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Afghanistan’s – and the world’s – first skateboarding school empowers Kabul’s youth to take their futures into their own hands, giving Afghani children a rare opportunity for learning and fun, and in the process teaching so much more than a sport. Students at Skateistan can also take classes in subjects like art and environmental health, and many are involved in a back-to-school initiative program.


^{In Afghanistan, sport is seen as a male activity}

Context
With 68 per cent of the population under the age of 25 (and 50 per cent under the age of 16), it is vital that development efforts in Afghanistan engage with the youth immediately; only then will Afghanistan’s youngest citizens be able to claim ownership of the problems they will soon inherit. For this to happen, children need safe and supportive environments to interact non-violently, gain self-confi dence and learn important skills. Safe activities for children in most of Afghanistan are extremely limited, especially for girls. Sports are a constructive way for children to interact, but many popular Afghan sports – football, volleyball, buzkashi, kite flying and even bike riding – are seen as male activities, and females are almost always excluded from participating in them.

Mission
In 2007, Oliver Percovich and Sharna Nolan arrived in Kabul with little more than a couple of skateboards. Ollie and Sharna soon discovered that their boards drew in local children like an unstoppable magnetic force. They began regular skateboarding sessions in an abandoned Russian fountain in the district of Mekroyan, and a group of local boys began to join them. Then came the girls. Thankfully, Afghans largely consider skateboarding a suitable activity for girls. These initial sessions, informal at fi rst, eventually led to the foundation of Skateistan, Afghanistan’s (and the world’s) fi rst co-educational skateboard school.


^{Inside Skateistan’s indoor skate park}

Operating as an independent, neutral, Afghan NGO, the school engages growing numbers of urban and internally-displaced youths in Afghanistan through skateboarding, and provides them with new opportunities in cross-cultural interaction, education and personal empowerment. Skateistan’s students come from all of Afghanistan’s diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. They not only develop skills in skateboarding, but also healthy habits, civic responsibility, information technology, the arts and foreign language skills. The students themselves decide what they want to learn – Skateistan connects them with teachers who will enable them to develop the skills that they consider important. Skateistan provides a safe and supportive environment where trust is built not only between participants, but that reaches across the Afghan-Western divide.

The NGO is also developing the students’ abilities to express their opinions on the issues that concern them, enabling them to fulfi l their visions for the future of their country. It empowers students to fi nd solutions to the problems they face through social asset-building activities and youth development forums; it also broadcasts their voices (with the consent of their parents and communities) over the radio, in documentaries and in print media.

Skateboarding is a non-competitive global sport that requires minimal supervision and resources. Achievements in skateboarding are individual and depend on balance, creativity and personal expression. Skating can be practiced anywhere there is a smooth surface; it brings young people together to be active and communicative. Considering the country’s recent political history – not to mention its longstanding social barriers – Skateistan believes that the communitybuilding effects of skateboarding will be especially visible in Afghanistan.

Realization
On 29 October 2009, Skateistan completed construction of an all-inclusive skate park and educational facility on 5,428 m2 of land donated by the Afghan National Olympic Committee. At the Skateistan facility, over 300 regular students receive training from experienced skateboarders in a secure environment. Skateboards, shoes and safety equipment are loaned on-site for the duration of classes. Currently, there are 18 classroom sessions being held per week. In addition to teaching girls’ journalism classes, advanced art classes, a theatre programme and classes about environmental health, Skateistan runs a Back-to-School programme that helps children enrol or re-enrol in public school. Skateistan also works with physically and mentally challenged Afghans. The NGO has developed a specialized curriculum for disabled youths that uses skateboarding to provide mobility and sports therapy. Skateistan strives to tell a positive story about Afghan youth, using global media platforms to send a message of hope, unity and peace. A documentary, Skateistan – The Movie , will soon be released, detailing the construction of the school, the achievements of its students, and what it’s like to grow up in twenty-fi rstcentury Afghanistan.

Creator
Skateistan / Oliver Percovich and Sharna Nolan

Location
Kabul, Afghanistan

More information
www.skateistan.org

_{Text by Elvia Pyburn-Wilk. Read the full story in the book TESTIFY! The consequences of architecture, edited by Lukas Feireiss. This publication coincides with the international travelling exhibition TESTIFY! The consequences of architecture by the Netherlands Architecture Institute.}

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