FIRST DAY OF ISSUE 9 SEPTEMBER 1983.
The Order of the Smile (Polish: Order Usmiechu) is an international award given by children, to adults distinguished in their love, care and aid for children.
The idea of the Order of the Smile was established in 1968 by the Polish magazine Kurier Polski, inspired by Wanda Chotomska. In 1979 (announced by the International Year of the Child) the then-Secretary-General of the United Nations Kurt Waldheim officially recognized the Order. From then, the Order of the Smile became an international order.
The medal - which is a badge representing a smiling sun - is awarded in Poland by the International Chapter of the Order of the Smile, in Warsaw, Poland, where the administration is headquartered in Swidnica. All candidates chosen by children from around the world become Laureates by the Chapter. The knight or dame of the Order of the Smile is an adult, whose work is exceptional.
The Order is awarded twice a year - in spring and in fall. Laureates of the Order of Smile include approx. 850 people from 45 countries. The right to use the title of Knight of the Order of Smile is designated only to those who were decorated at the official ceremony organized by the Chapter.
Although most of the 59 members of the Chapter are of Polish descent, it includes representatives from other countries including: Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Some notable Knights and Dames to receive the Order of the Smile include: Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Queen Silvia of Sweden, Sarah Ferguson, Tove Jansson, Dagmar Havlova, Jolanta and Aleksander Kwasniewski, Jacek Kuron, Astrid Lindgren, J. K. Rowling, Steven Spielberg, Kurt Waldheim, Nelson Mandela, Hilary Koprowski, Otylia Jerzejczak, Oprah Winfrey, Peter Ustinov, and Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski.
The youngest Knight to ever receive the Order of the Smile was Marek Michalak in 1994, then aged 23. The oldest was Irena Sendlerowa in 2007, aged 97.
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