anyway

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That anyway is Europe's first queer youth center , which was established specifically for young lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people and their friends and girlfriends 14 to 27 years. It emerged from the youth groups Bad Girls and Boy Trek and was decided in 1998 by the Cologne City Council. It has been up and running ever since, and more than 1,400 young people of all sexual orientations visit it every year.

history

In January 1994 the Sozialwerk für Lesben und Schwule e. V., a Cologne organization with counseling and group offers for lesbians and gays, in response to the increasing number of young people seeking advice, the youth groups “Bad Girls” for lesbians and “Boy Trek” for gay youth. They were not intended as coming-out groups, but as recreational get-togethers for the young people. The two groups, especially Boy Trek, grew very quickly - the gay youth group had over 80 members in early 1996 and over 300 members in early 1998. Against this background, the idea of ​​a lesbian and gay youth center arose very quickly - the need was obviously there. A rather “visionary” first concept in the summer was revised several times in the following months until it became viable and could be presented. The project was then advertised to the responsible authorities and politicians in the state and the city of Cologne, until the state finally approved and, on June 23, 1998, the Cologne City Council also approved the establishment of the youth center. The state and municipality each approved 45% of the annual budget, the rest had to be provided by the executing agency. The anyway celebrated its opening on December 17th, 1998 in the presence of u. a. by Birgit Fischer , the then State Minister for Women, Youth, Family and Health.

Offers / projects

In addition to running a café, the association also offers advice and a variety of group activities, which are carried out by full-time and voluntary employees. This includes:

  • anyway4u.de - A team in which visitors to anyway4u.de offer e-mail advice to young people looking for advice under guidance.
  • WiR * - Knowledge is respect - The education and awareness-raising team, consisting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans * young people, visits school classes and youth groups to talk to them about sexual and gender diversity in workshops.
  • anyway.tv - A volunteer team that collects video ideas, produces them, and then publishes them on YouTube.
  • Julian - Junge liebe anders - A project in which the young people conceive, write and film a web series.
  • Two faces - short film about a U-19 Bundesliga soccer player who has to hide his gayness. Originated u. a. in cooperation with the DFB- Kulturstiftung.
  • KUNTERGRAU - A second web series about gay adolescents, which focuses on the protagonists' everyday problems.
  • Anyway Hot Shots - A hobby soccer team with gay, bisexual and straight teenagers.

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Negotiations of the Council of the City of Cologne from 1998 - Volume 1 ( Memento from March 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), page 342 (PDF 4.9 MB, page 344)