On 12 May 2016 in Toronto four persons – Prof. Wiliam Gibson from Sydney, Prof. Thomas Balkany from Miami, Prof. Henryk Skarżyński from Warsaw and Prof. Thomas Lenarz from Hannover – received the Outstanding Achievement Award bestowed by the international community for their extraordinary contributions to development of science and medicine and ensuring optimal opportunities for interpersonal communication in modern societies.

The Award for Prof. Henryk Skarżyński has been bestowed for inspirational leadership in establishing a treatment centre for the surgical treatment of hearing loss which is world renowned. Tireless advocate for the hearing impaired nationally and internationally. Provision of leadership in establishing a national hearing screening program as well as pioneering a model for remote delivery of ongoing care to implant recipients using computer technology.

Prof. Julian M. Niedzielski from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto gave citation: “Professor Henryk Skarżyński, of Kajetany, which is just outside Warsaw for those of you who don’t know. Professor Skarżyński is truly a giant among cochlear implant surgeons. His contributions to this field are truly astounding. Over the course of his career he has pioneered the concept of hearing preservation surgery, remote programming of cochlear implants as well as performing thousands of cochlear implantations. He is principally responsible for the construction of the World Hearing Center in Kajetany, Poland. This is a truly remarkable facility dedicated solely to the treatment of hearing impaired combining state of the art surgical facilities for adults as well as children. He received an extraordinary number of awards and numerous public accolades of his immense contribution. Professor Skarżyński. The award is for his inspirational leadership in establishing a treatment centre for the surgical treatment of hearing loss which is world renowned, tireless advocate for the hearing impaired nationally and internationally, and the provision of leadership in establishing a national hearing screening program as well as pioneering a model for remote delivery of ongoing care to implant recipients using computer technology”.

Prof. Henryk Skarżyński tanked for the award saying that this is a great honour for him and his team.

It has been awarded at the 14^th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and Other Implantable Technologies (CI2016) in Toronto, Canada. Its organizers were the American Cochlear Implant (ACI) Alliance) in collaboration with the University of Toronto and presidents of previous 13 intercontinental conferences organized every second year in different parts of the world. ACI Alliance it is the largest in the world American association of specialists from all continents, social workers, patients and families working to improve the awareness and access to the newest technologies assuring optimal communication of the ever developing society. Its mission is to advance access to the gift of hearing provided by cochlear implantation through research, advocacy and awareness. This creed has been guiding also the activities of Prof. Henryk Skarżyński for over quarter-century, which, as attested by this award who is neither first nor only, does not remain unnoticed in the international community of scientists, clinicians, engineers, psychologists, educators, researchers and all other specialists working in the field of treatment of auditory disorders through application of hearing implants.  CI2016 is the largest and most prestigious intercontinental meeting of specialists dedicated to the topics of cochlear implants, hearing, audiology and care for hearing impaired people. This year is has gathered almost 2000 participants from all over the world. Poland is represented by the 7-person delegation from the World Hearing Center, which has prepared 22 papers representing the results of scientific and clinical studies based  on the one of the largest in the world group of patients treated for hearing impairments with implantable devices.