On 15 December, a conference summarising the World Copernican Congress, organised to mark the 550th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus, was held in Toruń. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the Jagiellonian University and the University of Warmia and Mazury as well as the Institute of the History of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who signed an agreement to establish the International Centre for Copernican Research.
The rectors of the three universities - Prof. Jacek Popiel, Prof. Wojciech Wysota and Prof. Jerzy Przyborowski - signed a document establishing the International Centre for Copernican Research, as they see the need for further integration of scientists conducting research on the life and activities of Nicolaus Copernicus and his impact on science and culture both in Poland and globally. Additionally, they consider it necessary to extend the scope of educational and promotional activities regarding knowledge about Nicolaus Copernicus. It is also crucial to continue cooperation between the higher education institutions that organised the World Copernican Congress and to prepare the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the publication of Nicolaus Copernicus's De revolutionibus, which falls on 2043. During the meeting, Prof. Stanisław Roszak and Prof. Agnieszka Wieczorek from the Faculty of Historical Sciences of the Nicolaus Copernicus University gave a lecture entitled 'Nicholas Copernicus in the culture of memory'.
The World Copernican Congress was officially opened on February 19 in Toruń, the city where Copernicus was born and raised. In May, the celebrations moved to Kraków, where the great astronomer attended university, and in June - to Olsztyn, the heart of Warmia, the region of Poland where he spent the last 40 years of his life. In September, the Congress returned to Toruń, where it was officially closed on September 15.
