Jacek Bożek
Founder, leader, and president of the Gaja Club, a social innovator and expert in social initiatives in the field of environmental and animal protection. He was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta for building civil society (2011) and is a laureate of the Ashoka Social Nobel Prize (1997).
He has completed numerous courses in Poland and abroad on ecology and social initiatives, including the River Basin Management Fellowship, German Marshall Fund of the United States (1994). He was a government scholar of New South Wales, Australia, and worked at the Rainforest Information Center (1991). He has been a member of the international Ashoka organization since 1997.
He is involved in nationwide and international programs of the Gaja Club, including the National Campaign “Now Vistula” (since 1994), the ecological education programs “Adopt a River” (since 2005) and “Tree Day” (since 2003). He is the creator of the social education program “The Warrior’s Way of Gaja.” He gives lectures, debates, workshops, and events, using various forms of artistic activities. He directs happenings and performances such as “The Living World,” presented during the Polish Season in France at Nova Polska (2004), and “Paths of Stories” (2018).
He co-authored books such as the “Anthology of Animal Rights” (1995), “How to Save a River” (1997), “Save the River” (1997), “Man and Dog” (2003), “Ecology: A Challenge of the 21st Century” (2011), and “Changing the World: The Way of Gaja’s Warriors” (2013).
He has experience working with advisory and review panels both nationally and internationally, including: the State Forests College (since 2014), the Social-Scientific Council of the Forest Promotional Complex “Forests of the Beskid Śląski” (since 2013), the State Nature Conservation Council (2004-2009; 2009-2014), the State Environmental Protection Council (2014-2019), the Regional Environmental Impact Assessment Commission of the Silesian Voivodeship (2009-2014), the Landscape Parks Council of the Silesian Voivodeship (2010-2015), and Eurogroup for Animals (1998-2011).
He is the recipient of numerous individual and group awards, including: Ecological Movement Personality of the Year (1996), the Polcul Award from the Independent Foundation for the Promotion of Polish Culture for cultural and environmental activities (2000), the honorary title of Polish Ecology Person of the Year for 2001 (2002), the Equality Glasses (2004), the highest distinction of the State Forests – the Polish Forester’s Cordel for the Gaja Club’s efforts in nature conservation and the ecological education program “Tree Day” (2008), the honorary badge from the Minister of Environment for “Merit for Environmental Protection and Water Management” (2009), the “Shining World Hero Award” (2010), the Green Check Award in the category of Ecological Education for Children and Youth (2014), the Wojciech Dutka Award for Organic Work in Environmental Protection (2014), the Local Hero Award (2017), and the Green Eagle Award of “Rzeczpospolita” in the Titan category (2021).
He loves the mountains.
