Philipp has chosen to cut down on volunteer work and has therefore stepped down as chairperson. The board has constituted former deputy chairperson, Michael Sørensen-Bech, as the new chairperson of LGBT+HUSET (the LGBT+HOUSE).

Some of you know Michael and for others he will be a new face in the association. He was, until a few days ago, the deputy chairperson and now he will fill in the role of chairperson after Philipp. 

“I would like to say thank you for the great work to Philipp. Without him the house would not be what it is today, because he has been the cornerstone of LGBT+ huset since 2018. I have had the pleasure of working closely with Philipp and it has given me an insight into what being chairperson means,” says Michael.  

And there are a lot of tasks to do in an association that rapidly evolves and has a huge network – and it can make a person sweat.

"It is a crash course taking over the role of chairperson but luckily, I have my experiences from both this and other boards as well as from other volunteer work. I know that among my first tasks is meeting volunteers, collaborators, and others. I look forward to taking the reins as chairperson and evolving LGBT+ huset to make it stand even stronger,” says Michael. 

His work as a chairperson starts with a full reopening of LGBT+ Huset after corona lockdowns and making the association ready for a lot of new and exciting activities and initiatives after the summer vacation, all done in collaboration with the rest of the board.  

The board and main office wish to congratulate Michael on his new role and look forward to working under his guidance. We hope that you will welcome Michael and if you would like to contact him or have any questions for him then feel free to send him an email at michael@lgbthusaarhus.dk

A short description of Michael:
39 years old and married to Peter. He normally works as a communication consultant at Aarhus municipality and is also a volunteer counsellor at LGBT+ Counselling Aarhus.

Our talented chairperson Philipp has, unfortunately, decided to put volunteer work on a break and step down from the post as chairperson for LGBT+HUSET (the LGBT+HOUSE).

Philipp has made a huge effort on behalf of the association, and you could say that he stops at the top. In the last few years, he has succeeded in getting a municipal operating grant, spaces, and many collaborations with LGBT+ Denmark, Aarhus municipal, FO-Aarhus, Kulturgyngen, Kromosom and many others.  

Philipp has also started and spearheaded several new initiatives. And as if that was not enough, he also helped LGBT+HUSET (the LGBT+HOUSE) secure the association award at Danish Rainbow Awards. With all this he has played a central part and it has taken an enormous amount of work. And all this has happened during a period of lockdowns in Denmark. We are now starting to open again and Philipp hands over a LGBT+HUSET (the LGBT+HOUSE) that is in such a good and stable condition that he feels like he can step down and prioritise his time differently. We fully understand this, even though we are sorry to lose as great an asset as Philipp. We want to say a huge thank you for all the work you have done. You should have won the award for firebrand of the year!

The board of LGBT+ Huset will miss Philipp, his commitment, and his hard work for the association. We wish him good luck and hope to see him as a volunteer in the house. Though, he has got to enjoy how much more free time he has gotten. Philip says thank you to everyone in the association, volunteers, members, and collaborators. He looks forward to meeting everyone on a different note outside the role of a chairperson.  

The board has chosen to appoint deputy chairperson, Michael Sørensen-Bech as the new chairman of LGBT+HUSET (the LGBT+HOUSE)

Thanks to the grant from Aarhus municipality it is possible for LGBT+HUSET (the LGBT+HOUSE) to employ a head of office to take care of the daily operations as well as help the board translate visions to actions.

The choice fell on Peder Udengaard, who has a long CV with the development of associations and cultural institutions. Peder is also a member of the Aarhus city council for the Social Democrats and works tirelessly to make Aarhus a diverse and a good city for everyone. 

Peder is looking forward to contributing to making LGBT+HUSET an important sparring partner for Aarhus municipality and generally strengthening the association's profile as an umbrella organization for the LGBT+ environment in Aarhus and Eastern Jutland. 

We look forward to the collaboration and the opportunities it brings. 

In a broadly agreed budget settlement, the parties in Aarhus City Council have set aside DKK 500,000 annually for the establishment and operation of LGBT+HUSET! 

We look forward to a close collaboration with Aarhus municipality and especially Health and Care, in which we work to better LGBT+ people's health, well-being and quality of life in our great city Aarhus as well as create a place for gathering for the LGBT+ milieu in Aarhus and the surrounding region.

We want to say thank you to all the volunteers that has contributed to the project this last year and has made this possible! You are simply the best! 

Also, a big thank you to all the parties in Aarhus city council for your support to the project and the collaboration. We look forward to collaborate on increasing health and well-being among LGBT+ persons in Aarhus.  

LGBT+HUSET (the LGBT+HOUSE) hosts an opening reception with 150 guests during the day. There are for example speeches by the mayor Jacob Bundsgaard and a reveal of the house’s new name and logo.

After searching for suitable premises over a longer period, the lease was signed of premises in FO-byen, Vester Allé 8.

Since the open information meeting the working groups have been working intensively on developing the vision report and on PR work and networking.

An open information meeting for all that are interested in the vision of an LGBT+ house with the focus on putting down workgroups.

Approaching the budget negotiations, the lobbying was intensified. The result was a statement of intent from the city council.

There are talks with the local politicians and LGBT+ associations to feel the atmosphere and plant the seed.

The three original initiators Mads, Tine and Katrine have the first meeting and gets the ideas on to paper. They talk about visions and plan strategies.

The idea is hatched over a couple of medium-sized draft beers during the Pride Afterparty.