This week, a jury of eight experts selected thirteen organizations to compete for the three prizes of The Hague Innovator Awards 2025. Names such as Seepje, Naïf, and North Sea Farmers are among the winners of previous editions.
Stimulating positive impact
The awards ceremony is initiated by ImpactCity (part of the municipality of The Hague) and encourages local entrepreneurs to tackle global challenges for a better future. The selection process took into account factors such as the company’s innovation, its feasibility and scalability, and its ability to address an international social issue.
The 2025 nominees
These are the eight nominated startups and scale-ups eligible for the Best Innovator Award :
EviSafe – An AI-powered app that supports victims of domestic violence in accessing help and collecting evidence.
0plastic – A machine that can convert hundreds of kilos of plastic waste into diesel every day.
Droppie – Rewards consumers through a smart app for returning clean recyclable waste and makes recycling more fun and efficient.
GameAnalyze – Uses playful AI games to better detect and monitor ADHD and other vulnerable conditions in children.
VoiceBridge – Lowers the language barrier of international meetings with a combination of AI-powered machine translations and human interpreters.
FarmBizAfrica – Supporting millions of small-scale farmers in Africa to improve their yields, incomes, and climate resilience.
Gust of Change – Replacing fossil-based foam padding in watersports equipment with circular 3D-printed structures that perform better.
SEED – Turns organic waste into affordable biogas and fertilizer.
And these are the five nominated student entrepreneurs who are eligible for the Future Innovator Award :
The Solo Hub – Transforming unused urban spaces into capsule hotels for solo travelers.
TUNNELVISION – Combine online and offline sports performance in one app, from tracking personal fitness goals to gathering for sporting events.
Atlas OS – Launches the first AI-native laptop that runs completely offline, saves energy, and keeps data safe and personal.
Swarmed – Connecting thousands of beekeepers with local communities to save bee swarms and leverage data for more sustainable beekeeping.
Legumia – Makes accessible, allergen-friendly tofu alternatives from legumes, such as lentils and chickpeas.
A jury has been appointed for both categories. The jury includes experts from Rabobank, Stichting DOEN, Unknown Group, The Young Digitals, UNIIQ, PLNT, and ImpactCity. There is also a third prize up for grabs, and everyone can vote for the Audience Award.
Announcement of finalists
The nominees will complete a substantive program focused on the further development and growth of their organizations. At the end of the program, they will submit a final action plan and pitch it to the jury during the leading impact event ImpactFest on October 30th in The Hague. The winners will receive cash prizes ranging from €2,500 to €15,000.
Alderwoman Saskia Bruines is delighted to present the awards for the eleventh time: ” It’s incredibly inspiring every year to meet The Hague’s most innovative entrepreneurs and see their ideas develop into solutions with real impact. The energy and creativity of these entrepreneurs are infectious. “
Mooie Boules opens a branch in The Hague and establishes the Mooie Buurt Foundation, which opens the branches free of charge during the day to local residents and social initiatives.
As the political debate intensifies and the “us vs. them” mentality grows, Mooie Boules is choosing a radically different approach: truly bringing people together again. This month, the successful hospitality company is opening three new locations, including one in The Hague (Haagsche Bluf 40), and establishing the Mooie Buurt Foundation. This will open all nine play areas, including the one in the city center, free of charge during the day to local residents who are often marginalized, such as lonely seniors, newcomers, young people with limited social networks, and people living in poverty.
Connection through play
Mooie Buurt, a foundation, offers a platform that allows residents to connect people who might not otherwise meet, and allows community organizations to increase their impact. Everyone is given the opportunity to organize events without having to allocate a budget. Because the spaces, games, and drinks are available free of charge to every organizer, this also facilitates local meetings and initiatives in The Hague, allowing residents to get to know each other better. From a shuffleboard tournament for young people and newcomers to a games afternoon for seniors and their neighbors: anything is possible, as long as it contributes to meeting and connecting.“Loneliness, poverty, and the shifting of blame onto refugees are unfortunately commonplace. The Hague isn’t going to solve that,” says founder Rogier van Genugten. “So we do what we can. If outings can no longer be paid for refugees because they’re ‘having too much fun,’ we’ll arrange it. Fun and socializing aren’t luxuries. They’re basic needs.”
For and by the neighborhood
In a pilot program last year, Mooie Boules facilitated 50 community activities that resulted in 5,500 new encounters, after which 45% of participants felt more connected to their neighborhood. This not only allows residents to meet new people but also empowers them to develop new skills and actively participate in society. With 500,000 visitors annually, nine locations, and a social need that the pilot program revealed, Mooie Boules has the scale and ambition to increase this impact.Rogier van Genugten: “We have something most charities don’t: full bars. Now we’re using our revenue, locations, and visitors to make cities more social. We’re tackling major global problems on a small scale. Not with debates, but with dice, balls, and a drink. Because playing together is the shortest route to living together.”
Connecting residents of The Hague through play in the heart of The Hague
The foundation’s launch coincides with an expansion: three new Mooie Boules and Mooie Buurt locations will open in The Hague, Amsterdam-West, and Utrecht in September and October. The Hague location will be located in the Haagsche Bluf, formerly the site of the Foodhallen. This will not only revitalize the space but also give it new meaning: where political debate often intensifies, Mooie Boules invites politicians, local residents, and businesses to connect and step outside their own bubble. In this way, play is used as a countermovement against polarization. The commercial success of Mooie Boules and the social impact of Mooie Buurt reinforce each other. Business clients and regular visitors contribute through donations, as volunteers, or simply by generating revenue, while the foundation attracts new partners and connects them with target groups.
With autumn officially on our doorsteps, the Kunstmuseum’s latest exhibition provides a lovely activity for fashion and history lovers.
The exhibition is more than a glimpse into older styles in fashion. It’s a link between past and present, weaving together authentic garments from the 1910s, original costumes from James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic, and contemporary fashion that revisits those same flowing silhouettes, laces, and romantic hues. Curator Madelief Hohé calls it a story of “transitions” — from corseted elegance to freer forms, from optimism to uncertainty — themes that feel surprisingly familiar today.
Our very own city, has a unique link to the grand ship. Local firm H.P. Mutters & Son of The Hague, crafted interiors for some of Titanic’s most luxurious cabins while in collaboration with the Hengelosche Trijpweverij, which supplied refined printed velvet for wall coverings. Dutch craftmanship was onboard too.
Some stand out pieces you can lookout for include the black lace and velvet Edwardian dress Kate Winslet’s character, Rose, wore in the staircase scene and the royal blue velvet gown from the famous ‘’I’m flying!’’ scene with Leonardo DiCaprio’s, Jack. Combined with work by contemporary designers like Iris van Herpen, John Galliano for Margiela, Craig Green, and Tess van Zalinge, this exhibition is a must-see.
Text and images below: Sherika Rooplal-Clappers, who attended the press preview on behalf of The Hague Online
Sherika Rooplal-Clappers is a contributing writer for The Hague Online, covering culture, lifestyle, and local events. With a passion for storytelling and international perspectives, she highlights the people, places, and experiences that make The Hague a dynamic city.Connect with Sherika here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherika-rooplal/ https://www.instagram.com/sherikarooplal/
After five years, it’s back: the Tess Merlot wine. In collaboration with wine merchant and vinologist Marius van der Vliet of The Hague Wine Shop Marius, chansonnière Tess Merlot is re-releasing her own wine, in honor of her new live album with the Residentie Orchestra
The first edition of Tess Merlot wine was released in 2020 in a limited edition of 1200 bottles and sold out quickly. The success of that launch clearly left them wanting more: that’s why a new edition has now been released, in honor of the five-year anniversary of Tess’s artist name and to celebrate the release of her new live album, ” Tess Merlot & Residentie Orkest The Hague – Live at PAARD ,” which will be released on September 26th.
Tess Merlot: “What started five years ago as a playful idea, which I initially thought was impossible, quickly developed into a concrete and warm collaboration with Marius, thanks in part to his enthusiasm. Over the past few years, I’ve regularly had to disappoint people who asked if there were any bottles of ‘Tess Merlot’ available. Now that a new album is out, it seemed like the perfect time to release an updated edition, featuring a brand-new, even more Hague-inspired label.”
This new label was designed by The Hague-based graphic designer Robert Muda and matches the album’s style and atmosphere. The wine will be available starting September 26th at both locations of Wijnwinkel Marius (Piet Heinstraat, The Hague, and Van Hogendorpstraat, Wassenaar) and online at www.mariuswijn.nl .
About Tess Merlot The first time Tess Merlot heard Jacques Brel, she was immediately inspired. Since then, the music hasn’t stopped. Hundreds of shows later, every performance still revolves around the essence: drawing the human soul to the surface as only the French folk song can.
Since her debut album, Laissez-moi, in 2021, Tess Merlot has become one of the leading chanson singers in the Low Countries. She has toured the Netherlands with her band and performed with the Residentie Orkest at a sold-out PAARD in The Hague in November 2023. Her second album, Chante la vie, was released in March 2024 , and on May 25, 2025, she performed with her band and a string quartet at the Koninklijke Schouwburg in The Hague.
Whether Tess performs in a small group, with her full band or with an orchestra: she does this with an irresistible joie de vivre and boundless energy.
The Mauritshuis is one of The Hague’s cultural treasures, home to world-famous works from the Dutch Golden Age. Situated right in the city centre, next to the Binnenhof, this elegant 17th-century building houses masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Rubens.
Its most iconic painting is Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring — often called the “Mona Lisa of the North.” Visitors can also discover Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, Fabritius’ The Goldfinch, and many other highlights.
The museum is renowned for its intimate atmosphere, where visitors can experience world-famous artworks up close. Throughout the year, the Mauritshuis also hosts special exhibitions, guided tours, and family-friendly activities. The building itself is a work of art, with elegant rooms and views over the Hofvijver.
Tip: The Mauritshuis is included in the Museumkaart. The pass gives unlimited entry to over 500 museums across the Netherlands. More information: https://www.museum.nl/en/museumpass
Featured Image is part of collection Mauritshuis, The Hague.
Photographer: Ivo Hoekstra Credits: Mauritshuis, The Hague
Depending on where you move, some changes might be more significant than others. Food is often the first thing you notice. You might find yourself searching for that special ingredient while living abroad, just so you can cook the dish that reminds you of home. Or perhaps the opposite—you’re trying to recreate a recipe that reminds you of your time living abroad.
In all our previous initiatives, food and the memories associated with it have consistently emerged as an important theme, something people kept returning to. That’s why the EAC decided to dedicate an entire project to food and launched Stirring Food Memories: Recipes and Stories from Lives Abroad.
About the Stirring Food Memories
What sparks your memory of food? The scent of spices from a familiar kitchen. A dish you learned to make when you moved across the world. A fusion of cultures shared at the dinner table with new friends.
Stirring Food Memories: Recipes and Stories from Lives Abroad brings together recipes and food-related stories from people who live or have lived abroad, blending flavour and nostalgia into a rich, archival collection. Each contribution preserves not only the flavours of a meal but also the memories surrounding it — a tribute to how food connects us to places, people, and moments we carry with us.
This project aims to preserve the diverse and personal ways food helps people navigate identity, nostalgia, and belonging.
We invite expatriates to submit their memories about the food that reminds them of home or their time living abroad. Submissions will be curated into a recurring digital publication. Contributions will also become part of the EAC’s archival collection and may be featured on the EAC website, social media channels, or in the newsletter.
How to Submit
We welcome submissions of: – short personal story of a food memory that relates to your experience when living abroad; – (optional) recipe of the dish you discuss in your food memory. Please share your own recipe or credit the original source if adapted; – (optional) photo of the dish, or an image that evokes the memory—this could be the place it was made, a key ingredient, the kitchen, dining table or anything else connected to that food memory.
Please note that all submissions should be in English.
