The Hague Humanity Hub: an SDG house in the middle of the city

A vibrant community

The Hague Humanity Hub was established in 2018 as an initiative of the Municipality of The Hague with support from Leiden University and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The goal was to facilitate connection and cooperation between organizations from different sectors. Jill says, “Before The Hague Humanity Hub existed, it was difficult for people to meet each other. Often people only got in touch during international conferences, even if they were based in the same city! Now people can meet and work together here. This fits very nicely with Goal 17, partnership for causes.” The Hague Humanity Hub is a vibrant three-story space with offices, co-working spaces and a café with barista. “We have members, they get extra services from us like a flex space to work. We also organize many events, such as dialogues, panel discussions, workshops and film screenings. These are for all relevant professionals. We also organize activities for the general public under our Just Peace brand. In these, everyone is welcome. In our online calendar you can find all activities,” Marija explains. 

More than an office building

It was during the covid pandemic that the importance of community really became apparent. Despite the physical limitations, the community continued to grow. “For us, corona was a real turning point. We saw that people continued to participate in our online events. They were looking forward to it. They didn't miss the office, they missed each other. A community had been created, a community,” Jill says. Currently, more than a third of members do not physically work at The Hague Humanity Hub, showing that The Hague Humanity Hub is more than just a co-working space.  

The SDG House network

The Hague Humanity Hub is part of the SDG House network, making it a true SDG house in the city. The network includes SDG houses spread throughout the Netherlands, such as museums, social impact hubs and regional SDG houses. The SDG House network aims to activate and motivate different sectors of society to work on the SDGs. Each SDG House does this for its own target audience. “For us, that is our community of professionals,” explains Marija. The SDG House network also helps inspire and connect. “The SDG Houses meet regularly to share updates and help each other. It is also useful for when we are looking for partners in other cities for an activity, for example,” says Marija. The Hague Humanity Hub also helps organize SDG Cafés. These networking meetings, of which there have already been two editions, are designed to share knowledge about the SDGs and learn from each other. 

SDG map

Many organizations affiliated with The Hague Humanity Hub are working on SDG 16: peace, justice and strong public services. But Jill and Marija explain that The Hague Humanity Hub community works on many more goals and often on multiple goals at the same time. “We ask anyone who wants to become a member to answer some questions. Such as which SDGs their organization is working on,” Marija explains. In this way, The Hague Humanity Hub maps which goals organizations in The Hague are working on.  

When asked what their favorite SDGs are, Jill and Marija did not have to think long: “Goal 16 (peace, justice and strong public services) of course! I truly believe that if there is no justice, there can be nothing else, says Marija. Jill adds, “Goal 5 (gender equality) is also very important to me. And life on the land, nature (goal 15)”.

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