Thursday, December 9, 2010

Kabul's First Skatepark

-MY LATEST POST AT MERCY CORPS, GLOBAL ENVISION-

SKATEISTAN: TO LIVE AND SKATE KABUL from Diesel New Voices on Vimeo.



In a place ravaged by years of war, there is something new taking place: Afghan youth propelled by a deck on four wheels and armed with an abundance of self confidence and new pair of skate shoes.

Skateistan is a co-ed skateboard school and the group behind Kabul's first skatepark, says the school's founder, Shana Nolan. The school engages growing numbers of urban and internally-displaced youth in Afghanistan through skateboarding, and provides them with new opportunities in cross-cultural interaction, education, and personal empowerment, according to their website. The main objective of Skateistan is to build the confidence of Afghan kids and to give them a voice, as Nolan explains in the video above. It's been amazing for Nolan to watch these youth become empowered through skateboarding.

"There's nothing like watching an Afghan woman roll down a ramp for the first time and she has achieved something she never thought she would."

No comments:

Post a Comment