Congratulations to the President of Baltic Heritage Network and VEMU chief archivist Piret Noorhani, awarded the Order of the White Star IV Class by the President of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis on Estonian Independence Day! The award was also presented to several individuals who helped keep Estonian culture alive in diaspora communities, among them Mart Nurk, who advocated for the preservation of the Estonian House in Stockholm for decades; long-time member of the board of the New York Estonian Educational Society Peeter Teedla; president of the Estonian Students’ Fund in USA MariAnne Teedla; and Tõnu Loorpärg, who acted in the name of preserving Estonian culture in New Zealand and was a longtime honorary consul.