COC Nederland

COC Nederland is a Dutch organization for LGBT men and women. COC originally stood for Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum (Center for Culture and Leisure), which was intended as a "cover" name for its real purpose. Founded in 1946, it is the oldest extant LGBT organization in the world.

Since 2000 it has a federated structure of 24 local associations, united on national level in the "Federatie van Nederlandse Verenigingen tot Integratie van Homoseksualiteit COC Nederland" (Federation of Dutch Associations for Integration of Homosexuality COC Netherlands), or COC Nederland for short. All the local associations combined have about 7000 members.

The local organizations focus on activities and advocacy within their region. They offer personal support, support groups, information, giving educational lessons at high schools, and provide venues where gays and lesbians can meet. They also promote lesbian and homosexual interest. The local organizations are run almost exclusively by volunteers.

The national COC focusses on advocacy on a national level, for instance with political lobbies (homosexuality and education, equal treatment). It also trains volunteers from the local organizations in providing information and leading support groups. The COC focuses on youth via "Stichting Hoezo/Expreszo", who publish the Expreszo magazine for gay, lesbian and bisexual youth.

COC also works internationally, especially in various Eastern European and Central Asian countries, where it is involved in: mapping the LGBT community, helping with training, providing internships in The Netherlands and providing local support and advice. These projects are co-financed by the Dutch Foreign Office. COC also cooperates with development organizations such as Oxfam Novib.

On 7 December 1946, the "Shakespeareclub" was founded in Amsterdam. The founders were a number of gay men who were active with "Levensrecht" (Right To Live), This magazine was founded a few months before the German invasion in 1940, and re-appeared after the war. The Shakespeareclub was renamed in 1949 to "Cultuur- en Ontspanningscentrum" (C.O.C.). From its beginning in 1946 until 1962, the chairman was Bob Angelo, a pseudonym of Niek Engelschman.

The goals of the C.O.C. were twofold: they wanted to contribute to social emancipation, and also wanted to offer culture and recreation for gay men and lesbian women. The social emancipation focused on getting article 248bis in the Wetboek van Strafrecht () (the main code for Dutch criminal law) revoked. This 1911 article made sexual contact with someone of the same sex between 16 and 21 years old punishable by up to one year imprisonment. For heterosexuals, the age of consent was 16. In the first years the authorities kept an eye on the Shakespearclub and the C.O.C.. Despite this, it expanded to The Hague and Rotterdam, and after that to Utrecht and Arnhem. In other cities such as Groningen, Leeuwarden and Eindhoven attempts by homosexuals to organize met with resistance from the local authorities.

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