| • Where is the Archipelbuurt exactly? | |||||
| • Truly international | |||||
| • Who are we? | |||||
| • Citizenship Fund | |||||
| • International NGO cluster in Zeestraat | |||||
| Where is the Archipelbuurt exactly?
Two districts actually comprise the Archipebuurt: the Archipel and the Willemspark. As many people, including native residents, are still unclear which streets belong to our neighbourhood, we thought it might be helpful to list the streets that demarc the two areas as well as all the streets encompassed by them.
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| Truly international
Armenia Consulate of the Republic of Armenia, Sumatrastraat 222-224, 070 331 10 02 For appointments ring: 06 23700961 Argentina Belgium Bolivia Canada Cape Verde Islands Cuba Costa Rica Cyprus Denmark Ecuador Koninginnegracht 84, 2514 AJ The Hague, tel: 070-3469563, consulate: 070-3463753 Eritrea Estonia Zeestraat 92, 2518 AD The Hague, tel: 070-302 90 50 Ghana Guatemala Honduras Ireland Italy Jemen Latvia Lebanon Lithuania Luxemburg Malta Mexico Nicaragua Oman Palestinian Delegation Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Saudi Arabia Sudan Thailand Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Source of embassy addresses: City in One - expats guide of The Hague 2003 and the telephone directory |
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Who are we? “We” being the residents of Archipel and Willemspark. There are 5,705 in Archipel and 1,336 in Willemspark (1 January 2008 figures). In both cases, slightly down on last year. Among us in Archipel and Willemspark respectively, 18% /10% are under 20 and 16% / 13% over 65. The make-up of the district’s population is 63% / 57% Dutch or indigenous (as a opposed to The Hague as a whole, which is 54%) and the rest is almost all allochthonous of Western origin. In District 05: the Archipel, the composition of households was 55.8% single inhabitants, 25% cohabitants without children, 15.1% cohabitants with children and 4.2% single-parent families. In District 47: Willemspark, there are 62.8% single inhabitants, 25.6% cohabitants without children, 8.3% cohabitants with children and 3.3% single-parent families. We do not like to move house, we do it less than the average Hagenaar. More people did however leave our district than moved in. In 2004, a family in the Archipel had an average income of €36,500, as opposed to €26,500 in The Hague as a whole. Willemspark came in at virtually the same, €36,400. Families live in 3,494 / 1,057 homes (1 January 2009 figures). The average price (based on 2005 WOZ price levels) of a single-family dwelling was €737,682 / €448,806, and apartments €260,608 / €275,856. The price the homes actually sold for were slightly higher. In 2007, 124 of the existing housing stock were sold in the Archipel. The average overall sale price being €566,542: for single-family properties the average price €948,953 and for apartments €403,907. In Willemspark, 40 homes were sold for an average price of €336,000 per property. Very few single-family properties were sold in Willemspark, there are obviously a lot less of them. Apartements on average made €297,234. Yet more figures These statistics are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more and we will return to this subject in the next issue of the community paper. In the meantime, if you are curious, you can check out the figures yourself by going to: www.denhaag.nl / Feiten en Cijfers / Den Haag in cijfers / Online / Wijkrapporten Did you think that you could live anonymously among the masses in the big city? You’ve been counted, measured and priced down to the most minutest detail … MO
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With the arrival of the new Municipal Executive in April 2006, The Hague introduced the post of alderman for Citizenship (formerly Integration). By placing Citizenship high on the municipality’s agenda, the Municipal Executive would like to encourage residents of The Hague to again gain a better handle on their social environment. A bond should bridge the gap between residents amongst themselves and residents and neighbourhood and government. Citizenship means that people feel involved and take responsibility for their social environment. A citizen feels like a co-owner of his street and neighbourhood. Citizenship offers great opportunities for tackling deprivation, social exclusion and cultural isolation. Involvement with the city will also be encouraged in this way. A Citizenship Fund was established in 2007 with a total budget of 1 million Euros per year. Every inhabitant of The Hague who has a plan to make the city a better and more beautiful place can make a claim to this Fund. The Citizenship Fund will give subsidies to inhabitants and organisations for their ideas and plans on the subject of encounters, dialogue and coordination. Voluntary organisations and groups of a minimum of ten people can present their plans to the Fund. The plan must contribute to strengthening social ties and encounters between city dwellers of different cultural groups. The goal is that inhabitants of The Hague start meeting each other and start undertaking activities together more frequently. There is a maximum of € 25,000 available for each good plan. The Citizenship Fund is not intended for the purpose of organizing neighbourhood parties or for the maintenance of voluntary organisations. Compete summary of Citizenship in The Hague Policy
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International NGO cluster in Zeestraat The council’s idea to create shared premises on Laan van Meerdervoort in order to cluster international NGOs in The Hague has proven to be a success and has contributed to The Hague’s image as International City of Peace and Justice. On 27 May 2010, Deputy Mayor Frits Huffnagel (International Affairs), his last day in office, officially opened the second NGO (non-governmental organisation) office building at Zeestraat 100 in Willemspark. There are already ten new occupants, including the back office of ACCESS who was recently named Expat Service Provider of the Year. There are nearly 100 NGOs who have made their home in The Hague. The number of people employed by the NGOs in The Hague has more than doubled since 2004 to more than 400 people. Source: www.denhaag.nl |
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The number of embassies situated in the Archipelbuurt certainly confirms what an international neighbourhood we live in. A grand total of 35+ can be found on the streets that officially make up our community, and at least another 20 can be found at addresses immediately bordering the Archipel & Willemspark neighbourhood. Laan Copes Cattenburch is the most ambassadorial of them all clocking up 6 of the 35, the Nassaulaan and Surinamestraat are joint runners-up with 4, and close behind are Koninginnegracht, Javastraat, Nassauplein and Alexanderstraat with 3 each.