Causecast

Creative Visions Foundation is delighted to announce a new creative activist project, Skateistan, Afghanistan’s first dedicated co- educational skateboarding school. The brainchild of 34-year-old Australian Oliver Percovich, the school is designed to create a psychological and physical safe haven for boys and girls who must deal with the daily stresses and hardships of living in a country gripped by violence. Percovich plans to open the new school in the spring of 2009 with a total of sixty students.

“We are excited to see how Oliver Percovich has transformed his fascination with skateboarding
into a powerful healing tool for Afghan youth,” said Kathy Eldon, CVF’s Founder and President about the innovative project. The Creative Visions Foundation supports creative activists who use media and the arts to change our world. Inspired by the life of Kathy’s son, Dan Eldon – photojournalist, artist, and activist – who was killed at age of 22 while covering the conflict in Somalia, CVF provides vital assistance such as mentoring, networking and financial support to create activists like Oliver. The mission of CVF is to raise awareness of critical social, international and environmental issues and catalyze positive change.

Using skateboarding as a means of attracting male and female students, Skateistan will allow new opportunities for cross-cultural interaction and education. The students will come from a cross-section of different cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Student capacity will be developed in skateboarding, skateboarding instruction, project management, life skills and English. The aim is to develop a program that empowers youth to take leadership on issues important to them and build networks countering ethnic barriers.

Percovich’s current skateboard park is a decrepit concrete fountain. His Skateistan school will be eight miles away. Having raised the money needed to build an 8,600-square-foot bubble to house the nonprofit Skateistan complex, Pervovich has convinced the Kabul Parks Authority to tentatively donate land. He is still waiting for official permission to begin the project.

Afghanistan has the highest proportion of school-age children in the world, 1 in 5, according to the United Nations. For a vast majority of these seven million youngsters, sports are virtually nonexistent. Most public schools, stretched to provide basic materials like desks, do not have
playgrounds. Boys play pickup soccer or volleyball games on dusty fields. But sports are an afterthought for most girls, who are discouraged from public gatherings.

But some girls cannot skate enough because their window for participation is short. When Afghan girls reach puberty, they must be veiled and can no longer associate with men outside the family. Moreover, local families are extremely aware of negative consequences from the Taliban if they allow their daughters to openly participate in outdoor sports. Percovich said his indoor skate park could be part of the solution, with boys and girls in separate classes.

“Afghan kids are the same as kids all over the world,” Percovich said. “They just haven’t been given the same opportunities. They need a positive environment to do positive things for Afghanistan and for themselves.”