2022 was a year of massive change for Skateistan, beginning with a very rocky start. The Afghan government was taken over by the Taliban in August 2021, causing chaos, fear and uncertainty for our staff and students. Skateistan’s Afghan programs had to be put on pause for the first time since our organization was founded in 2008.

In early 2022, we slowly rebuilt our activities and our Afghan team starting in January with emergency food packages for the families of our students. We are very proud of our Afghan team who not only relaunched our work there, but also achieved an incredible 59% girls’ attendance despite the constantly changing rules in Afghanistan around education for girls.

The crisis in Afghanistan led us to rethink our strategy. We always intended to increase the number of locations Skateistan is working in but we had to think differently about how to be more agile and ultimately reach more children, faster.

Focusing on local ownership, girls’ inclusion and integration of displaced youth, we successfully expanded from 10 locations in 2021 to 25 locations in 2022 through our Skateistan in a Box model. Through the experimentation of programming, Skateistan began running skateboarding and educational programs in refugee and resettlement locations for the first time. The main reason being many of our Afghan staff who had been forced to flee their country. Our former Afghan staff members ran Skateistan programs in Belgium, Germany, Albania, Sweden and the USA.

Our Goodpush Alliance has continued to deepen its support for social skateboarding projects around the world. We were stoked to coordinate the launch of the very first Pushing Against Racism Fund, promoting more diversity and inclusion within skateboarding worldwide. This was coupled with the launch of the Goodpush online platform that has had 20,000 downloads of resources and has elevated 834 skateboarding-based social initiatives in more than 100 countries with new free e-learning courses.

As we live in increasingly uncertain times, all of us are dealing with changes, and Skateistan’s ongoing ability to adapt is demonstrated by the very quick and successful change in our approach. We are committed to supporting more young people who are leading social skateboarding initiatives in their own communities and we continue to be driven by our love of skateboarding and the desire to provide quality education and safe play spaces to children.

Atlantis, Bamyan, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, East London, Geneva, Ghent, Gothenburg, Irbid, Johannesburg, Kabul, Kensington, Kibera, Koksijde, La Paz, Mazar-e-Sharif, Phnom Penh, Rochester, Stockholm, Sulaymaniyah, Tembisa, Tirana, Viacha, Zarqa

Skateistan was honored to accept the prestigious “Women and Sport – Global” award from the International Olympic Committee and to celebrate women and girls in sport at the ceremony held in Germany in December, 2022. The award was presented by Olympic Champion-fencer, Britta Heidemann.

Skateistan’s Executive Director Oliver Percovich was awarded the EINE WELT Medaillen (One World Award) from BMZ – German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development – for Skateistan’s achievements in Afghanistan since 2008. The award was presented by State Secretary for Development, Jochen Flasbarth.

Co-hosted the Copenhagen premiere of the Oscar-winning Skateistan film “Learning to Skate in a Warzone (If You're a Girl),” together with GAME NGO and SOUNDBOKS.

CNN / African voices - Changemakers

9 News Aus

IRC coverage of staff overcoming flight from AFG

Programs running in 2022

Farida, 14, lives in an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp with her family in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. As a young girl, Farida never went to school and was unable to read and write. She recalls a time she lost her mother in the market and didn’t know what to do, how to ask for help or even read signs.

Farida felt socially isolated, “I remember the days when my relatives encouraged my parents to not allow me to study. I didn’t even have a friend to walk and talk with, to make memories with, to study with, or to share my life challenges.”

This changed once she joined the Back-to-School program, which offered Farida something she’s always wanted: to be in a space with other children and make memories together. A part of Farida that seemed closed before, was now open.

‘’Now I know how valuable I am. I respect myself so much. Now my family believes I have a bright future.’’

Marwa, 12, joined our Back-to-School program in the Karte-Now District of Kabul in 2022. With her father passing and being the eldest child, extended family members thought it was unsuitable for Marwa to go to school, especially since there were no public schools in her area. But when our programs re-started in Kabul, Marwa’s mother decided to bring her to be enrolled.

At first, Marwa was shy. Her teachers noticed her unfamiliarity with the class format and lack of confidence in public speaking. Through gradual encouragement from the Skateistan team, Marwa’s confidence increased and she came in at top of her class in her final year assessments. But even with this win, Marwa remained humble.

When asked what her secret to getting this far was, she responded:

‘’Anyone can learn if they have the commitment to learning and a friendly teacher.’’

Bamyan

Ibrahim, 16, lives in Bamyan, Afghanistan. He was the only one of his siblings enrolled in school by his family, but stopped attending a few years ago because most of his friends were out of education. Instead, he worked as a shepherd in his local community. When his friends joined our Back-to-School program, he couldn’t resist trying the classes.

But Ibrahim’s natural leadership skills were a blessing and a curse.

“When he first joined the BTS program, he was among the troublemakers; he was bullying other students, fighting with the students outside Skateistan, teasing other people in the city when the school minibus was picking up or dropping him off. We received numerous complaints about Ibrahim from the students and the driver at the time,” one of his teachers admitted. “But we had an idea about how to focus his energy into positive growth, to work with him rather than against.”

By combining a traditional education program with drawing and sport, Ibrahim became more engaged, began to listen intently to lessons and do his homework. His energy was infectious and his behavior changed dramatically.

“Now, people do not think of the way that Ibrahim used to be. He has become a source of trust for other students because when anything happens, the students usually seek his help.”

We opened our Skate School in 2016. Since then, we’ve seen many students come and go, but this year was special, Mpho*, a student who has been riding with us since 2016, was accepted into a university course for none other than the fantastic vocation of teaching!

Programs running in 2022

Mpho* joined Skateistan when we were nothing more than a hole in the ground. Quite literally, she scoped out the builders who were drilling in her neighborhood to find out what they were doing, and when she learned that a state-of-the-art skatepark was being built in her area, she had to get on board.

Despite being engaged in the classes, Mpho* kept her circle small and her teachers felt she would benefit from joining the “Global Girl Project” — an initiative where community-driven girls could learn and connect with each other. After a few months, Mpho began to open up to the other girls on the project, and as she neared the end of schooling, she expressed her desires to apply for university. With the support of the Skateistan staff, she navigated the application systems and secured funding to complete her studies.

“I am extremely proud of Mpho*, she has made it to the top 10 students in her school. That gives me hope that she will do well in her upcoming exams.”

Atlantis

A major milestone for the Atlantis, South Africa program was establishing a partnership with Emmanuel Day Care Center, which provides care for children with special needs. Through this collaboration, we are able to create a space for fun, creativity and playfulness for the community.

Programs running in 2022

Caitlin is 10 years old and lives in Dura Flats in Atlantis on South Africa’s Western Cape. The area is predominantly known for its high levels of gang-related violence. Due to the location of Caitlin’s school, she had to walk to and from school alone: “I have had to run away from gunfire three times,” Caitlin remembers. The insecurity of the area left Caitlin scared and meant she mainly played indoors. She often felt bored at home and felt there was little to do.

Caitlin joined Skateistan in January 2022, because she wanted to learn how to draw. By providing her with art supplies and positive feedback, the Skate and Create team encourage her creativity.

In fact, Caitlin has now inspired her two cousins and her sister to participate in the program. She now feels much more comfortable walking to and from their home and class.

‘’Coming to Skateistan makes me feel happy, there are many fun activities for me to do here. I am never bored when I am at Skateistan.’’

At the Phnom Penh school, we saw significant improvements in literacy levels over 2022, specifically our students’ abilities to read and write in Khmer and English.

Programs running in 2022

Rozana is 24 years old and lives in a community center for children, called Kampuchea Sëla Handicap (KSH) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. At the center, she lives with 17 other children as her family lives far away in Kampong Som province, where her parents run a family business.

While living in the center, children help each other and are responsible for their own daily tasks. When Rozana first joined the group she had a hard time managing her emotions. She would often shout with those she disagreed with or would be extremely shy.

By joining the Create sessions at Skateistan, Rozana pushed herself out of her comfort zone to play and be brave while learning new things. She has also learned to stay calm with her peers in times of disagreement.

‘’What I like the most at Skateistan is the Create class because I love painting, drawing and learning through watching the videos. I never learned those things before attending the Skate School program.’’

Expansion Projects

The Skateistan in a Box (SIAB) expansion project will grow to over 50 locations by 2027, utilizing the Skateistan in a Box modular support model, often in collaboration with a local project. This could include a shipping-container classroom, a mobile skatepark, syllabuses or simply financial aid. These locations are considered partners of Skateistan, employing the modular SIAB technology and Skateistan programs, not dissimilar to a Funder+ model.

In 2021, many of our Afghan staff became refugees, scattered around the world, although their desire to serve their community remained. Many displaced children were in the same situation and in need of additional sport and education opportunities. This formed into an idea: We could run our programs within the refugee camps with former staff and partner organizations. By doing this, we could continue to spread the joy and fun of skateboarding to children as they adapted to life in their new homes.

A bi-weekly Learning Call, named “Your Turn” was created for program staff to work on peer-led solutions to challenges and discuss the curriculum: the frequency, time and content. Most programs ran for between three to six months while refugees were relocated to more permanent residences.

Through collaborating with the Skate School in Johannesburg, the PSP project introduced programs to three under-resourced public schools in South Africa.

This staff recruitment from the community combined with experienced skateboarders to implement sessions allowed for greater engagement with students in the programs.

By the end of 2022, two public school projects remained (in Tembisa and East London) and will continue to run programs in 2023.

Kensington Secondary School Johannesburg

AW Barnes Primary School

East London

Mikateka Primary School

Tembisa

The Goodpush Alliance is an initiative by Skateistan to support and share knowledge among social skateboarding projects worldwide, so that we can make a bigger impact together. Goodpush offers training and advice to grassroots and established skateboarding projects via online resources, workshops, support calls and awards.

• The Goodpush Alliance directly supported 108 unique social skate projects/organizations based in 31 countries.
  

• Throughout the year, the Goodpush Alliance directly supported 500 individuals involved in social skateboarding projects worldwide.
  

• The number of children and youth benefitting from Goodpush-supported organizations in 2022 was an estimated 8,560 indirect participants.
  

• $53,350 in financial support was dispersed to 31 organizations.
  

• 16 Pushing Against Racism Fund grantees
• 15 organizations joined the Black Futures panel events
  
• 38 attended our Pushing Against Racism signatory meets
  
• 21 attended the Black Futures webinar with the Harold Hunter Foundation
  

• 15 organizations ran ROLL Models projects
• 15 were ROLL Models
  
• 20 attended the ROLL Models Leadership Camp
  

• 8 organizations joined the Open Boarders Network
• 28 attended the Open Boarders Network monthly meets
  
• 8 benefited from support sessions including calls and workshops on topics such as fundraising, organizational capacity and child protection.
  

E-Learning Cohort webinar series

• 63 organizations joined our E-Learning Cohort Webinars
• 340 Learning Lab registered users
  
• 148 took part in our E-Learning Cohort Webinars
  

Transparency

Where do our funds come from?

In spite of the strong decline in government funding following the Taliban events in Afghanistan during 2021, Skateistan was still able to raise 2.4M USD this year and redirect other funds so that the total funding amount in 2022 was very close to that of 2021.

However, with all the changes in 2022, plus the pandemic, funding remains a challenge that Skateistan is mindful of and now tackles via more diverse means.

Financial Sustainability

By building diverse and sustainable streams of income we can remain as flexible and responsive as possible to meet the needs of the communities we serve.

New Chapter Campaign

(November 21 - April 22 )

Run a 1.5M* fundraising campaign to support Skateistan in expanding our reach and trying out new program delivery models.

Enable tax-deductible donations in more currencies through new fundraising entities around the world.

The Skate Beyond Borders campaign raised $478,000 to ensure that every child at Skateistan gets to enjoy a full childhood and has a safe place, regardless of their circumstances.

Donors

Be That Girl Foundation

Comic Relief

Deutsche Postcode Lotterie

Fondation CHANEL

Ford Foundation

International Olympic Committee

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation South Africa

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

The Skatepark Project

The SOL Foundation

U.S. Embassy

Cultures of Resistance Network

Adam and Laila Rossi

Ursimone Wietlisbach Foundation

Citizens of Skateistan

F+B Mancia

The Skateroom

VF Corporation (Vans)

Sky Brown & Almost Skateboards

Bennack-Polan Foundation

CHPO Brand

Google Giving Week

Henry Oldfield Trust

InMaat Foundation

New Line Skateparks

Advisory Board

(Members as of report creation date – Aug 2023)

Impressum

Telephone Number

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E-Mail

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