WGF 2014: Maidan heroines receive an award [VIDEO]

The Freedom Awards ceremony was an ideal culmination of a series of meetings, discussions and debates that took place in the Wroclaw Congress Centre as a part of the 5th edition of the Wroclaw Global Forum from Friday morning.

Awards have been granted during each edition of the Wroclaw Global Forum. This year they were received by four laureates during an official gala in the presence of a few hundred guests, politicians, diplomats and businesspersons.

The host of the evening was Frederick Kempe – President of the Atlantic Council, which is a co-organiser of the Wroclaw Global Forum together with the City of Wroclaw and the Polish Institute of International Affairs.

The Mayor of Wroclaw Rafał Dutkiewicz said about the idea of Freedom Awards: “The Freedom Award enjoys international recognition. Its laureates are persons and institutions that ceaselessly propagate freedom and civil liberties.”

One of the awards was granted to Miklós Németh, the Prime Minister of Hungary in 1989, who decided to open borders and help refugees from the German Democratic Republic. “We should not forget about such people,” said Stephen D. Mull, U.S. Ambassador in Warsaw, in his laudatory speech.

Miklós Németh: “The Freedom Award is an honour and distinction to me. 25 years ago, Poland chose a new road and was followed by Hungary shortly afterwards. Most people realised that it is impossible to reinforce democracy without capitalism.”

Awards for leaders

Another laureate of the Freedom Award was presented by Chris Murphy, U.S. Senator. “With Toomas Hendrik Ilves as President, Estonia successfully puts economic and political freedom into practice. It is at the vanguard of safety in its region,” said the American politician.

When Professor Zbigniew Brzeziński, the former security advisor to the U.S. President, appeared on stage, he was greeted with enthusiasm. The excellent politician began his speech with a surprising statement: “Putin did us a favour. He reminded us that freedom is a treasure and requires courage in order to last,” said Brzeziński. (The Mayor of Wroclaw Rafał Dutkiewicz stresses that the award enjoys international recognition)

Then he enumerated precisely achievements of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and its President Jerzy Koźmiński – another laureate of this year’s Freedom Award. “The Foundation contributed to the modernisation of the Polish social scene, particularly the Polish village,” he emphasised.

The Foundation has provided training to around 20,000 persons, including social leaders from small towns, and has engaged in the computerisation and development of libraries. It also operates outside the eastern border of Poland: in Ukraine and Belarus.

And Jerzy Koźmiński is one of the most distinguished Polish diplomats – the former ambassador of Poland in Washington, who contributed enormously to actions aimed at Poland’s accession to NATO.

Award for Maidan People

The last part of the ceremony was the granting of the Freedom Award to female representatives of Ukrainians protesting at Maidan. Radosław Sikorski, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, often referred to the courage and determination of protesting people in his laudatory speech: "You really have to be tough to stand for weeks in the cold, being aware of the presence of snipers ready to shoot at protesters around Maidan."

On behalf of Maidan People, the award was received by Ruslana – a popular Ukrainian singer and one of the protest leaders, and Kateryna Kruk, who had informed the world about events at Maidan via social media for many weeks.

Both of them were visibly moved. “I am 23 years old, just like my beloved Ukraine. I know that the life of an individual and the existence of the country makes sense only when we fight for freedom,” said Kateryna Kruk, who acts as spokesman for the Ukrainian government today.

“I am happy. Maidan is not over yet. It is the place where we defeated not only Janukovych, but also the whole system,” confessed Ruslana. The audience reacted with applause, but the moment that really stirred people’s emotions was when the artist sang the first notes of the Ukrainian hymn and photographs from Maidan appeared on the screen. All participants of the ceremony stood up and applauded for a long time to thank heroines from Maidan.

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