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Hi, Skye! Tell something about yourself.
Hello! I'm Skye. I am 24 years old and non-binary. I am studying Asian Studies at Leiden University and I have been living in The Hague for six years now. As her first assessor I have seen Philautia grow from a small project into a well integrated part of student life in The Hague. Now that that adventure is over, I will soon start as the first gender diversity coordinator at COC Haaglanden.

When you started here Philautia had just started, what motivated you to join the COC?
Almost my entire coming-out process took place here in The Hague. Much of that process has taken place in or around the COC, so it felt natural to offer peers that same support.

When I came into contact with the COC, I had just come out as a non-binary and I felt that I could find a group of like-minded people at the COC. I wasn't really in the queer sphere before that. I like meeting people in a way where I can also help other people. I am most happy when I can work behind the scenes.

In this vein, what are you most looking forward to as a gender diversity coordinator?
Helping people. The way in which the position was presented to me leaves a lot of room for things from providing information to setting up a 'safe-space' where people can actually be helped with (mental) health problems as a result of their gender. I am very excited to offer help to people that I have not received during my trial.

In conclusion, COC Haaglanden has been around for almost 75 years. What do you hope the next 75 years will mean for COC?
That we become active in activism again. I would really like to see us fight more actively for diversity again. Same-sex marriage is a thing now, but legally there is still a lot left to do to make adoption easier for queer people and also strengthen social acceptance of gender diverse people. I hope that we can deal with our members in a more sustainable way and grow into an organization that is at the center of queer life in The Hague. Locally, I would like to see more tools for the queer community.

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[language_start language=en]

Hello, Skye! Why don't you tell us who you are?
hiya! I'm Skye. I'm 24 years old and non-binary. I study Asian Studies at Leiden University and I've lived in The Hague for six years now. I was Philautia's first assessor and in my two years at Philautia, I've seen it grow from a small project to a well-known part of student life in The Hague. So that was that adventure, and now the next one will be a tenure as first coordinator of gender diversity at the COC.

What motivated you to start volunteering at the COC?
Almost my entire coming-out process, first as gay, then as non-binary, has taken place in The Hague. Before joining the COC I wasn't really a part of the queer sphere, so a lot of the coming to terms with myself and finding acceptance has taken place in or around the COC. It felt natural for me to offer my peers that same experience. When I just came in contact with the COC I was just out as non-binary and I had the idea that the COC was a place where I could find some like-minded people with similar experiences. This turned out to be the case so I wanted to help out. Helping people out, especially behind the scenes is something that makes me happy.

So what are you most looking forward to as coordinator of gender diversity?
Help people. The way the position was described to me sounded as though there was a lot of space to improve the accessibility of information, safe spaces, and the improvement of (mental) healthcare for gender-diverse people in The Hague. I'm very enthusiastic to help other people get the information and help that I lacked in my process.

Finally, COC Haaglanden will soon celebrate its 75th anniversary. What do you hope the coming 75 years will bring for us?
I hope we'll become more engaged in activism again. I'd love to see the COC fighting again for diversity. Same-sex marriage is a thing here now, but there remains so much to be done like improving the acceptance of gender-diverse groups in society, to make adoption for prospective queer parents easier, acknowledging and helping bipoc queer people, and so on. I hope we can interact with COC members in a more sustainable manner and see it grow into an organization that's once again smack in the middle of The Hague's queer life, that offers support to all members of the local queer community.

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