Dr Justyna Olko, scientist of  the Faculty of Artes Liberales at the University of Warsaw was one of the winners of the Falling Walls 2020 competition as part of the World Science Summit / Berlin Science Week organized by the Falling Walls Foundation.

The Polish researcher was awarded in the fields of humanities and social sciences for “breaking down walls between the academy and local communities for linguistic diversity”. She was awarded the Scientific Breakthrough of the Year title along with nine other finalists, who were selected from over 900 nominated candidates from around the world on the basis of the decision of the jury run by Helga Nowotny (former president of the European Research Council).

Dr Justyna Olko combines research and committed community work to promote multilingualism, language revitalization and the empowerment of ethnic minorities.