The World Copernican Congress, organised to mark the 550th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus, will begin on February 19th with a ceremony in the NCU Aula.
The purpose of the Congress, which is jointly prepared by the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn and the Institute of the History of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences, is to present the state of research on the life and work of Nicolaus Copernicus, as well as his influence on the development of science, culture and art.
Opening in Toruń
The first event of the Congress will be the Toruń inauguration, which is scheduled for February 19th - the anniversary of the great astronomer's birth, which is also the Nicolaus Copernicus University Day.
The events, which will be attended by, among others, the rectors of the universities co-organizing the Congress, will begin with the Holy Mass at the SS Johns' Cathedral, where a commemorative plaque will be unveiled in the Copernicus Chapel.
After the ceremony, the academic procession will lay flowers at the Monument of Nicolaus Copernicus in Toruń's Old Town Market Square.
At 11:00 am, the ceremony will move to the NCU Aula, where speakers will include Przemyslaw Czarnek, Minister of Education and Science, and Prof. Andrzej Sokala, Rector of the NCU, Prof. Jacek Popiel, Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Prof. Jerzy Przyborowski, Rector of UWM, and Prof. Krzysztof Mikulski, Director of the Centre for Copernican Studies.
An important highlight of the event will be the keynote lecture to be delivered by Prof. Phillip James Edwin Peebles, Canadian astronomer and cosmologist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2019.
Congress in Poland
The World Copernican Congress will have a "rolling" formula. The sessions will be held successively in Kraków (May 24-26), Olsztyn (June 21-24) and Toruń (September 12-15).
Economists, philosophers and scholars of the history of these disciplines will meet in Kraków. The program will include a philosophical section, "The Copernican Legacy," and an economic section, "Around Money," aimed at recalling Nicolaus Copernicus' treatise, "Monetae cudendae ratio," devoted to and value of money and monetary reform.
In the Olsztyn part of the Congress, the sessions will focus on the astronomer's biography, as well as museums dedicated to him. A biographical section "Nicolaus Copernicus - his Life and Activities" is planned, which will introduce, among other things, the astronomer's education and youth, as well as his public activities, as well as a museum-conservation section devoted to problems related to the study, inventory and maintenance of historical objects that are directly related to Nicolaus Copernicus.
The September session of the Congress, when the debates return to Toruń, will be attended by historians, cultural and literary scholars, art historians, astronomers and historians of astronomy, and representatives of medical sciences. In addition, events will be organized for teachers, educators, young people and the local community. As many as six sections are planned for this part: astronomy, cultural studies, medical history, medicine, teachers, and teenagers.
The 41st Congress of the Polish Astronomical Society will be held during the Copernican World Congress from September 11 to 15, 2023, marking its 100th anniversary.
Congress website: https://www.copernicus2023.com/
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