Dutch linguist, journalist, writer and former politician Dr Camiel Hamans was awarded the Medal for Distinguished Merit to the Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań on Friday, 13 September 2024. - "The award is in recognition of his long-standing cooperation with our University, specifically with the Faculty of English Studies," said Professor Bogumiła Kaniewska, AMU Rector, during the ceremony. - "Dr Camiel Hamans' commitment, openness and friendliness have resulted in numerous contacts and have created lasting partnerships and friendships," added the Rector.
Dr Camiel Hamans' cooperation with AMU began in 1981 during the International Congress of Historical Linguistics organised by the AMU Institute of English Philology. Since then, the researcher has regularly participated in conferences on contrastive and historical linguistics organised by the Poznan Centre; he has taught a two-semester course in semantics and initiated efforts to establish a regular course in Dutch. Dr Camiel Hamans was obtaining financial support from the Dutch Language Union to employ a Dutch language teacher at AMU. Thus, he built a lasting foundation for the development of the later Dutch specialisation for students of English philology, which subsequently transformed into an independent Dutch studies programme. Dr Camiel Hamans regularly visited Poznań, teaching, among other things, the history of the language, phonology and practical knowledge of Dutch. For four years, he was associated with the Department of Dutch and South African Studies at the Faculty of English as a senior lecturer and visiting professor. In 2021, Dr Camiel Hamans donated a private book collection of several thousand volumes in general linguistics, historical linguistics, phonology, Dutch and Afrikaans linguistics and Dutch literature to the University.
Remarkably, as a press journalist and radio academic, he has been involved in promoting Polish classical music in the Netherlands for years, while, as a member of the European Parliament, he has invested his time in strengthening cooperation with representatives of Polish left-wing and liberal groups. In 1991, he was, for example, the first foreign correspondent to interview the future President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski.
The decision to award the distinction was already made in 2022, and the 21st International Congress of Linguists currently underway in Poznań was an opportunity to present the Medal in person.
The Medal for Merit to the Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, recognises long-standing cooperation with the University. It is awarded to, among others, initiators and pioneers of inter-university cooperation and individuals who have made a significant contribution to developing the University's scientific capital.
Photo by Władysław Gardasz
