Due to the Covid-epidemic, this Saturday Minister Gergely Gulyásr awarded the Order of Merit of Hungary of the Civilian Order to Professor Dr. Ferenc Miszlivetz, Professor and Director General of the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK).

He received the award on the occasion of the national holiday of 15 March 2021, at the proposal of the Prime Minister, in recognition of his role in the development of the Creative City Sustainable Rural Development Concept (KRAFT Concept) and his decades of outstanding academic research and teaching.

The KRAFT-developments in the city of Kőszeg are ongoing: the renovation of the neglected synagogue in Kőszeg is planned this year in addition to the complete refurbishment of the former Ball House, which is scheduled in the near future. When completed, it is expected to serve as a 21^st century cultural and civic centre for high culture and public events with a concert hall, exhibition space and cinema.

In recent years, the Kőszeg KRAFT programme has become a novel model for urban development based on social innovation. The recognition of this programme, and other emerging needs, encouraged the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg to work on the implementation of the concept at both the regional and national levels. The framework of the KRAFT Pannonia Programme is now taking shape.

He is the founder and director of the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK), a Jean Monnet professor and full professor at the University of Pannonia. He is a scientific advisor at the Centre for Social Sciences, Institute for Political Science, at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He elaborated the project on creative cities and sustainable regions embedded in the KRAFT Centre at iASK. His research interests include democracy, civil society, Central-European and European Studies, globalization and sustainability. He has taught and conducted research at various universities in Europe and the United States, including the University of Bologna, and Columbia University in New York. He is the founder and director of the board of the Institute for Social and European Studies Foundation (a Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence). Since 2012 he has served as the president of the Social Sciences unit of the Hungarian UNESCO Committee and holds a UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage and Sustainability in Kőszeg.

He has received numerous awards, including the Knight’s Cross of the Hungarian Republic (2005).

Congratulations!