Polish Business ClubMessage
PrintLadies and Gentlemen,
We feel privileged to be able to welcome you to a special
celebration. The Polish Business Club is celebrating its 18th birthday!
No less important is the fact we are meeting at an exceptional venue,
as every year, at Warsaw's Royal Castle for the 18th time. It was here
we presented our first four awards in 1990 to entrepreneurs who in
those times of unstable economical conditions, at the time of great
political transformation, had staked everything on one card and had
won! Their names top the list in the Golden Book of the Polish Business
Club.
Guided by the urgent need, in 1990 we launched our campaign to
promote the Polish economy, enterprises and the people who were their
motor force, people who espoused European business principles and
attempted to meet standards binding the developed part of Europe. Those
were people who believed themselves capable of success! We were sure
their good examples and freedom of economic activity would liberate the
imagination and activity of many others, and they themselves would
become the motor force of the Polish economy.
Today, Ladies and Gentlemen, in the Golden Book of the Polish
Business Club you will find several hundred laureates of our club
awards - entrepreneurs, companies and products that distinguished
themselves not only in terms of efficient operations, attractive offers
and product quality. They also stood out because they tried to match
the best in Europe and the world in terms of business ethics and a
willingness to help the needy. It is obvious that one cannot gauge the
success of a small family-owned firm, developing thanks to the hard
work and determination of its owners, by the same measure one gauges a
major corporation enjoying a strong positon on the European or world
market. But all the awards and honourable mentions that we have always
presented with great attention and consideration have been both an
expression of our recognition of our colleagues and a particular form
of business recommendation. We are glad that the titles of
Businesswoman of the Year, Businessman of the Year, Firm of the Year
and Product of the Year in many cases have become a key to attaining an
even better position on the domestic market or establishing European
and world-wide business contacts.
Our Honorary Award, the Polish Business Oscar, has also won
international acclaim. It is presented to outstanding personalities of
the economic and political scene whose activities have fostered Polish
interests. That title has been bestowed upon Zbigniew Brzeziński, Hans
Dietrich Genscher, Jimmy Carter, Jerzy Giedroyc, Leonid Kuchma, Javier
Solana, Percy N. Barnevik, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald
Regan, John F. Smith Jr., Valdas Adamkus, Árpád Göncz, Borys V. Gromov,
Pat Cox, Józef Cardinal Glemp, Lech Wałęsa and Leszek Balcerowicz. The
title of Honorary Ambassador of Polish Business, established in 1997,
has for many individuals been an honour providing satisfaction and
inspiring the to further efforts pro publico bono.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today we may state with satisfaction that the heroic efforts of
Poland and Poles to pull us out of Europe's backwater is already behind
us. European stands open before every Polish citizen, and Poland is a
partner to be reckoned with in the world economy and politics. We are
particularly proud of that and strongly emphasise that in that
family-owned firms, modest-sized enterprises and talented entrepreneurs
have also played a great role in that success.
We look to the future with hope. Every step separating the
developing economy from political turmoil gladdens us, as does its
increasing resistance to solutions being pursued by politicians for
their ad hoc ends which are not always favourable to development.
We look forward to taking advantage of the great chances and
opportunities afforded by our presence in the European Community - more
dynamic economic growth, greater domestic and international business
security, citizens' increased sense of security in their own homes, in
the streets and in contacts with financial offices and institutions. We
look forwards to the state's further decentralisation, finalisation of
local-government reforms, debureaucratisation of the economy,
simplification of economic and tax regulations, stepped-up
privatisation and depoliticisation of companies in which the State
Treasury holds a stake. We also look forward to many other measures
that will restore people's confidence in the state and state
institutions. It is our hope that the year 2008 in particular and every
one that follows will draw us nearer to the Poland of our dreams.
I should like to most cordially thank all those who have
distinguished themselves through their work, those who supported our
efforts with friendly advice and assistance as well as those who did
not disturb us.
Warsaw, 26th January 2008
Ryszard Konwerski
President, Polish Business Club