Belgium, Europe- Brussels green MP for the Ecolo party Marie Lecocq suggested about creating a museum in Brussels on the history of the LGBTQ community in the run-up to the Belgian Pride Parade on Saturday, May 21.
The museum would document the history, culture and struggle of the community, with a focus on the people who have battled for social rights.
Lecocq mentioned in the statement, “Belgian Pride is a moment of visibility every year. It is important to have a permanent space.”
Moreover, in the public spaces of Belgium, there are currently is not much recognition of the LGBTQ individuals apart from the Suzan Daniel Bridge in the northern part of Brussels, named after the woman who in 1953 started the first gay and lesbian society.
She stated that the Belgian Greens were inspired by London, where the museum Queer Britain opened its doors in North London in May to coincide with London celebrating gay Pride 50 years after its first parade.
Along with this, Pride Parades first started in 1996, in Belgium, as per Lecocq, and not boast more than 100,000 participants.
The venue has not been decided yet. As for the museum, Lecocq noted that the Suzan Daniel Fund started archival work on the history of LGBTQ people and that details could be used for the museum to make it a permanent part of the culture of Brussels.
It is still not clear where the museum would be, but the Greens want further discussions with the parliament in Brussels.
In addition, Europe is one of the friendliest continents for LGBTQ rights, as same-sex sexual activity is legal in the Member States, and discrimination in employment has been banned since 2000.
Meanwhile, the European Union has different laws regarding same-sex unions, same-sex marriage, and adoption by same-sex couples. Many countries in Eastern Europe recognize neither same-sex marriages nor adoption by same-sex couples.
