Gay groups in Greece had always been plainly local.
The idea, however, about an association of all gay and lesbian groups of Greece, is very old.
Even a decision, for the formation of the association was taken, at a meeting held in Thessaloniki, on November 15th 1992. The meeting was initiated by the local group OPOTH, with the participation of "To Kraximo", and Gregory Vallianatos as a representative of AKOE. (See "To Kraximo" magazine, issue 12, winter 1992, page 6, and page 50. See also "O Pothos", issue 6, spring 1993). EOK had been invited too, but disagreeing with the presence of Gregory Valianatos as a representative of a then defunct group, and prefering the meeting to take place in Athens, did not participate.
The resolution of that meeting was neglected.
A new initiative for the convergence of all contemporary greek gay groups, into an umbrella association, is currently being promoted by the Cooperation Against Homofobia". This ambitious project anticipates for the defragmentation of the gay movement and the legal integration of all groups, that would facilitate the coordination of the groups' activities in persuing common goals.
The most optimistic perspective of the future association is that, small informal groups from minor greek towns, such as Serres, Rethymnon, Iraklion, and Patra, are going to be incorporated into the 'umbrella', while the most discouraging dimension of the initiative so far, is that other groups, such as the AKOE, were (as for March 1996) ignoring this project.
AKOE, EOK and "To Kraximo" magazine, however, co-operated in organizing the Athens Gay Pride '96. AKOE, EOK and OPOTH are also co-operating in co-lobbying for the inclusion of the term "sexual orientation" in the anitidiscrimination article (article 5) of the Greek Constitution, in its forthcoming revision.
On March the 7th, 1996, at an open public discussion of "Gay Marriage" in Thessaloniki, it was officially announced that "Cooperation Against Homophobia" would be the "EOK Chapter of Thessaloniki".
I would like to thank Nikos, from the "Cooperation", and Vagelis of the EOK, for our phone-talk about 'an umbrella organization' in Greece, on which this page was largely based. I would also like to thank Manthos from the AKOE, for our short talk on the same subject , and Aris from the OPOTH for the information he provided on the same topic.
This page was last modified: July 12, 1996.