By Megumi Takai | Fundraising coodinator
Celebrating the opening of our Pride Center Osaka, the first permanent LGBTQ+ center in Osaka prefecture, we held "Pride Cruise Osaka 2022" in June.
Pride Center Osaka is located in the city center in Osaka. It is an open space to LGBTQ+ people, people around them, and anyone who wish to know more about gender and sexual diversity. By establishing a permanent LGBTQ+ center, we also aim to let more people know about the presence and experiences of the LGBTQ+ people in our community and across Japan.
We provide in-person and online support, LGBTQ+ library and various events for LGBTQ+ eqality.
We held this event for people in our city to know about our Pride Center Osaka, and to thank all our donors, companies and organizations we work with.
Since June is the rain season in Japan, we were worried about the bad weather but the day of the event was sunny! We also set up a big rainbow arch to also celebrate from the riverside!
On the same day, we had an event to present our Pride Center and to connect our partners.
This river cruise event was supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands. We also received a kind video message from the Dutch ambassador in Japan. The video message can be found here: https://youtu.be/UdZi6yY6SxU
The plaintiffs of Marriage for All Japan also participated and gave speeches at the event.
Our partner QWRC also participated and gave a speech. QWRC runs an open space and in-person and online support at our Pride Center.
We embarked with two boats from Wonder Group. We cruised the river with various pride flags and message boards. People also cheered from the riverside with pride flags.
The cruise started from Hachikenyahama, which is located on the opposite side of the river from the Pride Center, passed through Oebashi Bridge (Midosuji) and Nakanoshima. It took about 1 hour. The breeze on the river was very nice, and we gained energy from many people cheering at us from the shore. We were also able to accomplish the purpose of showing the city about our center and LGBTQ+ equality.
During the event on the shore, our partner corporations presented their efforts for LGBTQ+ inclusion. Duiring the second part of the event, the participants were able to socialize with themselves. People who do not embark on the boat trips were also able to enjoy the events through the activities on the shore.
The passengers of the pride cruise were the staff from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Japan, those who supported us through the establishment of Pride Center, users of Pride Center and the plaintiffs and lawerers of Marriage for All in Osaka. Since many people applied to participate, we had to choose the participants randomely. We would like to once again thank all the people who supported and applied to participate in this event!
Total of 64 people participated, and we are wishing to have this pride cruise event again next year. Thank you for your continuous support!
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