In February 2009, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe honored two distinguished Polish citizens with the Embassy’s Karski Freedom Award. Ambassador Ashe presented the award to Dr. Marek Edelman at his home in Warsaw on Friday, February 13. A separate award ceremony to present the statuette to Prof. Barbara Skarga and honor both recipients was held at the Ambassador’s Warsaw residence on Tuesday evening, February 17. The award, part of the American Ambassadorial Awards Program, recognizes Poles who have worked for the promotion of democracy and human rights within Poland, regionally in Eastern Europe, or some other area of the world, either as an individual or through the activities of an organization. Dr. Edelman is the third recipient of the award. Prof. Barbara Skarga is the co-winner of this year’s Jan Karski Freedom Award.