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NL Time for a fair tax policy
Tax avoidance by multinationals is currently in the spotlight. Booking.com, for instance, recently announced that it was invoking emergency aid from the Dutch state, while until recently it was making billions in profits and paying little tax on them. A political and social debate that has of course been going on for some time. Hence the request from the Lower House (following Omtzigt's motion) for the Advisory Committee on Multinational Taxation to investigate how the Netherlands can make taxation of multinationals fairer. This resulted in the report 'Towards balance in corporate taxation' with various recommendations and advice. On the positive side, it contains a clear call for the Netherlands to make constructive international efforts to really tackle tax avoidance. It is unfortunate, however, that the report pays very little attention to the role of the Netherlands as a tax haven.
Foundation Max van der Stoel is looking for 2 interns for Africa Day 2020!
On 4 April 2020, the Max van der Stoel Foundation (FMS) will again organise the Africa Day! With more than 1,000 visitors, 200 speakers and around 100 volunteers, the Africa Day is the biggest event in the field of Africa and international cooperation in the Netherlands. The FMS is looking for two interns to organise this day. Together with the responsible project coordinator, you will contribute to the substantive and organisational work of this major event.
How do we make the national budget SDG-proof?
Since 2014, the FMS has been working intensively with Partos and Woord & Daad (Building Change partnership) to put policy coherence for development firmly on the map in the Netherlands. In this way, we strive for an ambitious and coherent implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015. Following the successful campaign 'Adopt an SDG' and lobbying for an SDG test in the policy-making process, this autumn we are focusing on the UN theme 'Financing for Development'. With Prinsjesdag and the presentation of the national budget for 2020, September was also the perfect time to put policy coherence within the national budget based on the SDGs on the map. Building Change did this with the opinion article 'include the SDGs in the national budget'.
"The SDG Generation - Healing the future in a wicked present"
The SDGs concern everyone
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a hot topic, high on the political agenda and increasingly reflected in government decisions. Building Change is focused on political commitment, but as Hugo Von Meijnfeldt (Dutch SDG coordinator) said, "achieving the SDGs is not only a challenge of the government, but of everyone". Hence, we attended the event "Healing the future in a wicked present" on 13 June to look at commitment to the SDGs from a different perspective, at Windesheim in Zwolle.
How sustainable is our prosperity?
Every year on the third Wednesday of May, ministries are held accountable to the House of Representatives: Accountability Day. Ministers present reports showing what the government has achieved in the past year and how plans have been implemented. On this day, two important documents around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are also performed by default: the CBS Report 'Monitor Brede Welvaart & SDGs 2019' and the 'Third Dutch SDG Report - The Netherlands develops sustainably'. On 16 May, Building Change, the SDG Charter and a large group of visitors reflected on the published papers during "How sustainable is our prosperity?".
Is NL moving into the next gear for the SDGs?
Thursday 27 September was the day: Building Change and WECF organised the event 'NL in the next gear' in The Hague. Together, we celebrated the third anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the first anniversary of the 'Adopt an SDG' campaign, in which members of parliament adopt an SDG to advocate in their political work. The central theme was that the Netherlands needs to move into the next gear to actually achieve these global goals, as there are only 12 years to go until 2030! Civil society organisations, political youth organisations and no fewer than five MPs were given the stage to set out their visions and concrete plans for achieving the SDGs.
Adopt an SDG LIVE with 10 MPs!
On Thursday 29 March, Building Change organised the event 'Adopt an SDG LIVE' in Dudok The Hague. After six months of 'Adopt an SDG', it was high time for a look back and forward. No fewer than 11 MPs took the stage to talk about what they have done in the past six months to contribute to achieving their adopted SDG(s). There was also room for civil society organisations to provide the MPs with feedback, and we talked about their future plans for their SDG(s).
