C.O.C. meant Cultuur en Ontspannings-Centrum, or Centre for Culture and Leisure, a reminder of the pseudonym the organisation initially adopted after its foundation in 1946. COC is the oldest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender organisation in the world. Since its foundation, COC has been instrumental in bringing about considerable social and legal changes for gays and lesbians in the Netherlands and abroad. As one of the largerst lesbian and gay organisations in the world, COC is devoted to a society which does full justice to each individual irrespective of sexual preference.
Operating on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, COC has succesfully devoted itself in the Netherlands to a greater measure of visibility, tolerance and recognition of lesbians and gays, and to information, acceptance, equal rights, pension rights, parenting options and AIDS prevention.