International Baccalaureate (IB) chooses The Hague in the Netherlands 

In September 2010 the International Baccalaureate (IB) will open the doors of its new global centre in The Hague. Director General Jeffrey Beard: “The Hague is a world renowned city of peace and justice and is associated with many of the values of the IB. There is a strong association of schools in the Netherlands with IB programmes. With excellent transport links, both regionally and beyond, the IB looks forward to being an excellent global citizen in a city with the highest international reputation”. 

Vice mayor Frits Huffnagel (City Marketing and International Affairs) is Chairman of the Board of Participants of the West Holland Foreign Investment Agency (WFIA). The WFIA, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) have played a significant role in the IB’s choice for the Netherlands and The Hague. 

Huffnagel: "The International Baccalaureate will certainly feel at home in The Hague. The Hague is host of a large number of international organizations and has had an extensive expat community for years. The local Expat Desk, will gladly provide guidance to the staff of the IB." 

The IB global centre for Africa, Europe and the Middle East will eventually house around 300 members of staff and looks forward to hiring skilled, multilingual professionals from the nearby areas. These staff will develop programmes of international education for children between three and nineteen years old in over 130 countries worldwide. 

Vice mayor Sander Dekker (Education, Youth and Sport): "In The Hague we seek to become a frontrunner in the field of international education. The advent of the IB is fantastic. The Hague, hereby, manages again to attract a reputable international organization. It is an important complement to the existing international institutions and will provide a few more hundreds of jobs in our city." 

In order to achieve its desired growth, the senior management of the IB sought to find a suitable location for its new global centre, with staff being encouraged to relocate from current offices in Cardiff and Geneva. The ambition is to make IB programmes available to two and a half million students and ten thousand schools by 2020. Worldwide, the institution will amass about nine hundred highly skilled employees and over nine thousand examiners.

Source: City of The Hague press release, 9 July 2009