Awards and diplomas

International Visegrad Prize

On 31 May 2012 in Prague, during the inauguration of the Polish Presidency of the Visegrad Group the International Visegrad Prize will be awarded. This is the most prestigious award in whole Central Europe, which was established by Ministers of Culture of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary in 2004 and is awarded annually to individuals and institutions for their actions for the development of cultural cooperation of the Visegrad Group countries. This year’s prize winner is the Villa Decius Association of Krakow, whose flagship programmes focus on the cooperation of V4. The most important among them is the Visegrad Summer School which has been carried out for 11 years enjoying an unflagging popularity and respect, as an international platform for informal study and a place to create new macro-regional initiatives.

For merits for the 7th District

In June 2006, on the occasion of the annual festival of Krakow’s 7th District, the Villa Decius Association was bestowed a title of honour “For merits for the 7th District” for its contribution to promoting culture both in the 7th District and in Krakow. The statuette of Lajkonik (formerly known as Zwierzyniec’s horse rider) was conferred by Dr Piotr Chechelski, the head of the 7th District’s Board, upon Ms. Danuta Glondys, the director of the Association.

Silver Medal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic

In 2005, Silver Medal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic Eduard Kukan was conferred upon Ms. Danuta Glondys, the Villa Decius Association’s director, in recognition of her eminent personal contribution to strengthening Slovak-Polish cooperation in the new conditions of united Europe.

Diploma of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

On 7th September 2005, the head of Polish diplomacy Adam Daniel Rotfeld conferred upon the Villa Decius Association a diploma for its outstanding contribution to Poland’s promotion worldwide in 2004. The diplomas of the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs have been awarded annually since 1970. Among their recipients in 2005 were Myslovitz, Jurek Owsiak and Marek Kamiński.

Honorary recognition – Diploma of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

In May 2005, the Villa Decius Association’s director Danuta Glondys was honoured with an award of the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Borys Tarasyuk. It is the most prestigious Ukrainian award presented to international persons in recognition of their endeavours to strengthen the mutual relations between Poland and Ukraine.

Pro Publico Bono

On 11th November, the day celebrated as the Poland’s Independence Day, the Villa Decius Association was awarded the first prize in the “Pro Publico Bono 2004” competition for the best initiative in the field of international and interethnic relations, including activities supporting Poland’s integration with the European Union. The Jury highly appreciated Villa Decius projects related to intercultural and international dialogue, European integration, national and ethnic minorities as well as its endeavours to promote tolerance and human rights. Among the most significant projects were: a series of the seminars “Minorities in Everyday Life”, a publication “Tolerance – how to teach oneself and the others”, an educational project “My Europe”.

The Prize was presented to Professor Jacek Woźniakowski who on behalf of all the Pro Publico Bono laureates expressed gratitude for this prestigious award. Referring to Primate Stefan Wyszyński’s words, he emphasized the necessity of giving back dignity to the Poles, and the fact that this process has been vastly supported by non-governmental organisations.

In 2004, the ceremony of presenting the Pro Publico Bono award took place for the 6th time. Among the initiators of the competition for the best and the most interesting civil initiatives are e.g. Jan Nowak Jeziorański and Professor Jerzy Buzek. The Polish-American Freedom Foundation is the founder of the awards.