Hans Heinrich Hansen receives the highest award of South Tyrol

The Honorary President of the FUEN, Hans Heinrich Hansen will be awarded the Order of Merit of South Tyrol. This is the highest award of the province, and it honors personalities who have played a key role in shaping South Tyrol's history. The ceremony will be held on September 5, 2018, the anniversary of the signing of the Paris Treaty, at Castle Tyrol.

Mr. Hansen will receive the Order for his decisive contribution to the success of the Minority SafePack Initiative, as the European Citizens’ Initiative was launched during his presidency and he is also the Representative of the Citizens’ Committee.

The Minority SafePack Initiative asking for EU protection and promotion of minority languages and cultures has gathered 1,128,385 valid signatures during its one-year campaign and managed to pass the threshold in 11 Member States of the EU, Italy being one of them.

The other two personalities to receive the Order of Merit at this year’s ceremony are Italian writer Francesca Melandri and Austrian diplomat Helmut Tichy.