Citizens' Award Goes to Four Volunteers and Two Organizations

Educational initiatives on Europe and bees, foster parents, a children’s art center, and advocacy for the Global South: Four volunteers and two organizations were honored with the 2025 Saxon Citizens’ Award at the Dresden Frauenkirche. The awards, presented in five categories, each come with a prize of 5,000 euros and recognize outstanding civic engagement.

Winners Selected from 75 Nominees

75 projects, initiatives, and individuals were nominated, according to the State Chancellery. A jury selected this year’s winners from among them. In the Democracy category, the award went to Annika Fleischer of Leipzig, who provides young people with education on European and democratic values.

Foster parents Cornelia and Horst Wöckel from Chemnitz received the award in the Humanity category. Over the past 14 years, they have temporarily taken in more than 100 children; one of them has remained with the family. The Unikat association was honored in the “Hometown” category for transforming the historic weavers’ houses in Plauen into an arts center for children and youth, which now features ten workshops.

The award in the “Environment” category went to the Ore Mountains: The Stollberg Beekeepers’ Association is actively involved in various ways in the protection of bees and other pollinators, for example by establishing an environmental education center. In the “World” category, Hinz Kitsche from Dresden was honored for his commitment to the Global South. In 1972, he founded the Development Aid Working Group, which supports numerous projects, primarily in Africa.

Commitment Builds Community

“Saxony thrives on people who don’t spend time wondering what others could do, but instead roll up their sleeves and get to work themselves,” said Minister of Justice Constanze Geiert in her keynote address, according to the press release. The award recipients embody this “hands-on” mentality in a very special way. “It is their commitment that builds community and makes a sense of home tangible.”

Prime Minister and patron Michael Kretschmer (CDU) praised the widespread volunteerism in Saxony. About one-third of the population volunteers. “The volunteer work of all these citizens is so incredibly important for enriching our lives, both on a large and small scale,” he said.