International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8th. Minister-President Wüst uses the evening before for a special honour: he awards the Order of Merit exclusively to committed citizens from North Rhine-Westphalia.
Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) - A special gesture for International Women's Day: On the evening before (March 7, 6 p.m.), Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst (CDU) will award the state's Order of Merit exclusively to six committed citizens of the state, including moderator Claudia Kleinert . This emerges from an invitation that is available to the German Press Agency.
Kleinert has been helping people with physical and mental disabilities for many years and also supports the children's aid organization "Save the Children". According to the invitation, Wüst also honors the musician and animal rights activist Heidrun Brieskorn, the chairwoman of the "Union of Progressive Jews in Germany", Irith Michelsohn, Michaela Noll (President of the Förderkreis ZNS Langenfeld), Heidi van Thiel (Bundesjugendwartin at the German Equestrian Association), as well as Karin Welder from the "Borsigweg contact point" in Bottrop.
Prime Minister Wüst said when asked by the dpa: "Women do valuable work in our society, which unfortunately is still too often not sufficiently appreciated. It is still often the women who take care of the upbringing of the children or the care of family members - and her commitment goes far beyond that." The award of the State Order of Merit on the eve of International Women's Day is "just a small sign of appreciation," says Wüst - combined with the conviction that equality is a task for society as a whole.
