PRESIDENT OF ‘NEVER AGAIN’ WON THE PRIZE OF POLCUL FOUNDATION
An announcement by ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association
Marcin Kornak, founder and president of the anti-fascist ‘Never Again’ Association, won the prize of POLCUL, Independent Foundation Supporting the Polish Culture in memory of Jerzy Boniecki.
The prize (awarded since 1980) is ‘to recognize individuals in Poland actively committed to shaping civil society, with their attitude and work showing respect and tolerance for others’. Its founder, Jerzy Boniecki, co-worker of Parisian ‘Kultura’ and member of Amnesty International, lived in Australia. He was a businessman, poet and activist of Polish community.
Marcin Kornak was recognized ‘for his activity for tolerance and overcoming discrimination and xenophobia’.
M. Kornak founded Anti-Nazi Group (pol. GAN, Grupa Antynazistowska) in 1992 in Bydgoszcz. Since 1996 he has been a president of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association and editor-in-chief of a magazine under the same title, devoted to issues of racism, neofascism and xenophobia, and editor-in-chief of ‘Stadium’, a magazine for anti-racist football fans. He initiated and coordinated campaigns ‘Music Against Racism’, ‘Let’s kick racism out of stadiums’ and project ‘Brown Book’.
Born in 1968, Marcin Kornak uses a wheelchair since he had an accident when he was 15. He won nationwide renown as a poet, author of lyrics for underground rock bands and promoter of the alternative culture.
‘Marcin Kornak is one of the most prominent representatives of Polish public life, whose voice against intolerance and discrimination is important and widely heard’ – said Prof Barbara Weigl, representative of the Foundation – ‘It was an honour for me to recommend his name for POLCUL prize’.
‘This recognition is for me and, as I think, for the whole ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association, a due acknowledgement for issues we address – fight with racism, neofascism, chauvinism and intolerance.’ – said the prize-winner – ‘I take it also as an obligation of persistence in our uneasy and often thankless work’.
‘For the greatest successes of ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association in the recent times I reckon our fight with racism in the Internet, which we carry on together with INACH (International Network Against Cyber Hate) within the framework of campaign R@cism Delete’ – adds Kornak – ‘As well as the very impressive development of campaign ‘Let’s kick racism out of stadiums’. These days we are very engaged in running in our country Week of Football Against Racism in Europe and leading this campaign in the whole Eastern Europe, including Azerbaijan and Armenia’.
In the previous years the following people were among those awarded with the prize of POLCUL foundation:
Bogdan Borusewicz, priest Michał Czajkowski, Waldemar Frydrych Major, Konstanty Gebert, Bronisław Geremek, Przemysław Gintrowski, Zbigniew Herbert, Jacek Kaczmarski, Jan Kelus, Jacek Kuroń, Adam Michnik, Karol Modzelewski, priest Arkadiusz Nowak, Janina Ochojska, Jerzy Owsiak, Dariusz Paczkowski, Jan Maria Rokita, Donald Tusk.
The prize will be presented on November 5th in House of Polonia at Krakowskie Przedmiescie in Warsaw.