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Sybilla 2005 Museum Event of the Year contest
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim has won first prize in the Sybilla 2005 Museum Event of the Year contest. The 26th annual awards ceremony took place on May 18, International Museum Day, at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage organizes the contest and undersecretary of state Tomasz Merta presented the awards.
According to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the contest is the most important forum for the promotion and exchange of experiences by museum practitioners from all over Poland. There were 267 entries from museums this year. One Grand Prix, as well as First, Second, and Third prizes and honorable mentions were awarded in 10 categories.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum won first prize in the Educational and Promotional Program category for the founding of the International Center for Education on Auschwitz and the Holocaust. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum also received an honorable mention in the Preservation Achievements category for the preservation of children's boots at the Museum's Preservation Studio. Museum director Jerzy Wróblewski and deputy director for education Krystyna Oleksy were on hand to collect the awards.
Director Krystyna Oleksy said afterwards that the award of the Sybilla to the ICEAH is proof of the appreciation and acceptance of the Museum's chosen strategy for developing education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust. She also noted that the full and rapid growth of the Center will only be possible once it has moved into the new quarters, a move which is currently being delayed for administrative reasons. ICEAH organizational director Andrzej Kacorzyk said he drew satisfaction from the fact that this was yet another award granted to the Museum for its educational activities. He also expressed his hope that, in its new form, the Center would contend for further awards in the future. Such honors, he said, are an incentive to keep working on new educational projects.
Museum Event of the Year. The organizer of the contest is the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The contest was first held in 1980. Since then, its formula and regulatory principles have changed. Many new categories have been introduced. For the last three years, Sybillas have been awarded to first-prize winners in 11 categories.
Organized by the Ministry of Culture, the contest is the most important forum for the promotion and exchange of experiences by museum practitioners from all over Poland. The Sybilla 2005 is the 26th edition of the contest.
According to the Ministry, the goals of the contest include choosing the most outstanding achievements from among all areas of museum practice, promoting the best museum forms and practices, and acknowledging the authors of the best museum achievements.
The winners of the main award obtain the Sybilla—a statuette by the renowned Polish sculptor Zofia Wolska. The Sybilla Contest for Museum Event of the Year award ceremony takes place on May 18 at the International House of Museums.
Museum Day was established in 1977 by the International Museum Council. It was first observed internationally on May 18, 1978.
