Creating New Futures together with The Hague Non-Governmental and International Organisations

On 28 January, the Humanity Hub, together with the Municipality of The Hague, hosted the annual NGO and international organisation reception. This year’s theme was “Creating New Futures”, seeking to increase impact by strengthening connections. The reception brought together senior management from diverse actors of The Hague’s peace and justice ecosystem, as well as other potential and current contributors to a more peaceful and just world.

The NGO/IO Reception kicked off with side sessions on themes ranging from humanitarian data to water insecurity and climate challenges to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. The UN Centre for Humanitarian Data organised a session in which it discussed the future of using and sharing data in the humanitarian sector, which it seeks to promote through its work on data services, data policy, data literacy and recently, predictive analytics.

Meanwhile, HiiL shared its vision for justice – one that is data-driven and evidence-based. This vision includes opening up justice systems to innovation. A great opportunity to get involved in HiiL’s vision for more accessible justice is to join the organisation’s 3 February event “Justice Innovation is not just for Lawyers” and explore the many opportunities to contribute.

Other hosts included the Dutch Coalition for Humanitarian Innovation that facilitated its thought-provoking innovation game, which helps to develop ideas for unlikely or unexplored collaborations (get in touch with them at info@dchi.nl if you’re curious); the World Resources Institute, linking climate challenges to work in the broader fields of peace, justice and humanitarian work; LINKS Europe, which looked at the crises and conflicts surrounding the European Union and opportunities for The Hague’s civil society to put the case for a more strategic diplomatic response; as well as the Netherlands Red Cross, Delft University of Technology, Partos/the Spindle, Space4Good, Global Goals Quest Foundation, and International Alert.

*During the course of the evening, moderator Connor Sattely from HiiL invited audience members to share their thoughts on The Hague’s peace and justice ecosystem.*

Speeches from Deputy Mayor of The Hague Saskia Bruines and Hub Managing Director Jill Wilkinson marked the final stretch of the eventful reception. The Deputy Mayor emphasized The Hague’s role as the international city of peace and justice, and the Municipality’s investment in maintaining this role by attracting both professionals and organisations.

The Humanity Hub is a fundamental part of the city’s peace and justice ecosystem – “wherever I Google, I always end up at the Humanity Hub“, as was put by a member of our community. Bruines concluded with a message of collaboration, inviting contributors to the ecosystem to seek out new allies, especially in light of the UN’s 75th anniversary.

Following that, Managing Director Wilkinson laid out some of the Humanity Hub’s plans going into 2020. To bring more connection and collaboration value, we are developing new event formats, communities of practice, and learning opportunities together with our community. One such community of practice is organised in collaboration with HiiL – Peace and Justice Café on 6 March, a monthly interactive event with diverse themes that offers the opportunity to share and collaborate in a regular heartbeat.

The Hub prides itself on being a space that facilitates the process of collaboration by bringing together non-governmental and international organisations, knowledge institutions and socially responsible businesses into its community, now numbering 88 organisations and hundreds of professionals. Explore our diverse community by clicking here.

We were also joined by His Excellency Heinz Walker-Nederkoorn, the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Netherlands. The Ambassador opened the exhibition “Life of Mine“, which gives a human face to the terrible consequences of landmine use. Even long after the conclusion of a conflict, landmines continue to pose a serious threat to civilian populations. The exhibition was created by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, hosted by the Hub in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland.

The evening concluded with networking between the many attendees. Thanks to Connor Sattely from HiiL for moderating the reception!