Looking back at the peace&justice café

The Hague’s ecosystem of organisations working for a more just and peaceful world came together virtually in January to discuss The Hague’s impact in the world, and how to improve its representation on the global stage.

All attendees made new connections via diverse networking sessions run by a wide variety of organisations – Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Mercy Corps, the Institute for Environmental Security, The Hague Academy for Local Governance, Green Transparency, World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ), The Hague Peace Projects, UNICRI – United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute.

The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Paul Huijts led the keynote speech, expressing his happiness to be connecting with the 20,000 strong community in this city working with “impact” towards a more peaceful and world. He also discussed how relevant and important it is that the work done in The Hague influences global issues, despite the pushback from many parts of the world. The organisations in the city represent “central values” so important for a country like the Netherlands to be involved in.

Deputy Mayor of The Hague Saskia Bruines also wished everyone a Happy New Year, and commended how the city supports a growing ecosystem and helps with developing partnerships– not only in The Hague, but also with fellow professionals across the world working on the same goals.

*Saskia Bruines, Connor Sattely and Paul Huijts wishing participants a happy new year*

At a workshop on The Hague’s international profile, run by the director of the international affairs department of the Municipality of The Hague Wim Jansen with Humanity Hub, participants advised The Hague to “increase visibility of lesser known organisations”, “emphasize why The Hague is important on the international scale” and “make sure that people the world over understand the city beyond its international law role as (one of) the lynchpins of restorative justice & sustainable peace in the world”.

At a co-creation workshop titled ‘A new programming platform for The Hague: what do you want to see?’, participants gave their input on the emerging Just Peace platform. The soon-to-be-launched platform aims to make the work of the organisations in The Hague’s ecosystem of peace and justice more visible and relatable to the public.

Check out the video below, and drop a line to justpeace@humanityhub.net to find out more.

The peace & justice café kicked off the new year with high quality networking and engagement among committed members of The Hague’s peace and justice community.