Dr. László Sólyom, President of the Republic of Hungary, has decorated Edwin Van Schie with the Silver Cross of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, for his efforts to promote Hungarian language and culture during the last 20 years in the Netherlands. The decoration was presented to Mr. van Schie on behalf of H.E. Iván Udvardi, Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary, by Mr. István Gyebnár, Deputy Head of Mission, during the festive program „Haydn and the Hungarian songs” organised in the Cultural Centre „Quinta Essentia” in Zwaanshoek, June 13th 2009.

Edwin van Schie founded, after finishing his university studies, a Hungarian language school in Haarlem, which was celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Since 1994 he has been working as official translator. In 1996 he founded the “Most Magyarul!” bilingual (Hungarian-Dutch) newspaper. From 2004 he has been organising several Hungarian cultural events in the Netherlands, and in 2007 his translation of a work of Péter Esterházy has been published.