COC Rotterdam

COC Rotterdam is a member of the Federation COC Nederland, consisting of 23 local COC organisations. COC stands for “Cultureel Ontspannings Centrum”, this name originates from the past, when the word "homosexual" was not accepted. Therefore the association called itself "Cultural Recreation Centre".

The Rotterdam branch was founded in 1947, one year after COC Amsterdam, and in 2007 it has celebrated with a lot of support of the City Council its 60th year anniversary.

The mission of COC as a whole is to:

• Encourage societal reforms in order to increase integration and acceptance of homosexuality;
• Encourage individual emancipation by encouraging the awareness concerning the individual and societal situation (and the relation between those) concerning homosexuality and bisexuality and gender roles.