Marcin Kornak, the chairman of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association, received two major distinctions for his lifelong work against racism and discrimination.
The Man Without Barriers is an annual award given to an outstanding disabled person who breaks down barriers and stereotypes and who is a positive role model in various walks of life. The prize is officially supported by Anna Komorowska, the wife of Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, and Irena Lipowicz, the Human Rights Commissioner. It was handed to Marcin at a special gala event held at Warsaw’s Royal Castle, organized by the Association of Friends of Integration, on 23 October 2012.
In a parallel act of high-level recognition, Marcin Kornak was included in the group of four civil society leaders who were selected for the ‘Social Activist of the Year’ award by the Polish edition of ‘Newsweek’ magazine together with the Polish-American Foundation for Freedom and the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland. An illustrated article describing Marcin’s achievements and activities of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association appeared on the pages of the Polish ‘Newsweek’ magazine this week. A gala event was held at the prestigious Warsaw venue, Galeria Freta on the same day, 23 October.
Marcin Kornak is a co-founder and chairman of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association as well as the editor-in-chief of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ magazine. He has initiated the high-profile campaigns ‘Music Against Racism’ and ‘Let’s Kick Racism Out of the Stadiums’. He is the author of several editions of the ‘Brown Book’ which details results of hate crime monitoring conducted by ‘NEVER AGAIN’. He is also an Ambassador of the Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE).
Born in 1968, Marcin Kornak has used a wheel chair since the age of 15. He is renowned as a poet and author of lyrics for several independent rock bands.
The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an anti-racist educational and monitoring organization established in Poland in 1996. In 2009, in cooperation with UEFA and the FARE network ‘NEVER AGAIN’ set up the East Europe Monitoring Centre documenting racism and xenophobia across the region. In 2012, it implemented the ‘Respect Diversity – Football Unites’ social responsibility project accompanying the European Football Championships in Poland and Ukraine.