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Skateistan opens school in Johannesburg
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Students will have the opportunity to play and learn where skateboarding drives education and is used for youth empowerment.

We are proud to announce the completion of the Skate School in Johannesburg, which has opened to registered students. Since 2014, we have been active in Johannesburg running sessions at outreach locations and with partner organisations. Through this new Skate School, we will provide programmes to more youth in the Central Business District (CBD) area of Johannesburg, South Africa. So far over 200 youth (47% girls) have registered to be part of our programmes!

The Skate School will be a safe space for local youth, with a particular focus on girls and low-income youth. Students will have the opportunity to play and learn as part of the Skate and Create programme, or access homework help and career advice as part of the Back-To-School programme. Exceptional youth will have the chance to join the Youth Leadership programme to help organise events and assist with sessions. Thanks to the support of Royal Danish Embassy, Comic Relief and Tony Hawk Foundation, we will offer weekly programmes to over 300 registered students in 2016, and more than 400 by the end of 2017.

The new Skate School is on a piece of land in New Doornfontein provided by Propertuity. Construction of the state-of-the-art facility was made possible thanks to a large donation from The Skateroom and artist Paul McCarthy, with a contribution from LinkedIn. Afrisam donated the concrete for the 500 square meter skatepark which was built by New Line Skateparks who came over from Vancouver to work alongside local builders JLVA. The shipping container classrooms and office were brought together thanks to in-kind donations from MWP architects, Maersk, CTM, Big Box and Saint-Gobain, with the educational fit-out of the classrooms being supported by the Canadian Embassy in South Africa. This unique structure, designed by Michael Scott, will be our regional base on the African continent.

The Skate School opened to registered students on August 1st and has begun running programmes. The official launch is taking place Sunday the 14th of August, with special guests coming to check out the Skate School and meet our students. Stay tuned!

About Skateistan
Skateistan is an award­-winning international non-­profit organisation that uses skateboarding and education for youth empowerment. Over 1500 at­-risk youth, aged 5­-17, attend Skateistan’s programmes every week in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa. Through their innovative programmes, Skate and Create, Back­-To-­School and Youth Leadership, Skateistan aims to give youth the opportunity to become leaders for a better world.

  • We work with youth ages 5-17
  • Over 50% of our students are street-working children
  • Over 40% of our students are girls
  • Globally, more than 1500 youth attend our programmes each week

"I always like to go high on the ramps. When I'm up there I feel free, like I'm flying. I like that feeling a lot."

says Hanifa, 14, Afghan skater.


[This article has been edited by the Operating Team]

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