EuroPride

Sinds begin vorig jaar maakt het Amsterdam Gay Pride-team zich sterk om EuroPride 2016 naar Amsterdam te halen. Ongeacht of ons dat nu wel of niet zou lukken, leek het me mooi om vanuit het bestuur actief bij te dragen aan de versterking van het netwerk en de internationale uitstraling van EuroPride. Zouden we het bid binnenhalen, dan zouden we onze EuroPride hier ook nog eens vol voor kunnen inzetten. Op 28 september tijdens de jaarvergadering van de European Pride Organisers Association ben ik verkozen tot secretaris van het bestuur. En bovendien zijn onze inspanningen gelukkig beloond! Dankzij een lijvig bidbook en een stevige presentatie heeft het team unaniem het vertrouwen gekregen van de 16 aanwezige steden. Amsterdam organiseert EuroPride 2016!

Wat doet EPOA? (Engels)

The European Pride Organisers Association is a network of European Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Organisations. epoa was founded in London and incorporated in 2002 in Berlin as a non-profit association. epoa holds the rights to the title EuroPride. The purpose of epoa is to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride on a pan-European level and to empower and support local and national pride organisations in their efforts of planning and promoting pride celebrations. epoa also wants to facilitate networking and skill-sharing among members. One of the means of doing this is the annual conference. epoa also grants the license of &quotEuroPride” to a different city each year. The rules of procedure for EuroPride provide details about the application and the decision process.

The board runs the organisation year-round and makes sure that it stays financially solvent. The board also makes sure that the organisation is properly represented towards the media and other organisations and that the money is spent prudently and in line with the goals of epoa. It tries to specifically reach out to new organisations to make them come to the annual conference and become members. The board also works closely with EuroPride organisers to help them manage and promote the event inside and outside of epoa.