By wheels we liberate: stories of Skateistan in Afghanistan, and of Cycling Without Age in Denmark
The vibrant Atlas of the Future is doing a years-end alphabetical round-up, and they have reported on some gems of everyday, creative action, a few of which we just have to share. The fascinating vector is that they’re all on wheels - wheels that give their users powers of mobility and agency, where little existed before.
Afghanistan: Girls learn to skate to liberate
Skateistan started in Afghanistan as a “crazy idea” to use skateboarding for empowerment. Now it’s opening a fifth school, so more children can be driven by their own curiosity.
The inspiring short documentary Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re A Girl) tells the story of a class of young Afghan girls learning to read, write and skateboard. The heart-wrenching Oscar and BAFTA-winning film follows Skateistan, a nonprofit that began as a skate school in Kabul in 2007 and grew into a multinational educational initiative. There, girls are taught to have courage and are given the skills to prepare them for life in Afghanistan and beyond.
New Skateistan Banyam student Zainab is 13 years old
Skateistan started when passionate skateboarder Oliver Percovich found himself ‘rolling’ the rugged streets of Kabul. Captivated by how children gravitated towards his board when they tried it out, the Australian saw a connection that could help create bonds beyond social barriers.
Since there are cultural limits to Afghan girls playing football, riding bicycles or participating in other traditional male-dominated sports in a society that is rigidly restrictive of women’s lives, skateboarding provides a loophole that gives girls a family outside of their homes. So Oliver decided to set up a nonprofit organisation which uses skateboarding and education for youth empowerment.
Although it started in Afghanistan, Skateistan now runs in Cambodia and South Africa (pictured below) too, welcoming youth of all sex, ethnicity, gender, religion or social background to their Skate Schools: “Our focus is on groups who are often excluded from sports and educational opportunities, especially girls, children living with disabilities and those from low-income backgrounds. We provide safe spaces where children can have fun, build their skills and confidence and break down social barriers by making new friends.”
Today, the fifth school is under construction in Bamyan, Afghanistan, as a safe space where learning and skateboarding come together. Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk is on the Skateistan board: “The Bamyan Skate School will be a safe place of inclusion and creativity where children come first to reach their full potential,” he explains.
By the end of 2021, Skateistan students will be using the first indoor concrete skatepark in Afghanistan, providing a safe, inclusive and fun space for up to 800 children per week.
Denmark: The simple joy of rickshaw chats
Who wouldn’t love wind in their hair, without having to put in the pedal power? Cycling Without Age is a project founded on the ideals of Danish cycling culture – that no one, no matter what age, should be restricted from riding a bike.
It was started in 2012 by social entrepreneur Ole Kassow, who got the idea when he passed by an old man sitting on a park bench in Copenhagen on his bike ride to work each morning.
After having heard several stories about the older generation missing the freedom, joy and mobility of cycling, he decided he wanted to get people back on their bicycles, but had to find a solution to their limited mobility. One morning, he showed up at his local nursing home with a rented trishaw (a three-wheeled cycle rickshaw), offering free rides to the local nursing home residents.
He then got in touch with a civil society consultant from the City of Copenhagen, Dorthe Pedersen, who was intrigued by the idea, and together they bought five trishaws and launched Cycling Without Age.
Today the international network of volunteers helps older passengers get out and about in all corners of Denmark and has spread to another 50 countries around the world since that first ride in 2012; with more than 33,000 volunteer cyclists (called ‘pilots’) and over 3,000 specialised trishaws. Over 1.5 million people have taken a ride with members of the global network; slowing down, taking in the scenery and enjoying conversation from Canada to Singapore.
Ole says he dreams of creating a world together, in which the access to active citizenship creates happiness among our fellow older citizens by providing them with an opportunity to remain an active part of society and the local community.
“We do that by giving them the right to wind in their hair, the right to experience the city and clear their mind in nature close up from the bicycle – and by giving them an opportunity to tell their story in the environment where they have lived their lives. That way we build bridges between generations and we reinforce trust, respect and the social glue in our society.”
And from our archive, the transformational power of cycling.