The Story of Skateistan: From Kabul to Bamyan
In briefAI summary — tap to read
Oliver Percovich founded Skateistan, an organization that combines skateboarding with creative education to serve disadvantaged children in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa. Starting with informal sessions in Kabul in 2007, the program has grown to serve up to 3,000 children globally, with a documentary that won an Academy Award. The organization is currently building its fifth school in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, a UNESCO World Heritage site overlooking the ancient Buddha niches.
Key takeaways
- Skateboarding served as a culturally neutral entry point for girls to participate in sports in Afghanistan, where other activities had gender restrictions.
- The organization was shaped by listening to children's needs rather than top-down planning—students asked to return to school, leading to the development of accelerated back-to-school programs.
- Skateistan employs local staff from the communities it serves (65% of Kabul staff are former students), ensuring cultural relevance and sustainability while avoiding dependence on international workers.
- The 'Skate and Create' model combines one hour of skateboarding with one hour of creativity-based classroom learning to develop critical thinking rather than rote memorization.
- Funding comes from diversified sources including governments, corporations, foundations, and individuals, allowing the organization to sustain growth even during economic downturns.
About Oliver PercovichOliver Percovich is an Australian skateboarder and founder of Skateistan, an organization operating skateboard-based education programs in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa since 2007.
AI-generated from the meeting recording — AI can make mistakes, so check the recording for anything important.
Meeting for the week of January 18, 2021 - January 24, 2021
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: The Story of Skateistan: From Kabul to Bamyan
Speaker: Oliver Percovich
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Welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley!
Here’s a message from our Club President
Greetings Rotarians and guests! We're excited to have you join us.
For our program this week, we have Oliver Percovich, founder and executive director of Skateistan, the first international development initiative to combine skateboarding with educational outcomes. Look forward to a wonderful program from him!
Members, get ready for our club's elections for the Rotary year beginning in July! Those elections are to take place in the coming weeks and will be conducted by email, where private voting links will be sent out. Please keep an eye out for the nominations email later this week from President-Elect Brett.
Have a wonderful week!
Yours in Rotary service,
Raquel D’Garay-Juncal
President, Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
president@siliconvalleyrotary.com
Guests, we are happy to have you join us this week!
As we see it, our flexibility as an online, asynchronous club allows a special type of service to Rotarians around the world: we make it easier for anyone to strive for and maintain 100% attendance. That keeps you engaged with Rotary's events and ideas, and provides a moment of inspiration for devoting your creativity, talents, and resources to good causes.
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Weekly Funny with Shags
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin !
Tax Season is Coming!
Driving to work, a gentleman had to swerve to avoid a box that fell out of a truck in front of him. Seconds later, a policeman pulled him over for reckless driving. Fortunately, another officer had seen the carton in the road. The policemen stopped traffic and recovered the box. It was found to contain large upholstery tacks.
"I'm sorry sir," the first trooper told the driver, "but I am still going to have to write you a ticket."
Amazed, the driver asked for what.
The trooper replied, "Tacks evasion."
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Every week we start our meetings with a short video highlighting innovation, inspiration, entrepreneurship, or social change.
In terms of bold scope for a video, this one from Matt Harding surely sets some kind of record. We shared it in 2016, but it seems to have special impact for all of us living under the threat of COVID and the hope for what we can regain.
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Sometimes a photo can capture an amazing moment. In this section Member Keith Marsh shares his incredible photography!
If you'd like to submit a photo for this section please contact Keith.
While in Kenya for a Rotary International Service project (H2Open Doors) I had the rare sighting of a two headed giraffe (not more Photoshop tickery). This is one of the most majestic and amazing animals seen from the deck of my safari tent. We are scheduled to go again in 2021 if the pandemic is under control.
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4 Fun & Crazy Ways To Prepare Eggs
As I've posted (Shags), I don't like eating eggs, but these cackle seed creations are something else!!
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Week of Jan 17th - Pick up trash in your local park
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Here are the happy dollars contributions from last week!
This section is usually updated on the early hours of Saturday, so contributions made over the weekend may not be listed here.
Rory Olsen made a $20 donation.
Unusually cold these past few days. My cats have spent more time with me than usual. Purrr!
Program: The Story of Skateistan: From Kabul to Bamyan
Speaker: Oliver Percovich
Every week we bring to you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how those contribute to service to others.
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Starting out on the streets of Kabul in 2008, Skateistan has become a global non-profit serving 3,000 children and is the first to combine skateboarding with educational outcomes. Today, skateboarding is the biggest sport for girls in Afghanistan and via Skateistan's educational programs, over 600 internal refugee children have been re-enrolled into the public school system. The story became a documentary called Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you're a girl), which won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award in early 2020.
Oliver Percovich is the founder and executive director of Skateistan. Starting in Kabul in 2008, Skateistan now reaches almost 3,000 children at their Skate School facilities in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa. Oliver has spoken at TEDxSydney, presented for Google UK, The International Olympic Committee, and the Global Impact Institute.
Members and guests, please welcome Oliver Percovich!
Learn more at:
Skateistan Homepage: https://www.skateistan.org
Skateistan's fundraising effort for their new Afghan Skate School: https://skateistan.org/skate-school-5
13min mini-documentary showing Skateistan's work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSgwLJj4oXM&ab_channel=Skateistan
Upcoming program recording schedule
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
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