Stimulating sustainable development and combatting inequality is of vital importance in a globalising and resource-constrained world. Unfortunately, the Netherlands is lagging behind. Budget cuts in development aid have led to a lack of knowledge from Dutch people about global and interconnected challenges such as climate change, inequality and peace and security.
Funding from the European Union for Development Education and Awareness Raising, in short: DEAR, in the Netherlands has become a crucial source for financial support civil society organisations and local authorities to promote universal values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. This is in stark contrast with the past in which the Netherlands was in front of the crowd regarding policy coherence and several thematic fields, including human rights, gender and sexual and reproductive rights, water, agriculture, civil society and local development.
Based upon document review and consultations with DEAR project staff I have examined in this country study the national context of the Netherlands in which DEAR projects operate, in particular the public, media and political opinion relating to international development issues. This report is part of a series of country studies under the auspices of the DEAR Support Team.
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