Polish Market No.7 (286)/2019 SPECIAL EDITION - OUR PEARLS

PU B LISHED SIncE 199 6 No. (7) 286 /2019 :: www.polishmarket.com.pl

SPECIAL EDITION

beata

drzazga

President of the Board of BetaMed s.a.

powerful

business

woman

G R A P H I C S & P H OTO G R A P H Y

Studio DTP • Photography • Print • Graphics • Editorial design #spirit #nature #meditation #zen #buddhism #moments #food #vege #minimal #sense #awareness #mind

CONTENT

2. EDITORIAL – WOMEN IN POLAND. OUR HONORARY PEARLS, AMBASSADORS OF POLISH ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SCIENCE AND CULTURE

POLAND THE CENTENARY OF REGAINING INDEPENDENCE

4. WOMEN IN A FREE POLAND SPECIAL EDITION – OUR PEARLS

7. WOMEN ARE OUR PEARLS 8. WOMEN ARTISTS TO THE FORE 11. HAVING A HEART IS ALL IT TAKES – BEATA DRZAZGA, PRESIDENT, BETAMED S.A. 15. BUSINESS TANDEM – ANNA KOLISZ, VICE – PRESIDENT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ANKOL 18. WOMEN – OUR PEARLS IN SCIENCE AND ECONOMY 19. THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE, WE CREATE A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE –

PROF. MAGDALENA WYRWICKA, DEAN, FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT ENGINEERING, POZNAŃ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

SPECIAL EDITION

7 (286)/2019

PUBLISHER: Oficyna Wydawnicza RYNEK POLSKI Sp. z o.o.

(RYNEK POLSKI Publishers Co. Ltd.) PRESIDENT: Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

SPECIAL EDITION

beata

drzazga

Polish Market :: (7) 286 /2019

President of the Board of BetaMed s.a.

powerful

business

woman Cover: BEATA DRZAZGA, President,

Betamed S.A.

Photo source: www.shutterstock.com, www.commons.wikimedia.org unless otherwise stated

CONTRIBUTORS: Agnieszka Turakiewicz, Mirosław Wdzięczkowski

VICE - PRESIDENTS: Błażej Grabowski, Grażyna Jaskuła

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Agnieszka Charuba, Joanna Wiktoria Grabowska

ADDRESS: ul. Elektoralna 13, 00-137 Warszawa, Poland Phone (+48 22) 620 31 42, 652 95 77 Fax (+48 22) 620 31 37 E-mail: info@polishmarket.com.pl

SALES: Phone (+48 22) 620 38 34, 654 95 77 Marketing Manager: Magdalena Koprowicz m.koprowicz@polishmarket.com.pl

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek

DTP: Lili Projekt www.liliprojekt.pl

DEPUTY EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś redakcja@polishmarket.com.pl

PRINTING: Zakłady Graficzne TAURUS – Roszkowscy Sp. z o. o., www.drukarniataurus.pl

Jerzy Mosoń j.moson@polishmarket.com.pl ENGLISH EDITOR: Rafał Kiepuszewski

Oficyna Wydawnicza RYNEK POLSKI Sp. z o.o.

Nr KRS 0000080385, Sąd Rejonowy dla m.st.

Warszawy XII Wydział Gospodarczy Kapitał zakładowy 80.000,- zł.

REGON 011915685, NIP 526-11-62-572

WRITERS/EDITORS: Jan Sosna, Maciej Proliński, Jerzy Bojanowicz, Jan Mazurek, Andrzej Kazimierski, Janusz Turakiewicz, Janusz Korzeń

Published articles represent the authors’ personal views only. The Editor and Publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability for their contents.

Unsolicited material will not be returned. The editors reserve the right to edit the material for length and content. The editors accept no responsibility whatsoever for the content of advertising material. Reproduction of any material from this magazine requires prior written permission from the Publisher.

PU B LISHED SIncE 199 6

No. (7) 286 /2019 :: www.polishmarket.com.pl

TRANSLATION: Sylwia Wesołowska-Betkier, Agit

special edition

EDITORIAL

WOMEN IN POLAND

OUR HONORARY PEARLS, AMBASSADORS OF POLISH ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SCIENCE AND CULTURE

I

n this part of the special edition of the “Polish Market” magazine dedicated to women - who were once described in Poland as the fair sex until women’s lib and diversity came along - we would like to introduce the profiles of some of the women who have received the magazine’s Honorary Pearl award. We have been awarding Honorary Pearls for 13 years now. They are presented to prominent institutions and personalities during the annual Pearls of the Polish Economy gala event, which traditionally takes place at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

Among these outstanding personalities who represent the world of culture, science, business and sports, who serve as an example in the field of promoting patriotic and social values, is a group of amazing women who make a meaningful contribution to the development of not only Polish, but also European and world cultural heritage. Before we present these women, we would first like to take you back in time. As

part of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the regaining of independence by Poland in the wake of World War I, we have decided to showcase those prominent Polish women who have found themselves in the pantheon of the leading lights of recent centuries.

I hope that the names of Polish women who are now distinguished in their respective fields, our Honorary Pearls, and of those we spotlight in the second part of this edition of the magazine, will also be written in gold in the history of mankind.

Happy reading!

2 polish Krystyna marketspecial Woźniak-Trzosek, edition 2019 “Polish Market” President and Editor-in-Chief at the Pearls of the Polish Economy Gala, Royal Castle, 11th of December 2018

Krystyna Woźniak-Trzosek Editor-in-Chief President of Rynek Polski Publishers Co. Ltd.

WOMEN in a free Poland

This year we continue to highlight the significance of the breakthrough year of 1918 when Poland returned to the political map of Europe as an independent country. Throughout 2018 and 2019, “Polish Market” carries a series devoted to the history of Polish statehood, the history and present day of Polish culture and selected events organised as part of the government „Niepodległa” (Independent Poland- ed.) Programme. In this special edition, which solely focuses on Polish women, we spotlight their role in building a free and independent Poland.

Maciej Proliński

C

ulture was definitely a factor which helped Poles living in the three parts of Poland, respectively ruled

by Russia, Prussia and Austria, maintain their identity and keep a bond with their compatriots in the other occupation zones. This despite the decades of life under very different political and economic systems imposed by the occupiers.

Polish culture during what is known as the “partition period”, produced a great many prominent figures. They may not have won

4 polish marketspecial edition 2019

worldwide acclaim, but artistically their work had plenty to offer. It is not always easy to divide works of art into those with a feminine or masculine tinge, and does it really matter? What does matter is whether they bring people together or divide opinion, whether they appeal to imagination or whether they are capable of making a difference. At the end of the day, linguistically the Polish word “sztuka”, which means art, is of feminine gender.

Romantic poetry and what is known as “Positivist humanism” – meaning building a pragmatic

model of society during the period when Poland was under foreign rule – lay at the root of work by the greatest lyrical talent of the epoch MARIA KONOPNICKA (1842-1910). She wrote the lyrics of the patriotic anthem “The Oath”, and a numer of timeless novels and children’s books, many of which are based on motifs taken from traditional fables. “The Oath”, which was written during the writer’s stay in the Cieszyn region of Silesia to the music of Feliks Nowowiejski in 1908, is regarded as a gem among Polish national songs. It was first performed on July

15, 1910 by several hundred members of choirs coming from the three partition zones during the unveiling ceremony of a monument in Kraków commemorating the 500th anniversary of Poland’s victory over the Teutonic Knights in the battle of Grunwald in 1410.

ELŻBIETA PAWŁOWSKA , later to be known as ELIZA ORZESZKOWA (1841-1910), married to Piotr Orzeszko, was another woman novelist who led an unconventional lifestyle, and not just in 19th century terms. She made a lasting contribution to Polish literature dealing with the nation’s struggle for independence and the preservation of its national traits and values with her best-known novel entitled “On the Niemen”.

The work paints an appealing picture of life in the Grodno region of eastern Poland in the aftermath of the abortive rising against Russia in 1863.

Orzeszkowa shows how convoluted a person’s and family’s life can be by tracing the history of several families: Benedykt and Marta Korczyński, Jan and Anzelm Bohatyrowicz, as well as individual characters such as Pani Andrzejowa. Each of them deals with the troubles life throws at them. They take on all challenges as they come, cherishing their Grodno homeland, as well as national Polish values which they hand down to younger generations. In 1904 Orzeszkowa’s name came up among those shortlisted for the Nobel literary prize. Having read her novels, members of the Nobel Prize Committee noted that she was just as worthy of the distinction as the actual Polish prize winner, Henryk Sienkiewicz. In one of the committee’s documents you could read that “While in Sienkiewicz’s writing beats the noble Polish heart, in Eliza Orzeszkowa’s works beats a human heart.”

Another major writer of the epoch - MARIA DĄBROWSKA (1889-1965) – is best-known for her epic work “Nights and Days,” featuring the Niechcic family saga. It is about the life of an impoverished family of noblemen in the period between the fall of the 1863 rising against Russia and the outbreak of the First World War. The work is a social panorama which portrays the protagonists in a constantly changing world, as they attempt to introduce some kind of order to their lives. Throughout her work, starting from “The Smile of Childhood” to “The Adventures of a Thinking Man”, Dąbrowska steadily developed this theme. In her view, life was not about being a rebel, searching for something new (as avantgarde artists do), fighting the absurd in life (as existentialists do) or striving toward a religious, or other ideal. According to Dąbrowska, life is a spontaneous gesture of acceptance of reality for the sake of being part of it, given that one’s existence is active and one is aware of one’s

Maria Konopnicka, source: Archiwum Akt Nowych

Eliza Orzeszkowa, source: www.bn.org.pl

purpose. This is clearly why Dąbrowska’s world still proves captivating for readers, for the writer motivates them to make an effort.

For a nation deprived of its statehood - one which the occupiers wished to erase from the map - every time a Polish person won recognition abroad it meant a lot. That is why a very important role was played by female ambassadors of Polish culture on the international scene. Novelist MARIA SZELIGA (1854-1927), who lived in Paris, may now be forgotten. But in her day she was an activist who struggled against Russification and Germanisation efforts by the respective occupiers. In 1889 she delivered a report at the International Pedagogical Congress in Paris on the repressive system of education in the Russian empire and the Russification drive. Twelve years later she drafted a letter of protest in defence of Polish students subjected to reprisals for using the Polish language at their school in the town of Września in the Prussian occupation zone. In 1896 Szeliga took part in the formation of the Ligue des Femmes pour le Désarmement International (the League of Women for International Disarmament), of which she became the deputy president.

Singer JÓZEFINA RESZKE-KRONENBERG (1855-1891) took the European opera circuit by storm. She donated her royalties to patriotic causes at home.

At the time when Poland had vanished from the world map, the acclaimed actress HELENA MODRZEJEWSKA (1840-1909) reminded international theatre audiences about her homeland and its plight. In one of her letters she wrote: “They took away our freedom, but they cannot take away our talent. We become famous abroad without asking for their permission.”

Modrzejewska was the first Pole to become a star in the US and Europe. Her parts in plays by Shakespeare have been entered in theatre history books. In America she came to be known as Helena Modjeska, and one hundred years after her death, her name still rings a bell among theatre afficionados. “That’s how God’s chosen few love, those who have the power to creatively use their imagination - those whose heart yearns for their homeland. Even if they live beyond the seven seas, they can still see it clearly as if they were standing right in front of it. They can see the bell towers of their home towns, the snows of their mountains, the swaying fields of rye and the flowers dotting their meadows. They can hear the religious hymns and shepherds’ blowpipes. They can hear all the sounds of their homeland. The more those sounds resemble weeping, the more they long for their motherland, and the more they love it. That’s how Helena Modrzejewska loved her country,” one of polish market

Maria Dąbrowska, Photo: Marian Fuks (1884-1935)

5

her greatest friends writer Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote (Kurjer Warszawski; No. 194/1909).

One of the areas where the struggle to maintain the national identity was intense was clandestine teaching in the Polish language. In 1879 journalist and public activist JÓZEFA BOJANOWSKA (1873-1945) set up an underground educational library for women. This was one of the first ventures of its kind. On the initiative of educationalist and public activist JADWIGA SZCZAWIŃSKA-DAWIDOWA (1864-1910), a clandestine university for women was set up.

It came to be known as the Flying University, because it kept changing venues. One of its students was the future winner of two Nobel prizes MARIA SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE (1867-1934). She was honoured with the first prize in physics in 1903 jointly with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel for studies on the phenomenon of radioactivity discovered by the latter. Then she won another Nobel prize in 1911 on her own for her discovery of polonium and radium, the obtaining of pure radium and the study of chemical properties of radioactive elements. Skłodowska-Curie is the only woman to have been buried at the Paris Pantheon in recognition of her services to science.

It is not often remembered that Poland owes its independence not just to the efforts of men in uniform but also to courageous women who did not hesitate to join the struggle or fight for the values they held dear. Considerable support to Józef Piłsudski’s WWI Polish Legions, which fought alongside the Austrians against Russia, was provided by the League of Polish Women, which was known under different names in the three partition zones. Novelist Maria Dąbrowska, who took part in its founding meeting in 1913, wrote in her memoirs that “this organisation brings credit to women because the League is neither gossipy nor careless, and it is probably the only underground organisation under the Russian occupation not to have compromised its clandestine status.” Accordng to her, the daily taking care of the family and local community, which is usually invisible, was what mattered the most.

In fact, there would be no free, independent and democratic Polish state if equal rights had not been granted to all its citizens regardless of gender. For a great many Polish women, the memorable year 1918 marked a double victory. Not only did Poland regain her independence but Polish women were recognised as full-fledged citizens as well. On November 28, 1918 Marshal Józef Piłsudski signed a decree confirming that “all citizens, regardless of sex, enjoy the right to vote.” Poland was one of Europe’s pioneering countries in terms of granting voting rights to women. The first country in the world to do so was New Zealand (in 1893). Polish women won full voting rights ahead of British women (1928) and French women (1944). After Poland won independence in 1918, the situation of

Józefina Reszke-Kronenberg source: www.cantabile-subito.de

Helena Modrzejewska, source: www.polona.pl

6 polish marketspecial edition 2019 Maria Skłodowska-Curie

Polish women started to change radically, also in terms of civil law. Until then women did not enjoy the right to sign a will and needed to ask their husbands for permission to pursue a numer of activities, while widows were unable to bring up children on their own or decide about their future.

Within the long-term government programme marking the independence anniversary, toward the end of 2017 an exhibition entitled “Extraodrinary Women of the Opole Region of Silesia” was unveiled. The exhibition, whose opening night was held in the seat of the province governor, was also shown in local schools. In spring 2018 it was mounted at the Houses of Parliament in Warsaw. The show featured 34 women who made a name for themselves in the history of the Opole region. Among them are both activists of the Polish national movement, nuns, scientists, as well as ladies whose claim to fame is less noble in nature. The first of the featured ladies was duchess Wiola of Opole, wife of the city’s founder Casimir I. Her position was strong enough for her to have her own royal seal.

In 1251 the famous chronicler Jan Długosz wrote “Duchess Wiola of Opole, of Bulgarian origin, is dead.” A famous Silesian scientist featured at the exhibition was Maria Cunitia, a 17th-century astronomer of Świdnica. Because of her education she was known as the Silesian Pallas and was compared to the Alexandrine philosopher and astronomer Hypatia.

Among the ladies featured at the exhibition was also scandalist Polixena von Puckler who lived in Niemodlin castle in the 16th century. She was known to accept expensive gifts for promises of marriage – which she never kept. At the show the story was also told of 19th-century midwife and serial arsonist Charlotta Malig who confessed to 35 such acts. Her victims included both foes and people she was friends with. She claimed to hear voices which told her to set houses ablaze.

Sentenced to death on the executioner’s block, she committed suicide.

Another woman portrayed at the show was Nysa-born Maria Luiza Merkert, beatified in 2007, founder of the Convent of Saint Elizabeth’s Sisters. 90 convents and 12 hospitals were set up under her supervision. Sister Merkert is described by historians as the Great Silesian Woman of the 19th century, as well as the Silesian Samaritan.

“She helped everyone. She was loved not just

by Catholics but also Protestants and Jews”, archbishop Alfons Nossol wrote about her.

The show was complete with a biographical sketch of Polish national activist Maria LigudaPawletowa involved in campaigning on behalf of Poland during the post-WWI plebiscite which was to decide which parts of Silesia would be given to Poland by the allies, and which would remain in Germany. Despite persecution, she remained with her family in the German part of Silesia where she was involved in work for the benefit of local • Poles.

special edition

OUR PEARLS

WOMEN ARE OUR PEARLS

F

or 17 years “Polish Market” magazine has announced laureates of the Pearls of the Polish Economy Ranking in a gala ceremony held in the Ballroom of Warsaw’s Royal Castle. The winners are identified on the basis of algorithms developed by scientists of the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH). Since 2006 the event has been coupled with the presentation of “Polish Market’s” Honorary Pearls awards for services in the area of economy, science and scholarly research, culture and for promoting patriotic and social values. The awards go to the most outstanding personalities and institutions whose work and experience, prestige, ethical standards and personal virtues mean they can be regarded as ambassadors for the highest Polish values. Many of these distinctions have been granted to wonderful Polish women, including Urszula Dudziak, jazz singer; Małgorzata Walewska, mezzosoprano singer; Jolanta Pszczółkowska-Pawlik, pianist and music producer; Katarzyna Gärtner, composer, pianist and arranger; Magdalena Pawlak, president of the Dorastaj z Nami (Grow up Together with Us) Foundation; Anna Dymna, actress, social activist, founder and president of the Mimo wszystko (Against All Odds) Foundation, Alicja Jeromin, athlete and Paralympic medallist; Alicja Adamczak, economist, president of the Polish Patent Office; Prof. Elżbieta Mączyńska, economist, president of the Polish Economic Society; Prof. Alicja Chybicka, MD, Head of the Department of Paediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation, Oncology and Haematology Wrocław Medical University; Beata Drzazga, president of BetaMed SA; and Irena Koźmińska, initiator of the public campaign All of Poland Reads to Kids.

Since 2011 “Polish Market” in conjunction with the Main Council of Research Institutes, headed by Prof.

Leszek Rafalski, has granted Progress Pearls of Innovation Awards to the most innovative enterprises, scientific institutes and personalities from the world of science.

Among the laureates are Anna Kolisz, vicepresident of Ankol Sp. z o.o; Alicja Barbara Klimiuk, former president of Energa SA; and Prof. Magdalena Wyrwicka, Poznań • University of Technology.

From the top: Gala events in: 2008, 2007 and 2018.

polish market

7

special edition

OUR PEARLS

WOMEN

ARTISTS TO THE FORE There are so many colourful and amazing phenomena in Polish art. And if we accept the gender criterion as a starting point, we must point out that art created by women in Poland, has long ceased to be a masculine projection, tailored to the needs of the sexual revolution, or a way of filling diversity quotas. Maciej Proliński spotlights some leading women artists, including the winners of “Polish Market” Honorary Pearl cultural awards.

T

Maciej Proliński heir books top bestseller lists, and crowds come to meetings with these writers. Polish readers have got to appreciate Polish writers, because in their novels they find answers to many life questions. One of the most popular and most widely read Polish female writers is Olga Tokarczuk, who last year won the prestigious Man Booker International Literary Prize. She won the prize for her novel “Flights,” translated into English by Jennifer Croft, in fact her first novel to come out in Anglo-Saxon countries. “‘Flights’ is a horn of plenty filled with admiration. This book is full of energy, brilliant, witty, totally addictive,” said Lisa Appignanesi, chairwoman of the jury. The art of poet Wisława

8 polish marketspecial edition 2019

Szymborska (1923-2012) is lyrical, intellectual and philosophical, yet so strikingly simple and straightforward that anyone can understand it, even those not normally tuned to poetry. Her work is characterised by the utmost precision with which she picks words, conciseness, frequent use of irony, paradox, and an engaging sense of humour. Szymborska is a detached observer. In 1996 she won the Nobel Prize in literature. The Nobel Committee thus justified its choice: “For poetry which with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to appear in glimpses of human reality.”

The wonder kid of Polish literature, or its enfant terrible, the most talented writer of the younger generation, is Dorota Masłowska. When she

wrote her acclaimed “Polish-Russian War under the White and Red Flag”, she was just 19. The book, hailed as the “first Polish chav novel,” has achieved unbelievable success and has been translated into a number of languages. Critics say she has a perfect ear for contemporary Polish slang and uses it with utmost creativity. A very successful film was made based on it, directed

by Xawery Żuławski and starring Borys Szyc.

Talking about movies, the past few years have proved to be a very good time for several women directors, notably Agnieszka Holland and Małgorzata Szumowska. The former has been living and working in Western Europe and the US since 1981. In recent years she has also spent much time in her native Poland. She is described

special edition

OUR PEARLS

THEY DELIGHT, MOVE, ENTERTAIN AND SEDUCE - EACH DECADE IN POLISH CINEMA HAS HAD ITS DIVAS AND FEMMES FATALES.

Małgorzata Walewska – singer - mezzo-soprano

as one of the most important and overworked ambassadors of Polish art in the outside world.

The latter studied filmmaking under Wojciech Jerzy Has, the 1960s Polish director whose visionary art movies have become cult classics in the West. Szumowska is fascinated by the iconoclastic cinema of Lars von Trier. Both ladies make movies which are important, bold, topical, often painful and provocative.

They delight, move, entertain and seduce each decade in Polish cinema has had its divas and femmes fatales. The first of them was the enigmatic Pola Negri (1897-1987), the only Polish actress to become a true Hollywood star. She was one of the most popular actresses of the silent movie era. Danuta Szaflarska was probably the longest acting actress who died in 2017 at the age of 102. Her 70-year-long career spanned the entire post-war history of the Polish cinema. Some of the most-important names of today’s cinema and theatre are Agata Kulesza, Magdalena Cielecka, Maja Ostaszewska, and Joanna Kulig. Joanna Kulig’s part in “Cold War” directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, was shortlisted for this year’s Academy Award, and now delights audiences worldwide with its 1950s mix of love, music and political intrigue across the Iron Curtain. Kulig has been taken under the wing of an agency which represents Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt.

Krystyna Janda (“Polish Market” Honorary Pearl of 2011) is an institution of the Polish theatre and film. She is an actress, director and head of the Polonia Theatre, a private company which successfully combines art and commercial success.

Music is among the best Polish exports. Already in the first half of the 20th century, the work of Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) - composer and violinist, who wrote seven violin concertos and seven string quartets, won international recognition. Her “Concerto for string orchestra” (1948) is regarded as one of the most

outstanding works of 20th century Polish music.

It remains one of the few contemporary pieces played at subscription concerts. Among the most outstanding Polish singers performing works from various musical epochs, from baroque to modern times, one should mention alto Jadwiga Rappé, contralto Ewa Podleś, and soprano Olga Pasiecznik. Each piece they perform is a unique masterpiece.

Mezzo Małgorzata Walewska (“Polish Market” Honorary Pearl 2008) performs on some of the world’s top opera stages. She is considered one of the strongest female voices. Her stage partners have included such celebrities as Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. “I grew up listening to [opera singers] Bogna Sokorska, Zdzisława Donat, [pop diva] Violetta Villas and the Orkiestra z Chmielnej [street band]. I liked the opera, though I was not a big fan of it. I was attracted to acting and singing. Opera perfectly combines these two passions,” she said in an interview for “Polish Market” several years ago.

Wrocław-born soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, the daughter of the outstanding singer Jolanta Żmurko, is no stranger to the La Scala and the Met. Not long ago, a music conductor used to be a typically male profession. Now, more and more women become orchestra directors. Agnieszka Duczmal, Ewa Michnik, Ewa Strusińska, Monika Wolińska, and Marzena Diakun are renowned Polish conductors who lead national and world orchestras.

They captivate you with their voices and surprise you with their original sound -the distinctive Polish female pop and jazz singers representing various music genres. There are those on the arty side of things like Ewa Demarczyk and Wanda Warska, jazz singers Urszula Dudziak and Anna Maria Jopek (“Polish Market” Honorary Pearls 2007, 2009 respectively) and pop artists Monika Brodka, Kayah, Maryla Rodowicz (“Polish

Urszula Dudziak - jazz vocalist

Maryla Rodowicz - singer

Market” Honorary Pearl 2012) and rock artists (Katarzyna Nosowska, Edyta Bartosiewicz).

Perhaps one day, teen sensation Roksana Węgiel, winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018, and of the first edition of The Voice Kids TV show, is going to join this list of accomplished celebrities. Her debut single “Live” has won some 13,000,000 hits on YouTube. polish market

9

special edition

OUR PEARLS

For nearly three decades, the gender-bending Katarzyna Kozyra has been making waves in Polish visual arts. She came into the limelight thanks to her diploma work entitled “Pyramid of Animals” of 1993. Since then, most of her works (including “Olympia,” “Women’s bathhouse”, “Men’s bathhouse” and “Rite of Spring”) have been widely reported on by the media. Beside the provocative side of her works, her art is full of nostalgia mixed with irony, and deliberate kitsch mixed with underlying tension.

One of the most famous Polish artists of the 20th century was Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930-2017). Initially, she was involved in painting. Her works included monumental gouaches, full of wild colours, outrageous plants and creatures. From the mid1960s, she focused on large-format three-dimensional pieces made with the use of traditional weaving techniques. Known as abakans after the artist’s name, they stand on the borderline of sculpture and architecture.

Among women who have received “Polish Market” Honorary Pearl awards in the field of culture are Czesława Frejlich and Ewa Gołębiowska. Professor Frejlich (Honorary Pearl 2012) is an exhibition designer and author of many articles and publications on design and ergonomics. Ewa Gołębiowska (Honorary Pearl 2010) is the originator, and since 2005, director of the Silesian Castle of Art and Entrepreneurship in Cieszyn. In the years 2005 - 2007 she coordinated the implementation of the “Silesian Design Network” project, the first comprehensive programme for the promotion and implementation of design in Poland.

In December 2018, at the annual gala held at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the select group of ambassadors of Polish culture awarded with the “Polish Market” Honorary Pearl was joined by Jolanta Pszczółkowska-Pawlik, Katarzyna Gärtner, and Anna Dymna.

Jolanta Pszczółkowska-Pawlik is both the director of the Pawlik Relations Concert Agency, and a 2014 Grammy award winning producer of the album “Night in Calisia.” She has brought out over 15 albums of music performed by her husband, Włodek Pawlik. She has organised a number of music festivals, as well as some 300 concerts, featuring her own classical projects, and Włodek Pawlik’s jazz music. She is a concert pianist who focuses on the song repertoire. For over 20 years she has been a lecturer at the Vocal Faculty of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. In 2018 she started her doctoral thesis on the synthesis of poetry and music in Stanisław Moniuszko’s ballads, which she intends to defend this year. For the purpose of this work, she has recorded a set of ballads by Moniuszko for the voice and piano.

“In my opinion, Moniuszko is not a forgotten composer, but he is a neglected composer. We simply narrow Moniuszko’s output down to two operas and, maybe, ten songs, and Moniuszko wrote about 300 songs. And I want to take care of this legacy. I am very happy that along the way, I keep meeting interesting young musicians, and I can suggest that they should sing songs that are virtually unknown, even among connoisseurs. I look ahead to the next five, ten and even fifty years. What we can leave behind for future generations is extremely important,” she said in an interview for “Polish Market.” Jolanta Pszczółkowska-Pawlik is also very active as a record producer. Interestingly, she is fascinated both by her productions in the field of classical music as well as jazz albums all of them under one Pawlik Relations label. “I know that many of my albums have already achieved the status of a gold disc, however, the pace of life and what has been happening around me and my husband since the Grammy award, has been completely crazy, so I can definitely say that the album “Night in Calisia” has received

10 polish marketspecial edition 2019

official ZPAV double platinum award for the biggest number of jazz records sold in Polish history, and I am very proud of that,” she added. Asked what the “Polish Market” award means to her, she replied: “I think that the award will be an important asset in my further activity regarding Polish culture.”

Katarzyna Gärtner is an outstanding composer, pianist and arranger. She has written music for such memorable hits as “Małgośka” and “High Water” (performed by Maryla Rodowicz), “Get Ready for the Road” (performed by Halina Frąckowiak) and “Gilded Braid” (performed by: Stanisław Soyka, Kuba Badach, Ryszard Riedel, Dżem and Paweł Kukiz). She has also accompanied artists such as the late crooner Mieczysław Fogg, played in jazz bands, together with artists such as Zbigniew Namysłowski and Andrzej Trzaskowski. She wrote music for one of the first Polish musicals “Painted on Glass” (1970), for the oratorio “Let All the

Jolanta Pszczółkowska - Pawlik - pianist and music producer

OVER TIME, THE SCOPE OF THE ACTIVITIES OF ANNA DYMNA’S FOUNDATION HAS SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDED. IT NOW SUPPORTS PEOPLE WITH VARIOUS DISABILITIES, IT SPONSORS SCHOLARSHIPS, COORDINATES VOLUNTEER WORK, FINANCES REHABILITATION AND TREATMENT, ORGANISES OUTDOOR EVENTS, AND SUPPORTS THE ACTIVITIES OF THE Radwanek COMPANY.

Theatre

special edition

OUR PEARLS

Silver Bells Ring” (1975) both to lyrics by Ernest Bryll. In 2014, she wrote music for the “Missa Santo E Gia Santo” for the canonisation of John Paul II. “The Gärtner family has Austrian roots and comes from Galicia [Austrian-ruled part of Poland 1772-1918]. In 1946, my parents settled in the westernmost part Poland. There, my father, for a bucket of illicitly brewed vodka, bought a brand new Ed Seiler grand piano. Affectionately called “Edzio,” it still serves me very well.

I took my first steps in a piano class. At home, my dad, a klezmer at heart, played popular hits at parties. After a few glasses of vodka, he played all sorts of music. I made my debut in the seventh grade.

I wrote a song to my mother’s lyrics, which won a national radio competition. Then I studied in Krakow which had the best music school, where the greatest personalities of Polish jazz learnt their skills. Jazz was played during breaks, after classes and wherever possible,” she told “Polish Market” in one of her interviews. When asked what the “Polish Market” Honorary Pearl award means to her, she confessed: “It’s a really great prize, more important than money, though it would be nice if such a prestigious statuette were accompanied by financial support. After all, art is not only ideas and creativity on paper, but also the theatre, music and film production. Only those who know how to seek EU subsidies are able to get them. We seem to be timidly walking behind the stars and celebrities. Between a company with a billion dollar turnover and an artist, there is a gap which is light years wide. But when Poland was not on the map of Europe, [poet] Mickiewicz, Chopin, [poet] Słowacki and Moniuszko left us their legacy.”

Anna Dymna is one of the most popular Polish theatre and film actresses. In 1973, she graduated from the prestigious acting college in Kraków, and joined the city’s Teatr Stary theatre company. She was spotted by film fans as Ania Pawlak in the cult 1970s comedies “Take it easy” and its sequel “Big Deal,” part of the classic trilogy

by Sylwester Chęciński. Another hit she starred in was Jerzy Hoffman’s 1981 melodrama “The Quack.” She appeared there next to Jerzy Bińczycki (in the role of professor Rafał Wilczur) and Tomasz Stockinger (as her love interest). In 1993, she won the Golden Lions award at the Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia for the part of an alcoholic in Barbara Sass gritty TV drama “Only Fear.” In addition to being one of the most popular Polish actresses, Anna Dymna is a famous public activist. Her Foundation “Mimo wszystko” (Against all odds), founded in 2003, helps intellectually challenged adults, and those who are in dire circumstances. The Foundation was established to rescue a group of adults with intellectual disabilities, residents of the Radwanowice shelter near Krakow, who had lost the right to statefunded therapy. Over time, the scope of the foundation’s activities has significantly expanded. It now supports people with various disabilities, it sponsors scholarships, coordinates volunteer work, finances rehabilitation and treatment, organises outdoor events, and supports the activities of the Radwanek Theatre company.

Since 2005, along with the National Centre for Culture and Polish Television, the Foundation has co-organised the Festival Enchanted Songs. The competition’s finale always takes place in Krakow’s Market Square, as part of the Win Against All Odds National Integration Days. The project sees the participation of some of Poland’s best artists, who perform well-known Polish songs together with the disabled. From the very beginning of the festival, its spiritual patron has been another grand dame of Polish culture, Irena Santor, one of the most famous pop singers. In her voice you can hear artistry, a detached attitude to life’s daily worries, • and plenty of wisdom.

WHEN ASKED WHAT THE “POLISH MARKET” HONORARY PEARL AWARD MEANS TO HER, KATARZYNA GÄRTNER CONFESSED: “IT’S A REALLY GREAT PRIZE, MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONEY, THOUGH IT WOULD BE NICE IF SUCH A PRESTIGIOUS STATUETTE WERE ACCOMPANIED BY FINANCIAL SUPPORT.

Katarzyna Gärtner - composer, pianist and arranger

Second from left: Anna Dymna - theatre and film actress, public acitivist, founder and President of the Anna Dymna Foundation “Mimo wszystko” (Against All Odds)

polish market

11

Having

BEATA DRZAZGA, President of BetaMed SA, talks to Jerzy Mosoń.

a heart

is all it takes

12 polish marketspecial edition 2019

What should one do to win a patient’s smile? It is not easy at all considering that a sick person rarely has a reason to feel joyful.

But it is very easy, indeed. You only need to give the patient a sense that they are in good hands, a sense that they will be treated like a human being, that you are passionate about what you do and that the patient is not a burden. If you plan to become a physician, a nurse or want to run a business providing care to patients you should first ask yourself the questions: Do I have passion and patience? Am I able to give love to people, share myself with those in need? Because in this profession you have to give others your heart.

The patient will be happy if they receive all this from the person who takes care of them. Let me stress, if the patient feels they are treated with understanding they will open up to the carer and will also be open to the treatment offered because they will feel safe. The patient will be more motivated to undergo treatment and will want to understand it.

PM

special edition

OUR PEARLS

How does it relate to the readiness to undergo treatment and its effectiveness?

A scared person is unnecessarily under more stress, which is an obstacle to the treatment process and, first of all, to understanding the necessity of the therapy and the effort involved in recovering. There are many people in Poland, and in other countries of course, who know how to communicate with patients.

PM

What gives you the most satisfaction in the sectors in which you operate? You do so many things that it’s hard to understand how it is possible to reconcile these activities.

I now operate in five sectors. Contact with other people, especially my employees, is what gives me the biggest satisfaction. Every firm can be organised in such a way that you have excellent contact with the employees. It is the

I would do it. The employees know me, they know what I am like and they try to act in a similar way.

Is empathy the most important thing?

Yes, it is of primary importance. Empathy is the most important thing in any other business as well. I cannot imagine a shop assistant in my store treating a client without empathy. Buyers have their needs and problems – you have to notice them or solve them.

PM

PM

You have mentioned the second business in which you have found your feet in. I mean fashion. How to combine medicine and fashion? You have taken the risk and … ?

I even took the risk and ran for some time electronics stores with computers and telephones.

It was in Miami.

PM

for instance, to feel happy in it. So, first of all, I decided that patients needed company and entertainment, like dancing parties, a café and an opportunity to meet other people, so as to prevent dementia. Patients should definitely be allowed to wear their own clothes and be offered a range of occupational therapies. Also, we unite different generations. We invite school and kindergarten children to our facility to give performances and sing to the elderly.

I also thought about church services, but above all about health services, meaning the presence of physicians in the nursing home so that my mother and other patients could feel safe. I arranged all this for people to make them feel exceptional. When I visit them now and see their hands reaching out to me, their joyful eyes and gratitude it is always very moving. Of course, business is business, but for me the most

I AM FULFILLING MY DREAMS BECAUSE THE WORK I DO HAS BEEN MY DREAM. most important thing and gives you satisfaction.

If you show respect to other people you can expect that they will reciprocate. A person who is loved usually reciprocates this affection. Of course, every adult is aware of their obligations so you have the right to reproach them if necessary.

But it should be done with respect because there is life beyond work. I try to create an atmosphere of respect in each firm that I run.

Is it enough for the employees to feel good?

Of course not. An employee also needs to feel appreciated.

PM

Do you demand from others as much as you demand from yourself?

My approach to my relations with the employees is not that I demand less, more or as much as I demand from myself. At the beginning of our joint road I talk with the employee and ask them to be reliable and serious about their work.

I value their commitment. I like my employees to engage in what they do. I also require the management staff to treat the medical personnel very well. But this is not enough. You also need to have empathy for the patients’ families. I always repeat: Treat the patients and their families as if they were your nearest and dearest, or in the way PM

Why electronics and fashion of all things?

Why in the United States where competition is the fiercest in the world?

I like challenges. Besides, wherever I go I can sense what is worth taking an interest in on the local market. I listen intently to the market. In Miami I saw potential in electronics. There are many prospective clients and tourists in the city who look for novelties and a wide selection of electronic devices. And from Europe to Poland I bring the best fashion collections: from Milan, Paris, Vienna and elsewhere. We simply pamper our clients and they can feel it.

PM

You have also opened Drzazga Clinic.

I have here the best personnel, equipment and the most beautiful interiors, ones that I would like to see if I were a client myself. However, when I wake up in the morning I think first of all about the wonderful team I have managed to assemble.

I adore these people and I can sense that they have the same feeling towards me.

PM

How to create a nursing home resembling a spa? This is how some people call your establishments.

When establishing the nursing home I wondered what it should be like for my mother, PM

important thing has always been to have an opportunity to hunker down beside a patient, look him or her into the eyes and tell them that I love them. The same is the case with my personnel. They behave in the same way.

How to select the right people, those who are empathetic, so that they can replace you in contacts with the patients?

My team knows me so well now that after an initial interview I have candidates who match my vision of the organisation. You can see it in their smile, energy and passion. Some nurses have been with me for 17 years now. Their work is great. I have selected them for the Golden Cap award. I think every nurse who works for BetaMed SA deserves such an award. When it comes to new staff members, I tell them about the clinic and then have a casual conversation with them. When I notice a ray of energy in them I know this is it. This is why there is a volcano of energy in the clinic.

PM

PM

Does the Polish diaspora in the United States appreciate that you, their compatriot, do so much as a businesswoman in Poland and abroad? Does Polish economic patriotism exist in the United States? polish market

13

special edition

OUR PEARLS

YOU ONLY NEED TO GIVE THE PATIENT A SENSE THAT THEY ARE IN GOOD HANDS, A SENSE THAT THEY WILL BE TREATED LIKE A HUMAN BEING, THAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AND THAT THE PATIENT IS NOT A BURDEN.

Yes, I am very pleased with the response I get from the Polish diaspora. It is clear that not only Poles who have once left our home country, but also those who have been born in the States, want to have contact with Poland. Congresses play an important role in integrating the Polish diaspora.

They offer an opportunity to establish business contacts. BetaMed SA is a partner of the 60 Million Congress organised by Mr Zbigniew Klonowski and other persons. Thanks to such initiatives, people from other countries learn that they can use high-standard medical services in Poland. Those who have learnt about what BetaMed SA offers are delighted with the standards of our services. This is how medical tourism comes about.

Tell me an anecdote from such a trip of yours.

During one of my trips a governor of Nevada said that empathy at BetaMed SA was so great that we should come to Las Vegas and share this love in Nevada. I have remembered these words.

PM

And? And I opened BetaMed International in Las Vegas. We will be doing it, but my strategy is to do it step by step. I need to get familiar with the specifics of the local market, learn about forms of accounting in the state and so on.

Will Polish people have a chance to find employment at BetaMed International?

Everyone with the right education and sufficient empathy has a chance to find a job in my company. I do not divide people by nationality.

We are open to everybody.

PM

How to turn a business into a public mission?

Is there any recipe for that?

You have to adopt such an approach. If the person running a business devotes some attention to activity benefitting the public they may effectively give love and provide assistance, irrespective of the type of business. I have tried to do so keeping a low profile, but it still earned me various distinctions, including the Gold Medal Award in Miami for philanthropy and two medals from bishops in Poland. I also help a girl in Africa – I have never told anyone about it before. Satisfaction from helping someone gives you joy and energy. So the recipe is: all it takes is to have a heart for other people.

PM

I enjoy contacts with other people. I travel a lot – I love it. It’s not about relaxation: I take part in congresses, which motivate me, and I meet new people. I also love dance, weddings, parties and music, especially Latino music.

I also adore European classics. The moment when we dance polonaise at a ball in Miami is truly elevated and wonderful.

I am fulfilling my dreams because the work I do has been my dream. I am happy that I still have an opportunity to study. I have recently completed an MBA International and am now completing my doctoral studies in economics.

I am also proud of my children. I have three of them. The youngest son is 14 and has many talents, the other son is a financier. My only daughter is a winner of the Queen of Poland title. Her name is Dagmara Nowak. She is also a winner of the Miss American Dream contest. She has graduated from a fine arts academy. She inherited her passion for painting from me. Now, she is close to graduating from an acting school in Los Angeles.

PM

14 polish marketspecial edition 2019

PM

You do a lot for your patients and personnel.

And what do you do for yourself? (silence)

PM

Really, nothing?

What do you dream of, apart from travelling?

I dream of returning to painting. I love landscapes, though my biggest passion is portraits.

And I will also devote myself to playing piano • when I can finally afford to do so.

PM

special edition

BUSINESSWOMAN

CLINIC,

BEAUTY & RESEARCH EXPAND REAL POSSIBILITIES

polish market

15

BUSINESS TANDEM

special edition

OUR PEARLS

ANNA KOLISZ, Vice-President and Managing Director of Ankol, talks to Jerzy Mosoń.

First of all, may I congratulate you on your new prestigious title of EBA (Europe Business Assembly) Business Ambassador to Poland.

You have also recently published a book entitled “Anna Kolisz a woman of success.” You don’t seem to be slowing down your pace.

The EBA Business Ambassador to Poland title is another distinction among my many business achievements which I’m very proud of. So far, I’ve had the honour of receiving titles such as the Ambassador of Women’s Entrepreneurship, and the Ambassador of Family Companies in the Podkarpackie province. I’m also the only Polish woman to have won the Queen Victoria Commemorative Medal and the International Socrates Award 2019.

The book, which I have published especially for my friends and colleagues, is the story of a woman who, while pursuing her own dreams and passions, has succeeded in building Ankol, which is now an internationally recognised brand. In my autobiography I let readers in on some of the secrets of my private life. I cast my mind back to my childhood, youth, and the time I set out my career path. Writing the book, I wanted to encourage younger generations to seek their own inspirations and to put their plans into practice. I wanted to show others that success is within grasp, but it requires knowledge, determination, the right amount of motivation and consistency in achieving goals.

PM

You are in charge of the company as a duo, you and your husband, and you consistently stress this fact. Who is actually in charge of Ankol?

As you have observed, I run the business together with my husband.

We’re a wonderful team based on equilibrium, respect, understanding, mutual inspiration and admiration. We share responsibilities. Each of us has definite areas of responsibility, and I and my husband are in charge of these respective areas. But strategic decisions regarding the company’s future, vision and key transactions, are made by both of us together.

PM

Anna Kolisz receives the EBA Business Ambassador title at the Milan Achievements Forum 2019 final gala ceremony.

In what way do you divide responsibilities between the two of you?

Ankol’s activities are based on a well-established corporate culture, in which our roles as owners and managers are formally clearly defined, and supported by many years of experience and practice. Financial management, HR and infrastructure is my domain. My husband’s background, knowledge and experience, are the reason why he deals with commercial and technical matters. We are partners in business and private life, and make decisions in partnership. It works, so there’s no need to tamper with the winning system.

PM

PM

The aviation industry is perceived as a male-dominated area.

What’s it like to sit at a negotiating table when there are mostly men on the other side of it? Or maybe I’m wrong and there are now more women in this industry? How do you spend time after important negotiations? How do you reward yourself after successful negotiations?

16 polish marketspecial edition 2019

The signing of a memorandum on assuming the role of the EBA Business Ambassador to Poland at the Milan Achievements Forum.

special edition

OUR PEARLS

Anna Kolisz – EBA Business Ambassador to Poland

to uphold the brand I have built: not only to maintain the level we have achieved, but to develop and improve, to run the business in such a way as to be one step ahead of the others.

Could you let our female readers know where your stunning evening gowns come from?

I have my passions. I’m a sensual romantic. I love gardens full of colourful flowers. Choosing my outfits, I’m mainly guided by their colour, but also their purpose, comfort, chic and elegance. The clothes I wear are an expression of who I am, so I choose them carefully. I don’t have a stylist or anyone who would advise me. I feel good wearing clothes which correspond with my sense of aesthetics. I do my shopping in stores I trust, in the streets of Warsaw, Vienna, Rome and Paris, but also Dubai and Qatar.

PM

Where is Ankol headed? What are your plans for the company with such a splendid tradition?

Thinking about the future of the company we have built, we elaborate a vision of development, both in terms of the product range and the markets we operate in. Our economic, technical and human resources are a guarantee of the company’s development. Our successors are our son Eryk and his wife Karolina, while Ankol’s staff are experienced and competent workers who represent a very high level of expertise in our field.

They have often proved that their qualifications, loyalty and commitment are our trump cards. With these HR assets, thinking about the future is what drives the business. Ankol is a Kolisz family company with a unique identity and values which are important for the family. We would like the company with such traditions to move boldly into the future, to • bring successes to future generations.

PM

Running a private company in the field of aviation technology, managing it, taking responsibility for decisions is no different from other industries. In each industry, economic and financial mechanisms, market rules, and co-operation with contractors, are based on the same rules.

Ankol is a trading company like others of its kind. The difference lies in the products. The fact is that products and components used in aviation are distinguished by quality and advanced technologies. To ensure this, we employ experts in the field of sales and aviation technology. The corporate culture which we have built in Ankol consists in involving employees in company management. They have the authority to conduct trade negotiations. If there is a need for a decision at the level of management, we take it together. My husband, who is an expert in aviation and a seasoned sales specialist, negotiates contracts which the board deems strategic.

Gender plays no role in corporate management. In Ankol, the male to female employment ratio is in favour of women. Which is not to say that women are better suited to work in the aviation industry. Knowledge and expertise count. Personally, negotiating with men is no problem for me. In the business model we have adopted, negotiations are one of the elements of a commercial transaction. Negotiations are followed by implementation and execution of payment. The reason to celebrate is a successful, profitable transaction. As a result, you can enjoy your living standard, which enables you to meet your needs, but it also makes it possible to make your dreams come true.

Anna Kolisz buys her outfits at her favourite boutiques in Paris, Vienna and London.

You frequently attend gala events as a winner of prestigious awards.

Where does Ankol’s edge over the competition come from?

Ankol is a brand which stands for quality, competence and standards.

The competitive advantage we have gained is the result of a consistently implemented corporate policy and strategy. For me, it is an honour and a source of great pleasure that the juries of competitions in which we participate - which include experts in economics, management and quality - assess so highly our potential, management style, corporate culture, business results, corporate social responsibility, values and many other issues. A prize is a measure of success, but it is also an obligation PM

polish market

17

special edition

OUR PEARLS

WOMEN

Our Pearls in Science and Economy PROF. ELŻBIETA MĄCZYŃSKA Professor of economic sciences, president of the Polish Economic Society, member of the National Development Council attached to the Polish President, member of the Poland 2000 Plus Forecast Committee and of the Economic Sciences Committee at the Polish Academy of Sciences. She is one of the most recognisable and soughtafter economists in Poland. She is the author, co-author and editor of about 200 publications dealing with economic analysis, finances, valuation of companies, economic systems and socio-economic development strategies.

“

It’s a great honour to receive such a wonderful award. But awards always make me anxious. I felt particularly anxious when I saw the list of previous Honorary Pearl winners. Bearing this in mind, I am all the more grateful. I feel honoured and I wonder if I’m up to the challenge. An award like this is a major obligation. I feel that I must share it with the team I work with. What we do on a daily basis is making sure that economics is not all about chrematistics, that is the art of getting rich. Economics is about people and their use of resources. If you take away the human factor, economics loses its soul. We try to ensure that it doesn’t. Thanks for noticing that.”

ALICJA ADAMCZAK President of the Polish Patent Office, lawyer, university lecturer, patent attorney.

In 2000 she was decorated by former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski with the Officer's Cross of the Polonia Restituta Order for her outstanding achievements in drafting the industrial property protection law, and for her services to the Association of Patent Attorneys.

“

The Patent Office is celebrating its one hundredth anniversary.

It was set up after Poland regained independence and continues its activities to this day. We not only deal with issues related to granting exclusive rights to intellectual property in Poland, but we also strive to protect our intellectual property abroad. In this respect we promote various systems for the protection of industrial property.

Our inventions, trademarks and industrial designs, our intellectual and cultural achievements, make the Polish economy known in the outside world. I think it is the Patent Office itself, and above all my colleagues, that should receive this great prize.”

18 polish marketspecial edition 2019

special edition

THINKING ABOUT THE

OUR PEARLS

FUTURE, WE CREATE A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE PROF. PUT MAGDALENA WYRWICKA, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Management Poznan University of Technology, talks to “Polish Market’s” Ewelina Janczylik-Foryś.

Do you often hear that universities, especially universities of technology, are a male-dominated environment?

It is worth noting that engineering sciences are focused not only on learning about reality, but also on solving problems and seeking opportunities to make it easier for people to function in present-day realities. You need to have the courage to take on a task which the majority of people believe is an insurmountable obstacle. Taking on such challenges is not a privilege of either gender but a matter of courage. In my opinion, the stereotype that science is practised by men appears less and less frequently. Among research workers, project managers and students who undertake initiatives which go beyond standard practice, there are more and more women on individual teams.

Even in PUT-Motorsport projects, where racing cars are built, several female students join in the implementation of tasks every year.

PM

In the 21st century, should we still think in terms of gender when it comes to the business, research and cultural environment?

From the psychological, cultural and scientific point of view, male and female characteristics are a fact. Men and women differently perceive the world and the reality we live in, they often have slightly different priorities they devote their time and potential to, and sometimes different values ​​that guide their lives. I believe that we should not strive for gender equality but for synergy in working together. In each sphere, business and science and culture, we meet both men and women who succeed and stand out in their environments thanks to their creativity, diligence, willingness to cooperate to improve PM

present solutions, persistence in aiming for goals, and who are also ready to help others.

What do you think about campaigns which promote studies in exact sciences for women?

Do we need them?

The promotion of studies at universities of technology is needed to break existing stereotypes. They are perceived as difficult studies. Being technologically competent is gaining importance. Not everyone is aware to what extent we are now assisted by automated and cyber-technical systems built by people.

Many people associate jobs for graduates of technical studies with hard physical work in tough, hazardous conditions - in factories or on construction sites. That’s why many, especially among the older generation, believe that this kind of work is not for girls.

By showing that a female engineer can perform as well as her male colleague, brings results and attracts numerous female candidates to universities of technology who are fascinated by the prospect of developing new technologies and seeking technical improvement possibilities.

Proof of the fact that there are no differences between male and female students was the recent success of female students from the Student Process Improvement Club at the Faculty of Engineering Management at Poznan University of Technology, of which I am dean. The young women took the first place during the tenth edition of the Logistics and Security conference.

PM

PM

You have been decorated by President Andrzej Duda with a MEDAL OF THE CENTENNIAL OF REGAINED INDEPENDENCE. During the ceremony, he said: “... dreams come true. But firstly,

THE PROMOTION OF STUDIES AT UNIVERSITIES OF TECHNOLOGY IS NEEDED TO BREAK EXISTING

stereotypes.

if you really want them to, secondly, if you work very hard, and thirdly, when these dreams are realistic.” This probably applies to each and every scientist, doesn’t it?

I fully subscribe to the message contained in the president’s statement. I believe that it applies not only to the world of science, but to every person who intends to lead an active life.

In my opinion, it is important to relate your aspirations to the goals of the community you are part of - then your aspirations are realistic.

Striving for the successes of an organisation or a group you belong to, you usually gain individual recognition, while at the same time building the reputation and brand of the institution. When you act with the future in mind, when you are willing to work as part of a team, responsibly, empathically, with respect for the law and professional ethics, you create a better quality • of life. www.fem.put.poznan.pl polish market

19

YOU’VE COME THIS FAR, BUT HOW ABOUT MAKING A

FRESH START?

FLIP OVER TO THE

BACK COVER, WHICH YOU’LL FIND IS ANOTHER

FRONT COVER! PU B LISHED SIncE 199 6 No. (7) 286 /2019 :: www.polishmarket.com.pl

SPECIAL EDITION

anna

Janczewska President and owner, MediM

p po ow w ee r r ff u u ll

business

woman SPECIAL EDITION BUSINESS WOMAN