Last modified: 2018-12-15 by rob raeside
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image by Ivan Sache, 4 August 2018
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COC Netherlands has been advocating the rights of lesbian women, gay men,
bisexuals and transgenders (LGBTs) from 1946 on. COC strives for the
decriminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity and for equal
rights, emancipation and social acceptance of LGBT’s in the Netherlands and all
over the world. COC is one of the few LGBT organizations that has a special
consultative status with the United Nations.
"COC" refers to the original
name of the organization, Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum (Center for Culture and
Leisure).
https://www.coc.nl/ COC website
The flag of COC Nederland is white with the organization's emblem.
Ivan Sache, 4 August 2018
The original name of the first organization in Amsterdam was the Shakespeare
Club. In 1947 a second chapter was founded in The Hague as Louis Couperus
Vereeniging (after the famous Dutch/The Hague writer and dandy). Two years later
the name for the whole organization became Cultuur- en Ontspanningscentrum
(note: there is a - after Cultuur) as a pseudonym. Calling it a homosexual
organization was impossible. The abbreviation was C.O.C. (with dots).
In
1973 the C.O.C. finally got its royal recognition for the statutes to become a
full legal person. Until then for instance it was impossible to own property.
The dots dissapeared and the new name became Nederlandse Vereniging tot
Integratie van Homoseksualiteit COC (abbreviation: N.V.I.H. COC / in English:
Netherlands Association for the Integration of Homosexuality COC).
During
the 1990s a procedure was started to turn the local chapters into full
associations. Until then for opening a bank account, renting a meeting space or
any legally binding contract, they needed signatures from the board of the
national COC. In July 2000 the general assembly finally approved the statutes of
the national COC and the 26 local/regional associations. To mark the occasion
each local COC was presented with the COC flag to underline the unity within the
new federation. Unfortunately the flags were not ready at that point and had to
be sent by mail a few weeks later.
N.V.I.H. COC became: Federatie van
Nederlandse Verenigingen voor de Integratie van Homoseksualiteit COC Nederland
(abbreviation COC Nederland / in English. Federation of Netherlands Associations
for the Integration of Homosexuality COC Netherlands).
The local
associations each became a Nederlandse Vereniging voor de Integratie van
Homoseksualiteit COC[city/region] (abbreviation: COC [city/region] / in English:
Netherlands Association for the Integration of Homosexuality COC [city/region]).
The COC-members (persons) became members of the association in their region.
The local associations became members of COC Netherlands. This meant that COC
Netherlands only had 26 (now 22) members.
The current COC emblem was
introduced somewhere around 1995.
Maxim van Ooijen, 5 August
2018