Keep Skateistan Rolling - Part 7: International Administration

Since street skateboarding sessions began in Kabul in 2007, Skateistan has transformed rapidly. From Kabul’s first indoor skate/educational facility in 2009, to the new facility in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, opportunities for youth who attend Skateistan continue to grow. With a new facility under construction in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, Skateistan continues to expand. With this growth Skateistan has taken steps to ensure it continues to provide high quality education and sports programming to every youth involved internationally.

In the Spring of 2012, to accommodate Skateistan’s growth and to connect the management of each project site, Skateistan established a headquarters in Berlin. Every day, Skateistan staff connect with each other from three different time zones, and their work behind the scenes keeps more than 550 Skateistan students on their boards every week.

Some of the work that takes place in Skateistan’s offices internationally includes student registration and program development, organizational development, human resource management, financial management, fundraising, IT support, media and communications, and much more. Thanks in part to our International Administration network, Skateistan has reached more than 2000 children, and will continue to develop new opportunities for youth every day.

Since 2009 Skateistan has provided alternative employment to 28 Afghan youths, most of them from streetworking backgrounds, who have progressed from being enthusiastic students to becoming teachers in the skatepark and classrooms.

Over 30 more girls and boys between the ages of 12 and 21 have volunteered with Skateistan as Youth Leaders, assisting in skate sessions or class lessons, helping to plan and manage events, and taking part in special sports, arts, and multimedia workshops.

The average age of our Afghan staff is 25 years. The average age of our Afghan teaching team is 17.5 years.

With 68% of Afghanistan’s population under the age of 25, and 50% under the age of 16, providing opportunities for youth of all backgrounds, in education, skill-building, empowerment and leadership is essential.

For young Afghan women especially, Skateistan is one of the only recreational facilities in Kabul that provides the safety and privacy required for them to have permission from their families to participate. Female teachers, free transport, and a female-friendly work environment allow Afghan girls to develop their professional experience, build confidence, and learn the necessary skills to become much-needed female role models within their communities.

KSR -  Meet Tin

Since 2008, Skateistan has provided opportunities for youth leadership through volunteer teaching positions and alternative employment to mostly streetworking youth in Kabul, Afghanistan. Building leadership opportunities for youth is crucial to establishing long term success and a sense of program ownership for our students. Since its start in 2011, Skateistan Cambodia has continued to work at this key goal for youth enrolled with Skateistan. 

Over 60 girls and boys between the ages of 12 and 21 have either worked or volunteered with Skateistan internationally as Youth Leaders, assised in skate sessions or class lessons, helping to plan and manage events, maintaining the skateparks, and taking part in special sports, arts, and multimedia workshops.

Since Skateistan first began working with youth in Phnom Penh in 2011, several young people have progressed from being students, to teachers in the skatepark and classrooms. Our Programs Assistant Tin has shown herself to be an especially talented skateboarder and an excellent teacher and role model for the students. As Skateistan Cambodia’s first female skate instructor, Tin uses her skateboarding and creative arts skills, as well as various elements of hip-hop culture, such as turntables and breakdancing, to help other girls gain new skills and improve their self confidence.

Providing leadership and development opportunities for young women in Cambodia is particularly important. Nearly the same numbers of boys and girls attend school until the age of 14 in Cambodia, but after girls reach this age fewer continue to higher education. Adult literacy rates also reflect inequality for Cambodian women, where only 70.9 percent of adult women are literate compared to 85.1 percent of men. This discrepancy results in Cambodian women being more vulnerable to poverty and discrimination.

Every week, over 140 girls come to Skateistan’s skatepark in Kabul. Girls make up 40% of our students, and more than 50% of Skateistan’s Afghan staff are female. Providing equal access to our programming is a top priority for Skateistan.

In Afghanistan, girls and women are usually not allowed to travel alone. Due to a limited public transit system, extreme traffic congestion, and street harassment, getting around Kabul is often expensive and dangerous.

Without Skateistan’s transport for girls, most could not come to class or to work. Skateistan transport ensures that the only obstacles the girls face when they come to Skateistan is in the skatepark!

Safe transport overcomes one of many barriers that prohibit women in Afghanistan from connecting with sport, education, and employment opportunities.

KSR - tuk tuk transport

After more than a year of running skate sessions and art classes with partner NGOs and in the backyard of the staff guesthouse, Skateistan Cambodia was excited to open its own co-educational skateboard and learning facility for youth in Phnom Penh in September 2012.

One of Skateistan’s main priorities since Day 1 has been to encourage long-term student participation. To ensure that some of Skateistan Cambodia’s first students are able to continue attending classes at the new skatepark, Skateistan provides transport in a local “Tuk Tuk” taxi for some of its youngest students who were with the program from Day 1. Phnom Penh, like many South-East Asian countries, has overwhelming traffic and a lack of transportation infrastructure, such as a citywide public transport system, making it difficult for pedestrians to travel safely. The girls and boys who take the Tuk Tuk ride began skating in the yard and garage of Skateistan’s guesthouse, and without transport would have no other way of safely traveling to the new park. 

The kids are all smiles after a ride in the Tuk Tuk together to the skatepark, but the fun really begins for Skateistan Cambodia’s students when they get on the boards. A regular day at the new skatepark includes two to three on-site skateboarding sessions each day, accompanied by an equal amount of creative arts or breakdancing classes. There are also some special opportunities for Skateistan students and youth leaders to participate in additional skills workshops, such as practising their musical abilities in Skateistan’s Turning Tables DJ lab.

The Cambodia transport budget also goes towards mobile skate sessions. In the early evenings, Skateistan instructors take a motorcycle, Cambodia's favourite mode of transportation, to our mini skatepark set up at a partner NGO. Here, our staff work with the volunteer skatepark monitors to supervise regular youth skate sessions. With 150 regular students (including 35% girls), and additional sessions with partner NGOs, there is a lot happening at Skateistan Cambodia with no slowing down in sight.