Artigenda
Purple Friday (“Paarse Vrijdag”)
Wanneer: jaarlijks, tweede vrijdag van december.
Purple Friday (“Purple Friday”) is the Dutch version of Spirit Day. Purple Friday takes place every year on the second Friday in December, whereas Spirit Day takes place on the third Friday in October. In the Netherlands, it was decided to prioritize Coming Out Day in October and therefore organize Purple Friday in December. The day focuses on support for LGBTQIA+ youth in education.
In recent years, the focus has also shifted to other sectors within society. Companies also participate in Purple Friday. That makes sense because by doing so you support the LGBTQIA+ community. So it is not a that that is only meant for the community itself. It is a way of showing that you support the community. In addition, it is a way for the community itself to show that enough is enough. That there is no room for hatred, harassment, discrimination, and violence.
Origin Purple Friday
It was Nazmul Zaman who thought the idea of Spirit Day would be interesting enough for The Netherlands. So, Paarse Vrijdag was organized by Zaman at his school in the northern part of The Netherlands. The first edition of Purple Friday took place at Piter Jelles Aldlân, now Leeuwarder Lyceum, in 2010. This school is part of the Piter Jelles Public School community. The plan was to decorate the school purple to protest against bullying based on sexual orientation.
More information is available in this article in Dutch.
Not just any 'school party'
This is not just a “school party.” Consider it a signal. A protest. A day to send a signal. That makes it as important a day as IDAHOBIT. This day only emphasises education and educational institutions.
Purple Friday is not just a ‘school party.’ It is a signal. Sure, it’s bound to be a day full of fun activities. The deeper message is just as important as on, say, IDAHOBIT. So why a separate day? Another separate day? Simple, this day is mainly related to schools and educational institutions. The fact that companies and organisations have also participated since a few years is fine. Initially, it is about schools and educational institutions.
Reason
The day was not chosen without reason, as 10 December 2010 was International Human Rights Day. A good choice. With it, a statement was immediately made. A statement that hate must be stopped. To this day, that is actually still the message of every Purple Friday.
How often does it not happen that a student or students are bullied because of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression? How often do young people from the LGBTQIA+ community face exclusion, discrimination and even violence? A day like this is a necessary mirror, held up not only by members of the community themselves. Their allies also hang up or support the mirror. One that is sorely needed as long as there is hate. As long as there is violence.
GSA Network
More information about Paarse Vrijdag or Purple Friday in The Netherlands is available on website of the GSA Network.
More information
The following information is available in Dutch.
