The ‘Miss Competition’ is for some people a noteworthy contest transmitted by television, for others, however, it is only a MISStyfication. For me, the organizer of the contest, it is definitely on a diplomatic MISSion. I even claim that building a Polish-Dutch relationship (or improving weak relations) requires time and in 2011 I started on this war, somewhat alone. This time the stereotypes and prejudices, not only Dutch ones, were acting as my enemy. What exactly can Poles expect from the election of the most beautiful Polish woman in Benelux?
Well, 70% of the respondents (having no knowledge who was asking, nor about the details of the contest) replied: “But such competitions are fixed, and anyway, the prettiest Polish woman is my sister, neighbour or wife.” However, as it is usually in such cases, that the details are the most important. This type of competition can be held only when we have willing candidates. A small detail, but quite significant.
Courage is another feature, aside from the intelligence and elegance, that a perfect finalist should posses. Interestingly, two editions of our Miss Contest have been already held, and 80% of the people remain convinced that the only factor to win the contest is ‘perfect’ beauty. The process of casting, which takes a format similar to that of an interview, should make people think. So the ones that believe that the jury is only interested in a superficial beauty are fundamentally wrong. We should remember that the main idea of the contest is to improve our nation’s image, therefore we needn’t worry about external qualities. No Dutchman has questioned the beauty of Polish women, that is why there is nothing to repair in this topic! So let’s focus on improving the opinion on our ambitions, intellect, education and our ability to integrate.
I look for candidates who catch my attention during the thirty minute of interviews, those that speak foreign languages, or the ones that are intelligent and charismatic. Of course, there are also women who do not have to be asked about the knowledge of any foreign language, because they can hardly speak their native one. Then, we diplomatically ask for “hobbies, interests and so on.”
On the Web site www.misspoland.nl you can see the profiles of finalists, so that they could be a kind of inspiration. It is a pleasure to watch the casting every year and I have to admit that it is the most interesting moment of the election for me. More and more often I’m dealing with people, for whom a trip to Holland is not just a transitional period nor step back, but who treat their career so seriously so they do not want to waste their time for such temporary activity. It is mystifying, that every year I meet more and more women like that.
The last, but extremely delicate topic is the media. In that field our mission becomes very diplomatic, because I will try not to mention the Polish media in the Benelux. From my own experience I can divide the enigmatic word “media” into two categories: friendly and unfriendly. Friendly media, even when they do not fully agree with the idea of the contest, they will do their best to help our initiative. The second category includes media, which before completing their material would provide a negative connotation to our contest. I believe, therefore that every Polish initiative should avoid the negative messages (particularly Dutch). This is not a show-business and the idea that ‘it is important that they write about you, no matter how’ does not count here. The main idea of the contest is that ‘it is important how they write about us’.
Photos: The Netherlands. Miss Poland in Benelux 2012. © Patrick Billen
Miss Poland in Benelux 2012 Joanna Gładysz. On December 8, 2012 Joanna will represent Polish diaspora on the final of Miss Poland. www.uniqueperformance.eu
