(And we've got Tony Hawk and Sky Brown lending a hand.)
Today, there are over 40 million displaced children worldwide, uprooted from their homes by conflict and crisis. Over 3.7 million of these children are out of school, denied the opportunity to learn and grow. Meanwhile, communities all over the planet are at-risk from inequality, lack of provisions and climate collapse. With opportunities for play, education and empowerment at record lows, childhoods are being stripped away.
“Skateboarding knows no boundaries, and neither should our commitment to people and planet. With the support of legends like Sky Brown and Tony Hawk, Skateistan is rolling towards a future guided by children and youth, determined to grasp the opportunities they find. We are committed to programs that focus on migrant, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ equity and inclusion, and we want you to join us in this journey to reach 50 global locations by 2027.”
— Hala Khalaf: Co-Executive Director, Skateistan
Today, there are over 40 million displaced children worldwide, uprooted from their homes by conflict and crisis. Over 3.7 million of these children are out of school, denied the opportunity to learn and grow. Meanwhile, communities all over the planet are at-risk from inequality, lack of provisions and climate collapse. With opportunities for play, education and empowerment at record lows, childhoods are being stripped away.
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Skateistan has operated around the world since 2007, specifically working with at-risk, disabled, migrant and BIPOC youth. Skateistan now works in over 20 locations worldwide, with 5 education facilities, a dozen organizational & outreach partnerships, and a global resource network of social skate projects via The Goodpush Alliance. To date, Skateistan has worked with 24,000 children. Over 50% of these are girls.
‘The World On Board’ is a movement to provide safe places and resources for children to learn, play and shape their futures. By 2027, we will reach over 10,000 children in more than 50 countries.
“In an increasingly divided world, alliances are splintering. Over 15 years at Skateistan, we’ve seen first-hand that challenges are rarely singular, and neither are solutions. This is why we are calling for unity, for the world on board, to align a global movement and push against combined crises, together.”
— Oliver Percovich: Co-Executive Director, Skateistan
With over 15 years of experience running skate schools and projects around the world, and a network of 800+ social skate organizations, Skateistan is mobilizing funding, resources and equipment for at-risk, migrant, disabled, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth. This movement will unite projects and schools across the world under the Skateistan model in order to provide space and tools for skateboarding, creative learning and climate education.
Tony Hawk, professional skateboarder & household name, who sits on the Advisory Board of Skateistan, features in a launch video for The World On Board fundraiser campaign which will run from 15th November to 31st December.
This will be followed by another call-to-action from Olympic Medalist, Sky Brown, one of skateboarding’s rising stars. At the Tokyo 2020, Sky became the youngest ever Team GB Olympic medalist. She was just 13 years old. As a ‘near life-long’ supporter of Skateistan, Sky proudly pushes for a change in the narrative for skateboarding, calling on the world to unite and empower young girls and boys from communities facing challenges of inequality, conflict and climate collapse
