difficult moments in life. In this home, however, we believe that every weakness—if one wants to—can be transformed into strength, that one can achieve and see successes every day, even the smallest ones, and that everyone, at any time, possesses inner treasures, such as various skills, the ability to perceive the world and other people through different senses, presence, readiness to help and a constant desire to develop.”
CULTURE
- Danuta Amborska
Danuta Amborska graduated from the ceramic department of the State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Nowy Wiśnicz. In 1977, she began working at the Bolesławiec Industrial Ceramics Works (now Zakłady Ceramiczne “Bolesławiec”) as a senior master in the model-making department, while also working in the Design Department. From 2004 to 2019, she served as head of the Design Department, managing a team of several people. She is the author of several hundred classic, premium, unique and exclusive decoration designs. The current catalog contains 268 designs created by her. Several dozen additional older designs not included in the catalog are available for sale. She is also the author of the most popular and recognizable decoration produced by ZC “Bolesławiec”—166A, created in 1998. Her works have been presented at, among other places, the “Ambiente” International Trade Fair in Frankfurt am Main; in Italy, in Vietri sul Mare, Ancona, Rome and Faenza; at the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw; and in many Polish cultural institutions and museums. Danuta Amborska conceived the arrangement of the company stand that won an award at the Frankfurt trade fair and received an honorary distinction from the StandOUT Ambiente 2016 Competition Jury. She is the author of the idea of decorating the human body with stamps, known as “Zdobinki”. - Mariusz Ochocki
Mariusz Ochocki is the Chief Designer and Artistic Director of the Artistic Handicraft Cooperative “Ceramika Artystyczna”. He graduated from the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Wrocław, now the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław. He studied in the Sculpture Studio under Prof. Feliks Kociankowski and in the Ceramic Techniques and Technologies Studio under Prof. Stanisław Szyba. He works in ceramic design, sculpture and graphic art. His works have been presented at, among other places, the “Ambiente” International Trade Fair in Frankfurt am Main; in the United States; in Tokyo, Japan; in Italy, in Vietri sul Mare, Ancona, Rome and Faenza; at the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw; and in Polish cultural institutions and museums. As a form designer, in 2018 Mariusz Ochocki received the special “Design of the Year” award from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for the outstanding design qualities of a coffee set in the “Geometric Solids” decoration, as well as the “Good Design 2018” award for the outstanding design qualities of a collection of bowls and serving dishes shaped like fish in the “Cobalt Clouds” decoration. - Jan Bujak
He was born in Bosnia as the child of Polish-origin settlers. He lived in Bolesławiec County for 40 years. Jan Bujak is a great “Guardian of Memory”, the author of many publications issued over the past 10 years, for which he gathered material while traveling hundreds of kilometers across Bosnia, where Poles once lived. In them, he faithfully and meticulously recreated memories of those difficult times and the fate of Bosnia’s Polish communities. Jan Bujak’s greatest work is the publication entitled “Polish Parishes in Bosnia in 1891–1946”. At the same time, the trilogy “Galicians and Serbs” is particularly interesting; it was recently promoted at the embassies in Sarajevo and Zagreb and in Croatia. Many Poles living in Bosnia and Croatia took part in the meetings. Recently, many meetings have also been held in Lower Silesia and Podkarpackie Voivodeship. Jan Bujak has been awarded the Honorary Badge “Meritorious for Lower Silesia” and is an Honorary Member of the Association of Reemigrants from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends. - Dariusz Gołębiewski
Dariusz Gołębiewski is currently a third-year history student at the University of Wrocław. He is deeply interested in the history of Bolesławiec and the region, promoting Bolesławiec both among residents and nationwide. Since December 2014, he has run a Facebook website called “Bolesławiec and the Surrounding Area—Then and Now”, popularizing various issues concerning the history of Bolesławiec and its surroundings and covering selected current events in the city. He provides free guided tours at the request of tourists and Bolesławiec residents. In 2019, he organized a dozen historical themed tours in Bolesławiec and several in Lower Silesia and Saxony. At the Historical Institute of the University of Wrocław and at the “Orzeł” Cultural Integration Center in Bolesławiec, he organized lectures on the history of Bolesławiec. As part of his student placement at the Museum of Ceramics, he took part in an episode of the television program “Ruszaj z nami”, broadcast on August 15, 2019, on TVP3 Wrocław, during which he spoke about the history of Bolesławiec. He compiled and published a list of Bolesławiec’s mayors from 1190–2019, available on the “Bolesławiec and the Surrounding Area—Then and Now” website. - Song and Dance Ensemble “Mały Bolesławiec”
The Mały Bolesławiec Song and Dance Ensemble was established 37 years ago, in 1981. For the past nine years, the ensemble has been led by Anna Idkowiak, a teacher and instructor of folk and national dances. The ensemble currently works in three age groups and has about 60 dancers. The dancers are accompanied by a band consisting of several people and led by Wojciech Piwowarski. Marek Łętowski, responsible for the ensemble’s vocal preparation, also works with the ensemble on a permanent basis. It is one of the few youth folk ensembles in Lower Silesia. The large number of performances given each year by the Mały Bolesławiec Song and Dance Ensemble promotes the city as a place where not only traditions connected with Polish folklore are cultivated, but also the folklore of the lands with which Bolesławiec residents are connected. A particularly important event for the ensemble was its trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it was able to promote folk culture not only at the important international “Little Europe” festival, but also by performing songs and dances at the base of the Polish Military Contingent in Bosnia and Herzegovina—Butmir.
SCIENCE
- Bogna Łasica
Bogna Łasica is an English teacher at the I General Secondary School in Bolesławiec and also conducts additional after-school Spanish classes for students. She is the author and coordinator of the international Erasmus+ school cooperation project Creating Competent Citizens using 4Cs, whose aim is to develop responsible citizenship and four future-oriented competencies: cooperation, communication, creativity and critical thinking. The project partners are schools from Spain, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Italy. Bogna Łasica is also the originator and implementer of a cooperation project between the I General Secondary School and American soldiers stationed in Bolesławiec. As part of integration activities in 2018/2019, students improved their English communication skills by presenting local history and culture to the American guests at school and showing them around the city. - Primary School No. 3 named after the Home Army in Bolesławiec
In the 2018/2019 school year, Primary School No. 3 carried out the international project “100 Years of Reciprocity and Diversity”, whose finale took place during a visit to Ukraine in April 2019. The teachers devoted their free time to implementing, as volunteers, the ideas and passions of young people from four countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. The project’s main objective was to eliminate distrust and prejudice toward immigrants and strengthen respect for cultural differences. The project partners aimed to present the history and present-day reality of each culture and the mutual intercultural influences among the nations involved. The project assumed cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices through a strategic partnership. The project activities and partners’ meetings made it possible to achieve this objective and meet the needs of the communities of the four neighboring countries. - Team promoting Kindergarten No. 7 in Bolesławiec: Katarzyna Kwapisz and Żaneta Tylczyńska-Giela
Teachers Katarzyna Kwapisz and Żaneta Tylczyńska-Giela are particularly active in carrying out tasks arising from the kindergarten’s long-term action and development plan. Their activities related to obtaining external funding and cooperation partners deserve particular emphasis. They are the authors and coordinators of the project “Sensory Integration—an Investment in Children’s Future”, whose aim is to familiarize kindergarten teachers and parents of children with dysfunctions with the principles of sensory integration therapy and enable children at the kindergarten to use elements of this therapy. The teachers wrote two projects under the ERASMUS+ program, which contributed to developing participants’ skills and increasing their employment prospects, as well as projects concerning the modernization of education systems, training and youth support. The teachers continually improve their qualifications through courses, training and postgraduate studies, adapting to the institution’s current needs and objectives.
SOCIAL ACTIVITY
- Society of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands
The Bolesławiec branch of the Society of Friends of Lviv and the Southeastern Borderlands is an active participant in public life in the city and the initiator of many projects promoting Bolesławiec. The largest recurring initiative in which the Society participates is the campaign “Save the Grave of Your Great-Grandfather from Oblivion”. Year-round activities include meetings on the Borderlands, collections for cemeteries in the Borderlands, collections of candles and donations, holiday card collections for friends in Ukraine, and trips to Ukraine during which Bolesławiec residents clean prewar Catholic cemeteries. In 2019, Society members received numerous awards for their activities: Zbigniew Junkiewicz received the Award for Promoting Bolesławiec in 2018 and the so-called Borderlands Cross; Barbara Smoleńska received the Medal of Merit for Zbarazh, the title of Meritorious Citizen of Bolesławiec, Volunteer of the Year 2019 and the so-called Borderlands Cross. In addition, Stanisława Balawender, Adam Fornal and Alfred Kwarciak received the title of Meritorious Citizen of Bolesławiec. The Society’s activities are presented on Facebook and on local television, and in 2019 the local Zbarazh newspaper “Narodne Słowo” once again published a major article promoting Bolesławiec entitled “Friends from Poland Brought a Surprise”.
SPORT
- Oliwia Zagdańska
In 2019, Oliwia Zagdańska represented Bolesławiec many times, taking part in several dozen swimming competitions at district, regional and national levels. She reached the podium at almost every competition, winning mostly gold medals and the titles of best athlete in her age categories. She ended the swimming season with a successful appearance at the Polish Junior Championships for Under-14s in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. Other major achievements include participation in the Winter Championships of the Lower Silesian Regional Swimming Association in Nowa Ruda, where she won 3 gold medals, 1 silver medal and - Tomasz Hajde
An athlete of the “Olimpijczyk” Bolesławiec Special Olympics Club. In 2019, he won a gold medal in the 800 m race and a gold medal in the long jump at the 8th European Youth Games for People with Disabilities “Emil Open” in Brno, where 600 athletes from 17 countries competed. In addition, at the 9th Lower Silesian Special Olympics Cross-Country Skiing Meeting in Jakuszyce, he won gold medals in the 500 m and 3,000 m races, a gold medal at the 13th Lower Silesian Special Olympics Badminton Tournament in Legnica, and a gold medal in the pentathlon at the 19th Special Olympics Athletics Meeting in Kamienna Góra. - Martyna Stos
An athlete of the “Olimpijczyk” Bolesławiec Special Olympics Club. In 2019, she won a bronze medal at the Individual Polish Championships for People with Disabilities in Table Tennis in Wisła, and bronze medals at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grand Prix for People with Disabilities. In addition, she placed fifth at the 19th Table Tennis Tournament for People with Disabilities in Jawor and second in the women’s category at the Lower Silesian Championships for People with Disabilities in Table Tennis in Bolesławiec. - Szczepan Paszek
Szczepan Paszek is an athlete with the Bolesławiec cycling club Bikestacja-Fitwheels. He is a multiple winner of road, cyclocross and MTB races at district and national levels, and a two-time winner of the overall classification of the Bikemaraton series. The past two years have been a festival of successes and victories in all kinds of amateur cycling races—primarily cyclocross and mountain MTB cycling. In 2019, he won, among other things, the Polish Cyclocross Championship, the Polish Mountain Bike Championship silver medal and first place in the overall classification of the Kaczmarek Electric MTB series. - Bartosz Budzik
A sixth-grade student at Primary School No. 5 named after Aleksander Janowski in Bolesławiec, he has taken part in swimming competitions of various levels and ranges since 2013. In 2019, Bartosz achieved excellent results that repeatedly enabled him to reach the podium at swimming competitions. His greatest achievements include first places in the 50-meter butterfly and 100-meter backstroke at the National Sprint Swimming Competition, as well as in the 100-meter backstroke and 100-meter butterfly at the fourth edition of the Neptun International Swimming Meeting. - Gracjan Kozak
An athlete of the “Bolesłavia” Inter-School Sports Club, he is a finalist in the junior European discus-throwing championships in Borås, Sweden, where he placed ninth; the Polish discus-throwing champion; and fourth at the Polish shot-put championships. He is also the runner-up in the Polish Rural Sports Teams discus-throwing championships and the Lower Silesian champion in discus throw and shot put. Gracjan Kozak is part of the national junior team training program and holds first-class sports status. - Klaudia Petters
In 2019, Klaudia Petters competed in numerous triathlon, running and cycling races at national level, finishing most of them in medal-winning positions. Her greatest achievements include first places in the Polish U23 Aquathlon Championships, the Polish U23 Middle-Distance Duathlon Championships and the Polish U23 Olympic-Distance Duathlon Championships. - “Bolesłavia” Inter-School Sports Club
The “Bolesłavia” Inter-School Sports Club is a recognized athletics training center in Lower Silesia and Poland. The club’s most important events and achievements in 2019 included winning 6 medals at the Polish Championships and the Polish Rural Sports Teams Championships. The club’s athletes won 49 medals at the Lower Silesian Championships in various age categories and 6 at the macroregional championships. Club athlete Gracjan Kozak competed at the Junior European Championships in Borås, Sweden, where he placed ninth. Forty-one club athletes achieved sports classifications, including six who achieved second class and one who achieved first class. The “Bolesłavia” Inter-School Sports Club scored 129 points in the youth sports system organized by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism and placed fourth in Lower Silesia in the competition among Lower Silesian athletics clubs for children and young people.
OTHER
- Pavlina Stefańczyk
Pavlina Stefańczyk is a promotion and advertising specialist at Ceramika Artystyczna—Artistic Handicraft Cooperative. Since she took up the position, Ceramika Artystyczna from Bolesławiec has been talked about extensively, frequently and positively, not only in local media but also in national, European and global media. Newspapers and agencies such as New York Times, Washington Times, Biznes Forbes and Associated Press have written about Ceramika Artystyczna from Bolesławiec. Ms. Paulina’s materials were also published on FOX NEWS and CNBC television, as well as on leading Polish television and radio stations. In her daily work, Pavlina Stefańczyk also deals with graphics and studio photography of dishes. Her photographs can be seen in magazines such as “Ambiente”, “Szkło i Ceramika” and the latest Polish edition of “FASHION”. She co-created the cooperative’s new website and catalogs presenting the artistic achievements of the company’s artistic director, Mariusz Ochocki, and its chief ceramic decoration designers, Teresa Liana and Maria Starzyk. - Krzysztof Gwizdała
In 2019, Krzysztof Gwizdała conceived and produced, for the first time in the history of postwar Bolesławiec, five designs of Christmas postcards showcasing the beauty of the city. The postcards proved successful; all were purchased by residents and tourists visiting Bolesławiec during the holiday season. Several thousand postcards beautifully presenting Bolesławiec and its Christmas decorations were sent throughout the country and the world. The cards reached many places in Europe, America, Asia and Australia. - Bolesławiec Shortwave Radio Club
During the Ceramic Festival, members of the Bolesławiec Shortwave Radio Club made contact with radio amateurs around the world, promoting the Bolesławiec festival. They had been conducting the campaign since April, with its culmination taking place in August during the Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival. The radio amateurs spoke with operators from, among other places, the Caribbean islands, Argentina, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Venezuela, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. As part of the campaign, special cards confirming completed contacts were issued; their content promoted Bolesławiec and the Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival. The contacts were made by Piotr Cetler, Bartek Górecki, Zbigniew Fuchs, Kazimierz Kędzierski, Henryk Kobiałka, Marek Borek and Jan Galus.
DISTINCTIONS
- Patrycja Julia Pawlus and Oliwia Gorczyca
Patrycja Julia Pawlus and Oliwia Gorczyca are third-year students at the I General Secondary School in Bolesławiec. They achieved very good academic results and also successfully engaged in academic olympiad activities. In the 2018/2019 school year, together they became third-place winners in the National Olympiad of Knowledge about the Family. This year, too, they qualified for the central stage. Their success was based on joint academic work under the guidance of their olympiad supervisor, teacher Beata Majewska. Patrycja Julia Pawlus and Oliwia Gorczyca are also particularly engaged in the life of their local and school communities. For seven years, they have been members of the “Mały Bolesławiec” Song and Dance Ensemble, which operates at the Youth Cultural Center. In 2019, together with the ensemble, they performed at, among other events, the “Little Europe” Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They have also been members of the “Synkopa2” school choir for three years. - Wojciech Andrzejewski
Wojciech Andrzejewski is a fourth-grade student in the four-year course at the State Level I Music School in Bolesławiec. As a representative of the school and the city of Bolesławiec, during his years of study at the music school he has won significant regional and national competitions. He has actively participated in the local community, presenting his skills every year at New Year’s Concerts organized by the Music School for city residents and during anniversaries at the Civil Registry Office in Bolesławiec. Wojciech Andrzejewski’s most important achievements include second place at the 1st Lower Silesian Guitar Competition for the Copper String in Legnica, third place at the 10th Spring Guitar Competition in Szczecin, first place at the 20th Kłodzko Jubilee Music Festival GITARIADA, third place at the 7th Inter-Voivodeship Classical Guitar Competition Hurra Gitarra in Świebodzin, and third place at the Lwówek Talent Festival. - Adam Goleński
Adam Goleński is a second-year student at the I General Secondary School in Bolesławiec and chair of the Student Council. Outside school, he is active as a youth organizer. Since the beginning of 2019, he has completed 15 social projects in Bolesławiec, Lower Silesia and several regions of Poland. More than 2,000 children and young people took part in events organized by Adam Goleński. His greatest success is the pro-environmental youth project “Plan-E Bolesławiec”, which expanded its activities to additional voivodeships in September and became a nationwide project recognized among socially active young people throughout Poland. In 2019, he took part in many campaigns and initiatives, including the National Congress of Councils and Assemblies in Wrocław, the 1st Youth Entrepreneurship Day in Gdynia, the Time4Youth Youth Councils Training in Poznań, the Lower Silesian Local Government Academy in Borowice, the Lower Silesian Youth Assembly and the Lower Silesian Youth Congress in Ziębice. He organized the Youth Climate Strike in Bolesławiec. - Jacek Garmider
An athlete of the Young Footballer Academy who, at the age of 11, achieved outstanding results in major goalkeeper tournaments. At the 8th Goalkeeper Battle in Wrocław, the world’s largest goalkeeper tournament, he placed first in his age category. The Goalkeeper Battle is a unique tournament in Poland in which football goalkeepers compete against one another in head-to-head duels. Because more than 300 participants took part in the tournament, the event became known as the largest of its kind in the world. In addition, Jacek Garmider placed second in his age category at the Jelenia Góra Goalkeeper Battle. In both cases, the rules were similar—the player who scored the most goals within two minutes won. Both events were covered in local newspapers in Wrocław and Jelenia Góra, on websites and Facebook profiles, and on TVP3 Wrocław. Jacek’s coach is Kacper Jeziorny.