COC Nederland

Founded in 1946, COC Nederland is a non-profit association based in Amsterdam, Netherlands working on lgbtq+, human rights, refugees & migration +4 more.

COC Nederland is the Dutch federation for LGBTI emancipation, acceptance and equal rights, founded in 1946 in Amsterdam as the oldest existing LGBTI advocacy organisation in the world. It is a federation of regional COC associations across the Netherlands, with around twenty regional branches, and it works with volunteers and members. The organisation lobbies politicians, the police, the public prosecutor and the media against LGBTI discrimination and violence, and campaigns for social acceptance, including in schools through the Paarse Vrijdag initiative and Gender & Sexuality Alliances. It runs services such as the Switchboard helpline and programmes for LGBTI asylum seekers, young people and older people. Internationally, it supports LGBTI organisations and activists in more than 35 countries and holds UN consultative status. It advises companies on inclusive policies and Pride campaigns, and it is recognised as a public-benefit organisation (ANBI) and approved good cause by the CBF.