President of European Parliament Jerzy Buzek was awarded by the Ministerpresident (Prime Minister) of North-Rhine Westphalia, Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers, the prestigious annual award the "Staatspreis" on December 8, 2009 in Bonn (Germany). The prize honored EP President J. Buzek's lifetime achievements in promoting and strengthening democracy in Europe.
President J. Buzek donated the prize of € 25.000 to the European Humanities University in Vilnius (Lithuania). The Rector of EHU Anatoli Mikhailov was present at the ceremony to welcome the donation of the President.
Mr. Buzek mentioned he had been impressed by the university during his visit not long ago and called the students and teachers of EHU “the future of Belarus”.
After the award ceremony the discussion on the European Parliament activity and role, the Treaty of Lisbon, foreign policy, climate change and migration issues of the EU was held.
The European Humanities University (EHU) is a Belarusian university in exile based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The University was founded in Minsk in 1992 and closed by authorities in 2004. It re-launched activities in Vilnius in 2005 and was granted the status of a Lithuanian university in 2006.
Its mission is to prepare future leaders of society in an academic environment free of discrimination of any kind. The University exists to facilitate and deepen the contribution that its students, graduates, and faculty can make to the quality and potential of their own lives. In doing so, EHU offers high quality liberal education and research on BA and MA levels in face to face or low residence study.
