It's our birthday! Today COC Haaglanden exists 75 years! A brief history by Jurgen Schouten:

On January 7, 1947, the Louis Couperus Association was founded in The Hague under the direction of Hans Kroesen (1921-1998, actor and graphic artist). This meeting took place at 36 Laan van Meerdervoort in The Hague, with Rolf Botter, also an actor and poet. The articles of incorporation were adopted on April 23, 1947
established. As with the Amsterdam Shakespeare Club, the initiative in The Hague came from the readership of the magazine Levensrecht.

In 1949, the Culture and Leisure Center, or COC, was founded and after which the Louis Couperus Association was transformed into a department, just like the Shakespeare Club and initiatives in other cities. In 1949 COC The Hague got its first own accommodation on the Lijnbaan.

In 1972 there was already talk of education about sexual orientation in schools, then with opposition from the government. In 1975 the Working Group Information was established, the start of structured information in schools. In 2021 this working group still exists.

On May 1, 1975, the Specialized Social Work for LGBTI+ was founded in The Hague at COC Haaglanden, and we still continue our work under that flag!

Read here the full version of Jurgen Schouten.