Netherlands
The Hague
Globally, The Hague is known as the international city of peace and justice. For over more than a century, it has been the place where countries gathered in peace conferences and international courts to foster peace through justice, rather than through war and conflict. Today, The Hague looks forward and addresses the challenges of tomorrow, such as the risks and benefits of new technologies, but also the impact of climate change and environmental issues on security. Working together to create a better world is part of The Hague’s DNA. Hence, the city’s mission is to work towards creating a better, just and safe world. In pursuing this mission on a European stage, The Hague works on three intertwined key priorities which contribute to this objective: digitalization, societal impact and resilience, and sustainability.
As the international city of peace and justice, The Hague also has a long-standing shared history and a strong connection with Europe. It is home to 31 European organisations. The municipality of The Hague strongly believes in the potential of cities and regions in shaping the future of Europe. It supports the concept of multilevel governance, according to which all key stakeholders in the EU, including city governments, are involved to jointly tackle pressing matters and deliver concrete outputs for the benefit of citizens in the EU.
The city of The Hague acts in a European governance context that is well aware of the importance of cities. In the EU, cities are viewed as both the source of and the solution to today’s economic, social and environmental issues. Since all three priority areas – and related domains of activity – are closely interrelated, addressing challenges in either of these fields requires coherence and cooperation across all fields. For example, designing state-of-the-art digital technologies enables the city to create more societal impact and increase more resilience. The Hague is providing a perfect platform to successfully launch EU and cross-border projects. Fundamental impact is likely to happen when the three domains intersect, and The Hague would like to do so in collaboration with other cities!
