Shaping a better future for all

The International School of The Hague (ISH) takes the global environmental challenges ahead very seriously.

Our vision is to ‘To shape a better future for all: inspiring students to become compassionate and proactive global citizens’ and the climate is at the centre of this future. We’re proud to have been awarded our first Eco-Schools Green Flag in June 2012, and are currently working towards our 4^th flag!

Students are at the heart of the school’s commitment to the environment and there are a number of student-led clubs and societies driving this agenda throughout the school year.

Student-led Clubs

One such club is our Global Issues Network (GIN) which in the past ten years has led a number of initiatives that have then been taken on by smaller groups and become part of our everyday life at school.

An example is the PlastISH Club who collect plastic packaging and bottles in and around school, then recycle them on the campus into useful and decorative items.

Breaking free from Indifference

GIN is currently planning their annual GIN Day, scheduled to take place in June where a number of other schools around The Netherlands will come together to discuss the theme ‘Breaking free from indifference’. Experts in their fields are invited to deliver lectures on the very latest thinking on the environment and students will then break off into student-led workshops to generate ideas for initiatives to overcome the challenges discussed.

Proactive students

Another important event our proactive students are hosting this year is the Eco-Schools Dutch International Secondary Schools’ Inspiration Day. Eco-teams from each Dutch international school will descend on the ISH campus to share knowledge and ideas focusing on the theme of sustainability. This workshop driven event aims to inspire students to proactively initiate, develop and improve on their school’s eco-team projects.

At ISH we’re very fortunate to be situated in an area of rare natural beauty and we don’t take this for granted. We give our students the tools to go out into the world to help others also benefit from a safe, clean and sustainable way of life. We have a duty to inspire this coming generation from within so that they can shine a light on the path for change.