On Monday September 25, KIT Royal Tropical Institute launched the SDG House of the Netherlands, in a bid to accelerate progress towards achieving the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals, along with tenants, employees, other stakeholders and the international community.

The SDG Impact Summit inaugural event was attended by approximately 450 people, including four members of parliament, Jan Peter Balkenende of the Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition, Amsterdam’s alderman for sustainability, Eric van der Burg. Van der Burg helped inaugurate the SDG House on this video, by doing hopscotch over 17 new street paving tiles, featuring the 17 SDG goal icons. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had ceremoniously laid the first paving slab a week earlier.

“Our ambition is to be the sustainable hotspot of the Netherlands. We hope to attract increasing numbers of members, both physically and virtually,” said KIT Royal Tropical Institute Director Mark Schneiders.

Over the last two years KIT has made a concerted effort to attract sustainable development organisations as tenants and now has under its roof 48 organisations, which – like the Impact Hub Amsterdam – are all actively working towards one or more of the sustainable development goals. KIT’s advisory activities in health, agriculture, gender and intercultural cooperation already address many of the most vital SDGs.

KIT has committed to taking the lead together with other knowledge holders to ensure knowledge is more accessible and can be used by other stakeholders pursuing the SDGs.“The SDG House is a real, physical community represented by a wide range of specialisations and sectors. Members have already started meeting regularly to explore how we can all work together and co-create to speed up progress,” said Schneiders.