On May 10, 2013, the ceremonial Opening of the World Hearing Center took place, with the participation of the Marshal of the Sejm Ms. Ewa Kopacz, Prime Minister Mr. Donald Tusk, Minister of Health Mr. Bartosz Arlukowicz, Minister of Regional Development Ms. Elzbieta Bienkowska, Archbishop of Warsaw Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, His Excellency the Ambassador of Algeria Abdelkader Khemri and many representatives of the Ministries of health, education and science, national authorities, Polish Academy of Science, chancellors of 7 universities and almost 200 other representatives of Polish and foreign departments and clinics. Furthermore, in the ceremony participated also the representatives of scientific societies and non-governmental organizations such as: The American Otological Society, Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum, European Federation of Audiological Societies, Politzer Society, the Institute of Cardiology, the Institute of Mother and Child, the Institute of Occupational Medicine, the Polish Business Club Association and the Polish Business Club Association.

Official ceremony was preceded by the press conference on which there were accredited 81 journalists, reporters and press photographers. Twelve cameras followed the events during the opening and arrival of 3 external broadcasting vans ensured live presence of the event in media. During these days, more than 100 radio and TV broadcasts, press and web portals releases were published.

Press conference was concluded by the ceremonial unveiling of the Commemorative Plaque “For all supporting the new ideas of interpersonal communication” immortalizing the names of 99 representatives of media.

The Prime Minister of Poland, Mr. Donald Tusk, honored the ceremony of the opening of the World Hearing Center with an address to participants in which he stated
– If people hear one another, they also understand one another better, and this greatly improves our reality.

The Prime Minister declared also his support for all initiatives aimed at combating the problems with communication:
– We shall discuss with the Ministers of Health and Finance the possible government support to the emerging national program to fight such conditions – he added.

This statement of the Prime Minister’s is the crowning of many years of Prof. Skarzynski’s and the Institute’s team’s efforts promoting screening of school-age children, including the activities undertaken during the Polish presidency of the EU Council, that led to the inclusion of the problem of early detection and treatment of communication disorders in children in the priorities of the Presidency in the field of public health and resulting in the EU Council Conclusion on this subject.

After the Prime Minister’s speech, Prof. H. Skarzynski addressed the assembled guests recounting the history that led to the Center’s creation.

– There are many reasons for why this place is so extraordinary. Here the first in the world partial deafness surgeries have been performed, during which we had electrically complemented the normal low-frequency hearing. It was something fantastic and something that many people, for a long time, could not believe. – said Prof. H. Skarzynski during his presentation – Here there were initiated the telemedicine services on a large-scale. Today we have two state of the art studios, we have the first in the world national telemedicine network enabling contact and creating the chance to incorporate the newest information and communication technologies that have appeared in the daily clinical praxis. Here the largest number of hearing improvement surgeries in the world is performed. It is easy to say, it is much harder to do – he added.

After Prof. Skarzynski’s presentation the symbolic ribbon has been formally cut by following personages:
• Marshal of the Seym Ms. Ewa Kopacz,
• Prime Minister Mr. Donald Tusk,
• Minister of Health Mr. Bartosz Arlukowicz,
• Minister of Regional Development Ms. Elzbieta Bienkowska,
• Archbishop of Warsaw Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz,
• President of the American Otological Society prof. Herman Jenkins,
• President of the European Federation of Audiological Societies prof. Kurt Stephan,
• Chancellor of the Medical University of Warsaw prof. Marek Krawczyk,
• Chancellor of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music prof. Stanislaw Moryto,
• Chancellor Elect of the Warsaw University of Technology prof. Jan Szmidt,
• Chancellor of the Academy of Special Education prof. Jan Laszczyk,
• Director of the National Centre for Research and Development prof. Krzysztof Jan Kurzydlowski,
• Director of the Main Council of the Research Institutes prof. Leszek Rafalski,
• Prof. Henryk Skarzynski together with his child patients

The artistic part began with a touching rendition of the“I can hear” anthem by the singer Malgorzata Jalocha. Next followed the etudes and sketches prepared and performed by children who are able to develop their skills and passions in sport, plastic or music thanks to their cochlear implants. They are able to sing beautifully and play on different instruments. Particularly moving for the audience were the children’s replies about their favorite sound:
• screming fans – Sebastian,14 years old
• drums – Olaf, 10 years old
• bell which ends the lesson – Maria, 14 years old
• judge’s whistle – Mateusz, 15 years old
• singing birds – Estera, 15 years old
• guitar – Natalia, 8 years old
• singing – Roksana, 6 years old
• snorting of horses – Sylwia, 12 years old
• return of tenis ball – Sara, 12 years old
• violin – Daria, 10 years old
• stringed instruments – Alicja, 13 years old

The artistic part was ended with the concert of Marcin Wyrostek, the winner of the second edition of Poland’s Got Talent

– I would like to thank you all for being here and for being a part of great family supporting the new ideas of interpersonal communication, especially in the youngest generation – Prof. H. Skarzynski said in the closing speech.

Prof. Skarzynski also especially thanked:
• Senator Rafal Muchacki, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health
• Memeber of Parliament Beata Malecka-Libera, Vice-Chairmanan of Seym’s Committee on Health
• Member of Parliament Henryk Smolarz
• Senator Andrzej Kobiak
• Mieczyslaw Kasprzak, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Economy
• Tadeusz Slawecki, Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Education
• Adam Zdzieblo, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Regional Development
• Aleksander Soplinski, Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health
• Przemyslaw Bilinski, Main Pharmaceutical Inspector
• Grzegorz Cessak, President of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products
• Marcin Antoniak, acting Director General in the Ministry of Health
• Former Under-Secretaries of State in the Ministry of Health: Dr. Adam Fronczak and Dr. Andrzej Wlodarczyk
• Presidential Advisors of the President of Poland: Dr. Joanna Starega-Piasek, Prof. Tomasz Borecki
• Artur Brzoska, President of the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund
• Janinia Pszczołkowska, Deputy President of the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund
• Daniel Zaharenko, Deputy President of the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund
• Zbigniew Teter, Vice-President of the National Health Fund
• Olga Johan, Vice-Chairperson of the Warsaw City Council
• Agnieszka Kuzminska, Vice-Prefect of Pruszkow County
• Janusz Grzyb, Mayor of Nadarzyn Municipality
• Beata Cholewka, Director of the Department of Nurses and Birth Attendants in the Ministry of Health
• Michal Kepowicz, Director of the Department of European Union Funds in the Ministry of Health
• Jadwiga Jaszczyk, Director of the Office for Foreign Aid Programs in Health Care
• Prof. Michal Kleiber, President of the Polish Academy of Sciences
• Prof. Jacek Zaremba, Dean on the 5th Division of Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences
• Prof. Tadeusz Kaczorek, President of the Central Committee for Degrees and Scientific Titles
• Prof. Wojciech Noszczyk, Vice-President of the Central Committee for Degrees and Scientific Titles
• Prof. Krzysztof Jan Kurzydłowski, Director of the National Centre for Research and Development
• Leszek Grabarczyk, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Research and Development
• Prof. Leszek Rafalski, Chairman of the Main Council of the Research Institutes
• Prof. Danuta Koradecka, Vice- Chairman of the Main Council of the Research Institutes, Director of the Central Institute for Labour Protection
• Prof. Andrzej Czlonkowski, Council Chairperson of the Foundation for Polish Science
• Prof. Wlodzimierz Bolecki, Deputy President of the Foundation for Polish Science
• Prof. Lukasz Turski, Chairman of the Programme Council of the Copernicus Science Center
• Robert Firmhofer, Director of the Copernicus Science Center
• Prof. Marek Krawczyk, Rector of the Medical University of Warsaw
• Prof. Joanna Jedrzejczak, Director of the Medical Centre of Postgraduate Education
• Prof. Jan Szmidt, Dean of the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology of the Warsaw University of Technology
• Prof. Stanislaw Moryto, Rector of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music
• Prof. Ryszard Zimak, Rector-elect of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music
• Prof. Jan Laszczyk, Rector of the Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education
• Prof. Alojzy Szymanski, Rector of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW
• Prof. Jerzy Paweł Nowacki, Rector of the Polish-Japanese Institute of Information Technology
• Prof. Alojzy Nowak, Dean of the Faculty of Management of the University of Warsaw Representative of the University of Warsaw
• Prof. Witold Ruzyllo, Director of the Institute of Cardiology
• Olaf Gajl, Ph.D., Director of the Information Processing Institute
• Tomasz Maciejewski, Ph.D., Director of the Institute of Mother and Child
• Prof. Przemyslaw Oszukowski, Director of the Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital- Research Institute
• Prof. Jerzy Stelmachow, Deputy Director of the Institute of Rheumatology
• Prof. Mariola Sliwinska-Kowalska, Deputy Director of the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine
• Prof. Wojciech Hanke, Deputy Director of the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine
• Stanislaw Traczyk, Ph.D., Director of the Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials
• Prof. Krzysztof Szamalek, Deputy Director of the Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials
The Institute’s Friends Forever:
• Jan Krzysztof Bielecki
• Prof. Longin Pastusiak
• Jozef Oleksy, Ph.D.
• Jerzy Kozminski
• Maria Gajęcka- Bozek, Ph.D.
• Prof. Andrzej Czyzewski
• Prof. Edward Hojan
• Andrzej Marchewka
• State Consultants: Prof. Wiesław Jedrzejczak, Prof. Boleslaw Samolinski, Prof. Grazyna Niedzielska, Prof. Grzegorz Pawlicki, Prof. Marek Rogowski, Prof. Grzegorz Opolski,
• Representatives of the Team of the State Consultant for Otorhinolaryngology: Pawel Dobrzynski, Ph.D., Prof. Wojciech Golusinski, Prof. Henryk Kazmierczak, Bogdan Kibilda, Ph.D., Prof. Tomasz Krecicki, Prof. Jurek Olszewski
• Representatives of the Marshal of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship

Representatives of:

• Polish Medical Society
• Warsaw Medical Society
• Supreme Medical Council and Regional Medical Councils
• Chapter of the Polish Success Academy
• Polish-American Freedom Foundation
• Center for Health Information Systems
• Polish Business Club Association
• European Business Club Association
• European Center for Enterprise
• Roland McDonald Foundation
• „Dom Polski” („Polish Home”) Civic Association
• World Health Foundation – Mind – Heart
• Disabled Health Protection Foundation
• Cochlear Company
• Medel Group
• Advanced Bionics Company
• The Mint – Precious Metals Inc.
During the Opening Ceremony of the World Hearing Center we hosted over 30 notable guests, distinguished scientists from all over the world representing European, American and other international societies:

• Prof. Christoph von Ilberg, Germany– cochlear implant pioneer
• Prof. Nuri Ozgirgin, Turkey – President of the Politzer Society
• Prof. Herman Jenkins, USA – President of the American Otological Society
• Prof. Kurt Stephan, Austria – President of the European Federation of Audiological Societies
• Prof. Antonio della Volpe , Italy – Member of the Politzer Socity
• Prof. David L. McPherson, USA – Member of the International Society of Audiology
• Prof. Rene Gifford, USA – Member of the American Acoustic Society
• Prof. Jose-Luis Padilla, Spain –Member of the European Association of Methodology
• Prof. Sophia Kramer, the Netherlands – President of the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology
• Prof. Tim Terzis, Greece – founder of the Hellenic Rhinologic Society and member of the European Rhinologic Society
• Prof. Milan Stankovic, Serbia – Instructor and Regional Secretary of European Academy of Otology & Otoneurology (EAONO)
• Dr. Agnieszka Szczepek, Germany- Member of the International Inflammation Society
• Dr. Ad Snik, the Netherlands- Member of the International Society of Audiology
• Prof. Erwin Hochmair, Austria- Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
• Prof. Stavros Hatzopoulos, Italy – Member of the International Evoked Responses Audiology Group (IERASG)
• Prof. Jamol Kholmatov, Tajikistan- Member of the ENT Societies of Central Asia
• Prof. Sergey Pukhlik, Ukraine- Member of the International Society of Allergists and Immunologists
• Richard Brook, President of the Cochlear Europe
• Dr. Marek Pollak, Med-El representative
• Cris Zimmerr, Advanced Bionics representative
Members of the Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum:
• Dr. Ingeborg Hochmair, Austria
• Prof. Michal Luntz, Israel
• Prof. Wolf-Dieter Baumgartner, Austria
National Representatives in the European Federation of Audiological Societies:
• Prof. Joseph Attias, Israel
• Dr Ewa Raglan, UK
• Prof. Frans Coninx, Germany
• Prof. Norbert Dillier, Switzerland
• Dr Tetyana Golubok-Abyzova, Ukraine

The Opening of the World Hearing Center was accompanied by the international scientific conference on May 11, 2012. The scientific program included 43 presentations.

Scientific conference was concluded with the ceremonial unveiling of the Commemorative Plaque “For all supporting the new ideas of interpersonal communication” commemorating the names of 31 eminent scientists and physicians from all over the world present at the Opening.

On each day of the Opening of the World Hearing Center we have hosted more than 700 guests.