Coc

C.O.C. Netherlands

C.O.C. meant Cultuur en Ontspannings-Centrum, or Centre for Culture and Leisure, a reminder of the pseudonym the organisation initially adopted after its foundation in 1946. COC is the oldest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender organisation in the world. Since its foundation, COC has been instrumental in bringing about considerable social and legal changes for gays and lesbians in the Netherlands and abroad. As one of the largerst lesbian and gay organisations in the world, COC is devoted to a society which does full justice to each individual irrespective of sexual preference. Operating on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, COC has succesfully devoted itself in the Netherlands to a greater measure of visibility, tolerance and recognition of lesbians and gays, and to information, acceptance, equal rights, pension rights, parenting options and AIDS prevention. COC has its disposal the knowledge, skills and networks to honour all sorts of requests for support from all over the world. This concerns stategic policies, networking, promoting lesbian and gay interests, organisational advice, housing issues, human resources and finances. COC performs these tasks directly and/or acts as an intermediary. All support is tailored to the demands imposed by the situation. Four COC spearheads Young people and education For young people today it is still very difficult to be open about their homo/bisexuality at school. Increasingly, teachers are confronted with problems as well. Care for elder people People who have been out all their lives are often in a shock when they become independent on (health) care. Older gays and lesbians are seeking a care system thats meets their needs. The multicultural society Society is becoming more diverse. A growing number of people from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds have to deal in some way or other with the issue of homosexuality - not an easy matter, given the very different cultural, ethnic and religious traditions. International solidarity The position of gays, lesbians and bisexuals outside the Netherlands is often far from easy. COC can harness more than fifty years of experience with LGBT issues to support them. At present COC is coaching groups in Romania, Moldavia and Bulgaria and co-operating with other countries in European projects aimad the the police, teachers, and the improvement of the position of gays and lesbians in the work environment.