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Ireneusz Białek elected to the Ashoka Fellowship

Ireneusz Białek elected to the Ashoka Fellowship

Ashoka, world’s largest and most prestigious network of social innovators, has elected Ireneusz Białek, head of the JU Disability Support Service and president of the Managers of the Future Foundation, as one of its members. Other Ashoka Fellows include Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, Carlo Petrini, initiator of the Slow Food movement, and Paul Rice, conceiver of the Fair Trade certificate.

Ashoka Network comprises no more than 3,500 fellows worldwide. Only innovators working towards the common good of mankind are eligible to become a member of the organisation. Selection of new members is a strict and rigorous process based on 5 criteria. The candidate has to present an innovative idea with a high social impact. They also have to be creative, enterprising, and unquestionably ethical. Ashoka supports its fellows in a variety of ways – from scholarships and funding to building relations with other social innovators and institutions.

‘We believe that every Ashoka Fellow can solve problems and be an agent of positive change for other people. At the same time, we know how hard it is to do it alone. Ashoka creates systems and networks that support people who try to fix the world we live in’, said Agata Stafiej-Bartosik, CEE of Ashoka Poland.

Ireneusz Białek is the head of the JU Disability Support Service and president of the Managers of the Future Foundation, an organisation responsible for facilitating the introduction of corporate social responsibility initiatives. He was particularly praised for the actions undertaken to help the disadvantaged on the job market.

In 1999, he was chosen for the position of Rector’s Proxy for Disability Support. He is the author of a comprehensive assistance programme for the disabled, which led to the establishment of the Disability Support Service in 2005. He initiated a wide-range international cooperation for increasing disability awareness among academic staff, and coordinated three large European projects in this area. He co-authored an innovative support programme for students in mental distress and was one of the experts assessing the introduction of the EU EQUAL programme in Poland. He was a member of the Commissioner for Human Rights’ Expert Committee for People with Disabilities. He was awarded with the Golden Cross of Merit by the President of Poland.

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