“I wish you to pursue your interests and succeed at academic career, but I also encourage you to consider a career in the foreign service,” said the minister while congratulating the winners.

Seventeen master’s theses, defended in 2019, were sent in for this year’s 31^st edition of the competition. The works were assessed by the Award Committee appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The committee was chaired by Director of the Diplomatic Academy Artur Harazim.

The first prize was awarded to Monika de Silva for her MA thesis titled “How Does Law Protect Religion in War? International Protection of Freedom of Religion in Armed Conflicts” written at the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw under the supervision of Dr Wojciech Brzozowski.

The second prize went to Iwo Gurdek for his MA thesis on “Directions of Polish Foreign Policy in MFA Information in 1990-2019” written at the Institute of Political Science and International Relations at the Faculty of International and Political Studies at the Jagiellonian University under Prof. Michał Chorośnicki.

The honorary distinction was awarded to Justyna Białous for her MA thesis on “Permanent Representations of States to International Organisations as an Example of Multilateral Diplomacy from Poland’s Perspective,” written at the Faculty of Law at the University of Bialystok under the supervision of Prof. Maciej Perkowski.

The competition has been organised annually since December 1989. Its purpose is to arouse interest in the academic community in contemporary international relations, in particular issues in the area of Polish foreign policy.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo: Gabriel Piętka/MFA