Hivos (, Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation)
Hivos focuses its efforts on three primary impact areas of humanitarian projects worldwide: climate justice, safeguarding civic rights in the digital age, and promoting gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.
History
Hivos emerged out of the organised
secular humanist movement in the decades following the establishment of Humanists International in Amsterdam in 1952, as a culmination of Dutch humanists' growing desire to have a meaningful social impact through international development. Thus Hivos was founded in 1968 by the Dutch Humanist Association, the Association and Humanitas Weezenkas. The founders held the conviction that development work should be secular, as true cooperation presumes respect for differing beliefs. In the first ever brochure, the founders wrote that “necessary changes should spring from communities themselves – from people at the base of society.” These convictions are still reflected in Hivos its work.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Hivos was one of the first major Dutch NGOs that opened offices in the Global South to operate in the close vicinity of its civil society partners, beneficiaries and other stakeholders there.
Organization
Location
Hivos' Global Office is in
The Hague. Hivos currently works in 40 countries and has regional hubs in Latin America, East Africa, Southern Africa and North Africa and the Middle East (MENA). Hivos’ regional hubs work alongside many partner organizations taking the lead in defining regionally and nationally specific programs.
In 2021, Hivos handed over its Southeast Asia activities to the NGO Yayasan Humanis in Indonesia.
Governance
As of 2025, Hivos is managed by the Executive Board, consisting of Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operations Officer. The Management Team is made up of the heads of the Strategy and Impact Department and the Business Development Department, the four directors of their regional hubs
and a few other management positions.
