Copenhagen Pride strengthens the organization with new board
Yesterday, Copenhagen Pride held the association’s first general meeting in the new office space on Farvergade. The board’s annual report was heavily influenced by the two special circumstances of the past year: the corona pandemic and the mega event Copenhagen 2021.
Two chairpersons
The General Assembly unanimously voted in favor of a change in the bylaws, which means that the existing post as chairperson person is replaced, and Copenhagen Pride now has two brand new chairperson posts: an organizational chairperson and a political chairperson. This was suggested by the board in order to strengthen the organization in the rapid development that Copenhagen Pride is in and has seen in recent years.
Benjamin Hansen was elected as organizational chairperson and longtime chairperson, Lars Henriksen, as political chairperson.
“I think we can continue our great growth, but at the same time also become much better. It is therefore also important that we allocate responsibility so that we have, for example, the capacity and organizational strength to take care of our many volunteers and partners,” says newly elected organizational chairperson Benjamin Hansen.
WorldPride and the corona pandemic were focal points of 2021
“The idea of WorldPride with Copenhagen as the host was conceived in Copenhagen Pride in 2014 and has developed together with Pan Idræt into the international megaevent Copenhagen 2021. We managed to complete the event in August while the country was as open as possible. Malmö Pride was a partner, and there were activities on both sides of Øresund,” Lars Henriksen said as part of the board’s report.
In total, there were over 1,200 organized events over ten days, organized by both Copenhagen 2021 and the many partners. The audience’s support was far greater than the organization had dared to hope for, and by the end of the planning phase, volunteers also flocked to the project.
That the existing post as chairperson person is replaced, and Copenhagen Pride now has two brand new chairperson posts: an organizational chairperson and a political chairperson.
“We are proud of the program we put on during a time when almost everything was shut down. It couldn’t have been done without the volunteers. From Copenhagen Pride, a massive thank you goes out to everyone who was a volunteer. This is proof that Pride does not create itself, we create it together, and we depend on all contributions,” Lars Henriksen said at the general assembly.
New and familiar faces on the board
The board was expanded by a single person as part of the organizational development. Elected were: Brian Allesøe, Lai Christian Balsig, Nina Matusik and Tommy Petersen. Fombu Asaha was running as an alternate and was also elected.
The new board received applause from the general meeting and after a very brief AOB, the political chairperson thanked Lars Henriksen, who took the opportunity to say thank you to the outgoing board members, Charlotte Simonsen and Carsten Pedersen, for their work and commitment to the board.
