Workfield and expertise

The Royal Tropical Institute provides products and services in three areas:

• economic and social development, health improvement and, specifically, combating tropical diseases;
• the cultural aspects of development, specifically cultural exchange involving museums and the performing arts;   
• information and communication on its various fields of operation, including intercultural communication, through information services, publications and training.

In all these areas, the Institute’s activities focus on capacity building in developing countries, teaching, research and education and generating and transferring knowledge and expertise. KIT takes an integrated and intersectoral approach to its work.

Development & Health

KIT’s work in this core area is the responsibility of two departments:

• KIT Development, Policy & Practice , which provides research, advice, capacity building and education on international health care, economic, social and institutional development, and gender issues;
• KIT Biomedical Research , which conducts health research, advises on capacity building for health research, and develops diagnostic tests for tropical diseases.

Culture

The museum and theatre form the cultural mainstay of the Institute.

• The Tropenmuseum, which is the oldest and most diverse ethnographic museum in the Netherlands, also supports museum capacity building in developing countries. A special branch of the museum is the Tropenmuseum Junior, which is specifically aimed at children.
• The Tropentheater is a leading international venue for world culture in the form of music, dance, theatre and film, as well as a platform for lectures and debate.

Information & Communication

Three departments are involved in the dissemination and exchange of knowledge:

• KIT Intercultural Management & Communication provides management consultancy, training and coaching services.
• KIT Information & Library Services manages one of Europe’s largest collections of works on international and development cooperation, and also provides information services to developing countries.
• KIT Publishers produces publications on art and culture, travel, intercultural communication and international cooperation.

• communication@kit.nl
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