Our Story

Skateboarding in Afghanistan?

Absolutely. As soon as Australian skateboarders Oliver Percovich and Sharna Nolan dropped their boards in Kabul in 2007, they were surrounded by the eager faces of children of all ages who wanted to be shown how to skate. Stretching out the three boards they had brought with them, they developed a small skate school.

A group of Afghan friends (aged 18-22) who were naturals at skateboarding shared the three boards and quickly progressed in their new favourite sport—and so skateboarding hit Afghanistan. The founders’ success with their first students prompted them to think bigger: by bringing more boards back to Kabul and establishing an indoor skateboarding venue, they would be able to teach many more youth, and also be able to provide older girls with a private facility to continue skateboarding.

On October 29, 2009, Skateistan completed construction of an all-inclusive skatepark and educational facility on 5428 square meters of land donated by the Afghan National Olympic Committee. The indoor section was graciously built by IOU Ramps. An outdoor section has been designed by Convic Design and construction is planned to begin in fall 2010.

Skateistan has emerged as Afghanistan’s first skateboarding school, and is dedicated to teaching both male and female students. It aims to build indoor and outdoor skateboarding facilities in which Afghan youth can come together to skateboard: here, they forge bonds that transcend social barriers. Here, they’re enabled to affect change on issues that are important to them.

Current Activities

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 21st century Afghanistan.

At the Skateistan facility 280 regular students are receiving 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, including a girls' journalism class, a disabled class, and a Back-to-School program that helps kids enroll or re-enroll in public school. The NGO is also running advanced art classes for girls and boys once a week, which include activities such as painting skateboards, paper mache and portrait drawing.

Classroom curriculum for the third and current semester is a two-month long theatre project with each class, based on the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Students will refer to the issues addressed by the MDGs while developing theatre productions about life as a young person in Afghanistan.

In Semester Two (April-July 2010) the curriculum was based on various aspects of Environmental Health, specifically water pollution, air pollution, deforestation and personal hygiene. In the last three weeks of semester each class created a special project that put the lessons to good use, focusing on making positive environmental change in their neighbourhoods and their city. Projects included making crafts from recycled materials, film/photo fieldtrips, watercolour paintings, garbage cleanups and planting flowers. A short video and an 18-page magazine were created from the students' work and documentation.

Watch the Semester Two video on Skateistan's environmental health class projects.

Download Semester Two's "Fly Magazine" in PDF format.